The Influence of Technology Use on Parent and Child Interaction

This thesis investigated the impact of parental mobile device use and co-use on parent-child interactions. Parents were found to become distracted by devices with consequences for children’s safety, emotions and language. Many parents supported children during co-use but the impact of co-use on parent-child interactions was mixed. Parents struggled to create enjoyable co-use experiences for themselves and their children. Several barriers to co-use were identified including children’s absorption with apps, the lack of a ‘role’ for parents to fill and parents’ boredom. Recommendations to improve parent-child interaction during parental device use and co-use were made.