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The rapid advancement of digital technologies has led to their global proliferation, rendering their presence an unavoidable aspect of contemporary life. This widespread availability has naturally extended to the youngest population, including preschool-aged children.
Parental attitudes represent one of the key determinants of a child's exposure to digital technologies. In the context of preschool children, parental beliefs and perceptions regarding digital technology use have been identified as significant predictors of the amount of time children spend engaging with digital devices. Furthermore, subjective norms have been shown to influence parental intentions concerning their child’s screen time.
The primary objective of the present study was to examine the role of children's digital technology usage time in the context of parental attitudes and subjective norms toward their child’s engagement with digital technologies.
The study sample consisted of 426 parents (84.3% female) of children aged between 3 and 7 years. Parental attitudes were assessed using the Children’s Internet Use Attitude Scale (Jelić & Kamenov, 2009). In line with the methodological guidelines for questionnaire development (Ajzen, 2002; 2006; Francis et al., 2004), which are grounded in the Theory of Planned Behavior, a concise scale was developed to measure subjective norms. The scale consisted of four items, rated on a 7-point Likert scale.
The findings of this study underscore the relevance of systematically investigating parental attitudes in the context of children's digital technology use. Specifically, parental perceptions of the developmental impact of digital technology emerged as a significant factor in shaping both the quantity and nature of digital content to which children are exposed.
| Conflict of interest | There is no potential conflict of interest. |
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