How and on what basis do parents decide on their children's media content and screen time, and what style of parental mediatıon do they prefer to follow?

Abstract

The age at which children meet technology and the digital world now begins much earlier than before, and the amount of media content and time they consume is usually determined by their parents. Especially when today’s diversity in terms of digital media content is taken into account, it becomes necessary for parents to make better consideration. Therefore, one of the aims of this research is to find out the criteria for parents when choosing media content for their children and indicate to what extent parents are aware of the impacts of media consumption on their children. Based on the answers obtained after in-depth interviews with 20 parents living in Turkey and media diaries that they filled out in detail, this study reveals parental mediation styles used and children’s relationship with various media. As parents of children are selected from different age groups between three and six years, findings provide a classification by. Based on the theory of parental mediation, this qualitative study compares parental mediation strategies preferred based on the children’s age, further revealing their causes and consequences. As permissible mediation, active mediation, and restrictive mediation are the most studied mediation styles by researchers and pedagogues, these three are also the foci of this thesis. It should also not be overlooked that regardless of the age of the child, the changing situations for many families are similar with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic period and the necessity to stay at home due to extensive lockdowns.