Media Multitasking: Are Adolescents’ Attitudes and Behaviors Influenced by Their Parents?

• In Event: Roundtable Session 41
  In Roundtable Session: Influences in Using Digital Media: Narratives, Attitudes, and Educational Apps

Abstract

This study was to investigate parents’ influence on their adolescent children (10-14 years old)’s media multitasking attitudes and behaviors. Quantitative survey method was used, and data analysis was based on 109 mother-adolescent pairs. Results showed that the adolescents had more favorable media-multitasking attitudes and active behaviors than their mothers. The attitude difference was statistically significant. Additionally, there was a positive relationship in attitudes between the adolescents and their mothers. However, there were no relationships in media-multitasking self-efficacy or activities between the adolescents and their mothers. The adolescent girls had more favorable attitudes and active behaviors than the boys, but the boys had better self efficacy than the girls towards media multitasking. Implications and significance are discussed in the paper.

Authors

• Lin Lin, University of North Texas

• Kim Nimon, University of North Texas

• David Bonner, University of Mary Hardin-Baylor