Universidad Villanueva, Calle de la Costa Brava 2 y 6, 28034, Madrid, Spain.
National University of Distance Education (UNED), Calle Juan del Rosal, 10, 28040, Madrid, Spain.
J Youth Adolesc. 2024 Oct;53(10):2202-2218. doi: 10.1007/s10964-024-02013-7. Epub 2024 May 23.
Although smartphone ownership among minors has become an important social phenomenon, its impact on children's and adolescents' well-being, as well as the mechanisms by which this might take place are not yet sufficiently well-established. To date, no research has examined the effect of smartphone ownership on the well-being of minors through the consumption of influencer-generated content, nor has it explored the effectiveness of the main prevention strategies employed by parents in this context. To fill those gaps, 800 Spanish minors (50% female) aged from 8 to 16 years old (M = 12.33, SD = 2.38) participated in a correlational study in which the ownership of electronic devices, the consumption of influencer generated content, the parasocial relationship with the influencer, and the most common parental mediation strategies were considered. The results showed a positive association between electronic device ownership and psychological discomfort, problematic usage, and imitation of dangerous behaviors. This association was mediated by the consumption of influencer-generated content and the parasocial relationship established by the minor with the influencer. Regarding preventive strategies, only active mediation was inversely related to poorer well-being indicators, however this positive effect significantly decreased when a smartphone or a similar electronic device was owned by the minor (vs. no owned). These findings contribute to the understanding of how smartphone ownership can affect the well-being of children, emphasizing the need for thoughtful consideration when deciding whether to provide smartphones to minors.
虽然未成年人拥有智能手机已经成为一种重要的社会现象，但它对儿童和青少年福祉的影响，以及其发生的机制，尚未得到充分证实。迄今为止，还没有研究通过关注者生成内容的消费来检验智能手机拥有对未成年人福祉的影响，也没有探讨父母在这种情况下使用的主要预防策略的效果。为了填补这些空白，800 名西班牙未成年人（50%为女性）参与了一项相关性研究，他们的年龄在 8 至 16 岁之间（M=12.33，SD=2.38），研究中考虑了电子设备的拥有情况、关注者生成内容的消费、与关注者的准社会关系以及最常见的父母调节策略。研究结果表明，电子设备的拥有与心理不适、问题使用和模仿危险行为呈正相关。这种关联是通过关注者生成内容的消费和未成年人与关注者建立的准社会关系来调节的。关于预防策略，只有积极的调节与较差的幸福感指标呈负相关，但当未成年人拥有智能手机或类似的电子设备时（与没有拥有相比），这种积极的影响显著降低。这些发现有助于理解智能手机拥有如何影响儿童的福祉，强调在决定是否向未成年人提供智能手机时需要深思熟虑。
