Analyzing the Nature of Interaction of 9 - 11 Years Old Children with Smartphones: A Qualitative Study

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

1 Assistant Professor, Department of Communication of Science and Technology, Faculty of Cultural Studies and Communication, Institute for Humanities and Cultural Studies

2 MA Student, Faculty of Cultural Studies and Communication, Institute for Humanities and Cultural Studies

Abstract

Introduction: This study is about the conflict between children's interests or needs in using smartphones and parents' concerns in this regard. The reason for parents' concerns is the insufficient knowledge about the relationship between children and media and parents' confusion about their role in shaping this relationship due to the lack or absence of relevant scientific studies and the emphasis on the lack of benefits of the media-child relationship in the research literature. The purpose of this study is to determine the nature of 9- to 11-year-old children's interaction with smartphones during this period as mediated by their parents' parenting style.
Method: This study uses a qualitative inquiry with a phenomenological approach. Children's perceptions are obtained through semi-structured interviews. Samples are selected through the "snowball" method. Participants will be divided into two groups of 24: (a) children aged 9, 10, and 11, including 2 girls aged 9 and two boys of the same age, two 10-year-old girls and two 10-year-old boys, and the other four are two girls and two boys aged 11. (b) Parents who are the children's own parents so that the parent-child relationship can be closely examined. Due to the limitations of the pandemic, the interview will be conducted online. The theory-based approach of content analysis according to Brown and Clark's method is used to analyze the data.
Findings: Based on Bruno Latour's actor-network theory, anything that has the power to change something is an actor, and there is no difference between humans, other living beings, and objects in the world. Actors interact with each other by connecting and negotiating, and this changes actors (Latour, 1996). Since the nature of these actors emerges from the relationship between them, our results in the children's smartphone network are: 1. Children's smartphone interaction activities are divided into five thematic categories: (a) education, (b) games and entertainment, (c) culture, (d) social media interaction (e) autonomous interactions. 2. Parenting style is divided into four thematic categories: (a) guidance and support, (b) monitoring the child's actions, (c) strengthening the child's active independence, (d) limiting the child's active behavior. 3. Smartphone actions are divided into five thematic categories: (a) changing the nature of education, (b) changing the essence of the child-parent relationship, (c) changing the essence of entertainment, (d) interacting with the child, (e) changing the essence of the child's activity.
Conclusion: The results show that in the interaction between childand smartphone, it is neither the child nor the media, but the network that is crucial. A strict parenting style is not effective and the child needs a flexible parenting style. The variable nature of the sequential connections of the components in the network gives the child variable identities. Children's interaction with the smartphone is unpredictable due to the fluid nature of the smartphone, and in this instability, children need the opportunity to act autonomously in this interaction.

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References

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Quarterly of Social Studies and Research in Iran
Volume 11, Issue 3 - Serial Number 43
October 2022
Pages 833-861

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