Parent distraction with phones, reasons for use, and impacts on parenting and child outcomes: A review of the emerging research

Abstract

The current article reviews the emerging research related to parent distraction with phones and mobile devices. From this review, it is clear that parent distraction with phones and mobile devices while around children has become common. This is concerning, as the evidence suggests links with parenting and child outcomes—such as lower awareness and sensitivity, fewer verbal and nonverbal interactions, less coordinated parenting and coparenting, dissatisfaction with time spent together, and negative child reactions (e.g., problem behaviors). The issue is complex, however, as many reasons may drive parents to use devices around children, such as strong habits, device notifications, work/social pressures, parenting stress, and boredom or loneliness. Ultimately, parenting is affected due to displacement of time with children, difficulty of multitasking between device and child, and the emotions and stresses that can come from device use. Research gaps are found and future directions are proposed. Most findings come from self‐reports or observations. More longitudinal and experimental work is needed to establish causation. Furthermore, as parents and children are concerned about phone use during family time, it is important for evidence‐based programs to be developed to address healthy device habits specifically during family time and social interactions.

Infants’ response to a mobile phone modified still‐face paradigm: Links to maternal behaviors and beliefs regarding technoference

“…Technoference, or the brief interruptions to social interactions as a result of mobile phone use, including behaviors such as checking email notifications during play with a child, scrolling through social media during mealtime, or reading or responding to a text message during a conversation, has received increased research attention as cell phones have proliferated in American households (McDaniel, 2019). Technoference in parent-child relationships has been associated with poorer parenting quality (Beamish, Fisher, & Rowe, 2018), and fewer verbal and nonverbal bids from parents toward young children (Radesky et al, 2014).…”

The Use of Communication Technology in the Context of Adolescent and Family Development: An Integration of Family and Media Theories

“…New technology has influenced this aspect of development. Scholars have looked at technoference in parent–child relationships during early childhood and in the couple relationship—that is, the ways devices distract us from our in‐person relationships, resulting in less engagement with our partner or children in the moment (McDaniel, ). Imagine the common scene of a parent and teen having dinner together and both are on their phones.…”

“…As exemplified in the planning and improvisation paradox, the converse of propinquity can also be true. People can be physically absent but psychologically present through electronic propinquity; they can also be physically present but psychologically absent through technoference (McDaniel, ).…”

“…The technology that allows us to improvise easily also increases the speed of interactions with family and can simultaneously diffuse attention between family members (Jarvenpaa, Lang, & Tuunainen, 2005). For example, researchers have studied and observed a decrease in people's report of "quality" time with family and an increase in "technoference," or interruptions in interpersonal relationships (Kildare & Middlemiss, 2017;McDaniel, 2019). Parents can be particularly influential in modeling the use of technology for their children.…”

Do Time Management Factors Impede Students’ Academic Achievement? : A Casestudy – Sohar University, Oman

“…Parent/family distraction with mobile phones has become a regular incident while their wards are studying at home (McDaniel, 2019). Parenting behavior and their educational support could develop students' good learning behaviors thereby influencing the students' academic performance (Li & Qiu, 2018).…”