Cohen Alyssa, Bendelow Anne, Smith Tracie, Cicchetti Colleen, Davis Matthew M, Heffernan Marie
Division of Advanced General Pediatrics and Primary Care, Ann & Robert H Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States.
Department of Pediatrics, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, United States.
JMIR Pediatr Parent. 2023 Nov 16;6:e46365. doi: 10.2196/46365.
Online environments dominate the daily lives of American youth and pose evolving challenges to their health and well-being. Recent national poll data indicate that social media overuse, internet safety, and online bullying are among parents' top child health concerns, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. While parents are uniquely positioned to help youth navigate social media, their attitudes on monitoring media use may be impacted by a myriad of personal and family factors.
This study aimed to examine factors associated with parental attitudes about monitoring social media use among youth.
Data were analyzed from the Voices of Child Health in Chicago Parent Panel Survey, administered to parents over the web and by telephone. Parents with at least 1 child aged ≥11 years responded to questions about bullying and social media monitoring from May to July 2020. The primary outcome was their response to the following question: "Do you think parents should monitor their children's use of social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram?" Bivariate analyses and multivariable logistic regression were used to examine parental agreement with frequent social media monitoring and concerns about bullying, adjusted for sociodemographic characteristics. Analyses were weighted to represent the parent population of Chicago.
Among 1613 survey respondents, the analyzed sample included 808 parents with at least 1 child aged ≥11 years. Overall, 62.9% (n=566) of parents agreed with frequent parental monitoring of their children's social media use. Compared with parents aged ≤35 years, parents who were >35 years old were significantly less likely to agree with frequent social media monitoring (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 0.45, 95% CI 0.25-0.81). Parents expressing a high level of concern regarding the effects of bullying were more likely to agree with frequent monitoring of youth social media (aOR 2.15, 95% CI 1.24-3.73).
Parents' personal characteristics and concerns about bullying may influence their attitudes toward monitoring social media use among youth. Given the potential impact of these attitudes on parental monitoring behaviors and the subsequent health impact on youth, pediatricians should consider these factors when counseling about bullying and social media. Child health professionals can support families in developing a safe media use plan that fits family circumstances.
网络环境主导着美国青少年的日常生活，并对他们的健康和幸福构成不断演变的挑战。最近的全国民意调查数据表明，社交媒体过度使用、网络安全和网络欺凌是家长们最关心的儿童健康问题，尤其是在新冠疫情期间。虽然家长在帮助青少年应对社交媒体方面具有独特优势，但他们对监控媒体使用的态度可能会受到众多个人和家庭因素的影响。
本研究旨在探讨与家长对监控青少年社交媒体使用的态度相关的因素。
对芝加哥家长小组调查中儿童健康之声的数据进行分析，该调查通过网络和电话对家长进行。有至少1名年龄≥11岁孩子的家长在2020年5月至7月回答了有关欺凌和社交媒体监控的问题。主要结果是他们对以下问题的回答：“你认为家长应该监控孩子对Facebook、Twitter和Instagram等社交媒体平台的使用吗？”采用双变量分析和多变量逻辑回归来检验家长对频繁社交媒体监控的认同以及对欺凌的担忧，并根据社会人口学特征进行调整。分析采用加权法以代表芝加哥的家长群体。
在1613名调查受访者中，分析样本包括808名有至少1名年龄≥11岁孩子的家长。总体而言，62.9%（n = 566）的家长同意家长频繁监控孩子的社交媒体使用。与年龄≤35岁的家长相比，年龄>35岁的家长同意频繁进行社交媒体监控的可能性显著降低（调整后的优势比[aOR]为0.45，95%置信区间[CI]为0.25 - 0.81）。对欺凌影响表示高度关注的家长更有可能同意频繁监控青少年的社交媒体（aOR为2.15，95%CI为1.24 - 3.73）。
家长的个人特征和对欺凌的担忧可能会影响他们对监控青少年社交媒体使用的态度。鉴于这些态度对家长监控行为的潜在影响以及对青少年后续健康的影响，儿科医生在就欺凌和社交媒体进行咨询时应考虑这些因素。儿童健康专业人员可以支持家庭制定适合家庭情况的安全媒体使用计划。
