Work

Parents vs peers’ influence on teenagers’ Internet addiction and risky online activities

Year: 2017

Type: article

Abstract: An integral part of the daily lives of adolescents revolves around the Internet. Adolescents are vulnerable online because of a combination of their natural innocence, sensation-seeking drive coupled with the current digital media landscape and its manifold affordances for interactivity, immersive virtual environments and social networking. Adolescence is a time of transition in which youths progressively venture from the safety of the home to explore new opportunities. In this phase of life, both parents and peers play a critical role in either instigating or mitigating risky and dangerous activities. This study examines in the context of youth’s online risky activities, whether the compensatory-competition model or the continuity-cognitive model prevails. This study also explores whether the engagement of parental mediation activities mitigates or compounds the situation. A Partial Least Squares Equation analysis of a stratified random survey of 2000 Malaysian school children between 13 and 15-year-old controlling for age and gender, found that peer-attachment competes with parent attachment for the influence of teenagers’ risky online activities and Internet addiction . Parental influence is stronger when parents actively engage in mediating the online activities of their teenagers. On balance, parents can have more influence on teenagers than their peers.

Source: Telematics and Informatics

DOI: 10.1016/j.tele.2017.11.003

Authors: Patrick Chin-Hooi Soh, Kok Wai Chew, Kian Yeik Koay, Peng Hwa Ang

Institutions: Multimedia University, Monash University Malaysia, Nanyang Technological University

Language: English

Topic: Impact of Technology on Adolescents

Subfield: Sociology and Political Science

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Good health and well-being, Peace, justice, and strong institutions

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $4,020