Latine Families’ Home Practices Surrounding Mediation and Co-using of Technology.

• In Event: Children’s Media and Technology: What Context and Content Reveal about children’s development and learning.

Abstract

Abstract: Technology such as tablets, computers, and smartphones have become essential to the lives of children and has brought positive opportunities to learn interactively (Geurts et al., 2022). Although, research has examined how caregivers use technology and how they oversee their child's technology use, limited research has studied this topic with children and caregivers from racially minoritized populations (Connell et al., 2015). Research suggests that there may be some mediation and co-use differences between Latine and European-White caregivers. For example, European-White caregivers initiate digital media usage with the child for self-interest, while Latine parents are more likely to co-use tablets with their children in comparison to European-White caregivers (Geurts et al., 2022; Connell et al., 2015). Therefore, it's essential to explore Latine caregivers mediate and co-use technology with their children to understand Latine families' digital practice at home. For this study, we aim to answer the following research questions: (1) What are Latine caregivers' attitudes, beliefs, and experiences with technology? (2) How do Latine caregivers' values influence their use of technology with their children?
Our study took place in Santa Ana, CA, in partnership with Santa Ana Early Learning Initiative (SAELI). SAELI is a community organization that serves families with children between 0 - 9 years of age. We recruited ten Spanish-speaking Latine caregivers, who are originally from Mexico and Guatemala, with children ranging from 1 to 19 years of age. We conducted semi-structured individual interviews focusing on Latine families' learning experiences, home dynamics, and mediation surrounding technology usage. Additionally, we asked questions regarding their insight into integrating technology into their communities. All interviews were conducted in Spanish and recorded through Zoom, totaling approximately six hours of audio. Recordings were then transcribed and proofread by the first author and two additional bilingual researchers. Using a thematic analysis approach, researchers identified multiple patterns surrounding caregivers' self-awareness, mediating their child's technology usage and experiences, and how caregivers co-use technology to learn alongside their child.
Our preliminary findings found Latine caregivers' self-awareness of their relationship and experiences with technology. These findings provide insight into their attitudes towards technology by expressing how they use current skills to assist their children in everyday tasks. Other results expressed that Latine caregivers value teaching their children prioritization through rewarding and withholding technology usage, which then influences the way Latine caregivers mediate their child's technology experience by allowing access to technology but limiting its use. Latine caregivers also express how they learn alongside their child when using technology which is seen as a benefit for both caregiver and child, allowing more opportunities to co-use technology such as a tablet. While these findings are not generalizable, they present findings that may be of interest when considering mediation and co-use in practice and research with Latine caregivers. Such research implicates the need to understand how Latine caregivers' experiences, attitudes, and values surrounding technology can assist researchers and designers in further supporting our Latine population in the digital era.

Authors

• Julie Salazar, University of California - Irvine
  Presenting Author

• June Ahn, University of California Irvine

• Andres Sebastian Bustamante, University of California - Irvine