Mediación parental en el uso de tecnologías móviles en niños y niñas costarricenses: Una aproximación metodológica mixta / Parental mediation in children's use of mobile technology in Costa Rica: A mixed-methods approach

Resumen Las tecnologías digitales móviles son parte de la vida cotidiana de los niños. Sin embargo, poco se conoce sobre su contexto de uso en Latinoamérica. Esta investigación utilizó un diseño mixto para describir las características del uso de teléfonos móviles y tabletas en niños costarricenses entre 1 y 5 años de edad y sus cuidadores. El Estudio 1 analizó las interacciones familiares en áreas de comida de centros comerciales a través de observaciones no participantes. Los resultados indicaron que fueron los cuidadores quienes utilizaron los teléfonos durante la observación, ante lo cual los niños usualmente realizaron actividades que no implicaron interactuar con sus cuidadores. Frente a intentos de los niños por interactuar, los cuidadores raramente respondieron. A través de una metodología de encuesta dirigida a padres, el Estudio 2 exploró el uso de los dispositivos por parte de los niños y sus cuidadores en el hogar. Los resultados indicaron que los niños acceden principalmente a contenidos educativos al usar los dispositivos, y los cuidadores mencionaron usualmente acompañar a los niños durante su uso. También reportaron casi siempre utilizar las estrategias mediadoras de tipo restrictivo y de supervisión, y en menor medida la mediación instructiva y de uso conjunto. Además, los cuidadores consideraron que la actividad física y el sueño son los aspectos más negativamente afectados por el uso infantil de dispositivos, mientras que las habilidades matemáticas y lingüísticas tienden a verse más afectadas positivamente. Estos resultados caracterizan el uso temprano de dispositivos móviles en contextos de cuidado parental en Costa Rica.

Abstract Mobile technologies are part of children's everyday lives. However, little is known about their context of use in Latin America. The goal of this paper is to describe how Costa Rican caregivers and their children between the ages of 1 and 5 years old use smartphones and tablets. A mixed-methods approach was used, including two studies. Study 1 used non-participant observations to analyze family interactions related to smartphone use in food court areas in shopping malls. A total of 22 children were observed while interacting with their caregivers and their use of smartphones was registered (N = 269 events) and classified according to (a) the person who used the smartphone and (b) the actions that took place during its use. Results indicated smartphones were mostly used by caregivers (n = 226, 84.01 %), followed by a co-use to take pictures or make videos (n = 27, 10.03 %). Children's use was infrequent (n = 16, 5.94 %). During caregivers' use, children usually engaged in activities that did not involve their caretaker, such as silently eating, interacting with another adult not using a smartphone at the moment or looking around. When children attempted to interact with their caregivers while they were using their smartphones, caregivers rarely responded. No disruptive behaviors on children were observed after caregivers' lack of response. Using a survey methodology, Study 2 explored children's and caregivers' use of mobile devices at home. A total of 42.9 % of caregivers reported they sometimes facilitate a device to their children to be able to accomplish other domestic and work-related tasks, as well as to satisfy personal needs. Daily duration of caregivers' use of devices was longer on weekdays (M = 207 minutes, SD = 116.02) than weekends (M = 164.25 minutes, SD = 118.54). Caregivers' daily duration of use was related to children's daily duration of use during weekdays (r = .414) and weekends (r = .451), and during caregiving time on weekdays (r = .328) and weekends (r = .541). Using a Likert scale (1 = never, 5 = always), the children's consumed content was explored. Findings indicate that children mostly consumed content from YouTube (M = 3.60, SD = 1.14) and children's educational apps (M = 3.13, SD = 1.5). Use of educational videogames (M = 3.27, SD = 1.34), puzzle-like videogames (M = 2.36, SD = 1.26) and word games (M = 2.23, SD = 1.14) was more frequent than action (M= 1.48, SD = 1.02) and sports videogames (M= 1.55, SD = 0.93). Educational televised programs (M = 3.58, SD = 1.10) and musical cartoons (M = 3.27, SD = 1.11) were frequently consumed by children. A total of 47.2 % of caregivers also indicated that they always accompany their children while they use devices at home. Caregivers reported a higher use of technological restrictive mediation (M = 4.14, SD = 1.14) and supervision (M = 4.1, SD = 1.11), followed by instructive (M = 3.93, SD = 1.19) and co-use mediation (M= 3.62, SD = 1.14). On a scale of 1 (very negative) to 5 (very positive), caregivers indicated that physical activity (M = 1.72, SD = 1.07) and sleep (M = 2.09, SD = .96) were most negatively affected by children's device use, whereas mathematical (M = 3.36, SD = 1.04) and linguistic skills (M = 3.44, SD = 1.13) were the most positively affected. This study's results provide a preliminary understanding of the context of use of mobile technology during caregiving of young children.

Vulnerability of children and adolescents in the use of social networks and parental mediation / Vulnerabilidade das crianças e adolescentes no uso das redes sociais e a mediação parental / Vulnerabilidad de los niños y adolescentes en el uso de las redes sociales y la mediación parental

With the fast dissemination of technologies of information and communication, social networks occupy a fundamental role in the life of young people, changing the means of communication and interaction - being the principal reason of internet access among them. In view of the large number of children and adolescents who have a profile in these networks according to recent research (Cgi.br, 2012, 2013, 2014), one of the problems relates to the difficulty of caregivers to mediate the use of those technologies, with the need to assist their children in the responsible use of these tools and to understand their benefits and risks. Therefore, we analyzed which strategies parents have been using to supervise the use of those tools by their children. Twelve semi-structured interviews were conducted with parents of children and adolescents in the age ranging from nine to seventeen years old, residents of the city of Recife, located in Pernambuco, Brazil. The interviews were analyzed according to the Discursive Social Psychology (Potter, 1996; Potter & Whetherell, 1987). We conclude that, for the participants, social networks are important mechanisms in the processes of social interaction. However, they still report difficulties in what they consider risky or not for their children and mediation strategies occur in different ways and without following a specific orientation.

Com a rápida disseminação das tecnologias da informação e comunicação, as redes sociais ocupam um papel fundamental na vida dos jovens, mudando as formas de comunicação e interação - e este vem sendo o principal motivo de acesso à internet entre eles. Diante do grande número de crianças e adolescentes que possuem perfil nessas redes apresentados por pesquisas recentes (Cgi.br, 2012, 2013, 2014), um dos problemas diz respeito à dificuldade dos cuidadores em mediar o uso dessas tecnologias, havendo a necessidades de apropriação dessas vivências para auxiliarem seus filhos no uso responsável dessas ferramentas e compreender seus benefícios e riscos. Portanto, tivemos por objetivo analisar quais estratégias os pais e mães vêm realizando para a supervisão do uso dessa ferramenta por parte de seus/as filhos/as. Foram realizadas 12 entrevistas semiestruturadas com mães e pais de crianças e adolescentes na faixa etária dos nove aos dezessete anos residentes no Grande Recife. As entrevistas foram analisadas de acordo com o referencial da Psicologia Social Discursiva (Potter, 1996; Potter & Whetherell, 1987). Concluímos que para os participantes as redes sociais são importantes mecanismos nos processos de interação social, porém ainda relatam dificuldades do que elas consideram arriscado ou não para seus/as filhos/as e as estratégias de mediação ocorrem de maneiras diversas e sem seguir uma orientação específica.

Con la rápida difusión de la tecnología de información y comunicación, las redes sociales ocupan un papel fundamental en la vida de los jóvenes, cambiando los medios de comunicación e interacción, siendo la razón principal del acceso a Internet entre ellos. En vista del gran número de niños y adolescentes que tienen un perfil en estas redes introducido por investigación reciente (Cgi.br, 2012, 2013, 2014), uno de los problemas se relaciona con la dificultad de los cuidadores para mediar el uso de esas tecnologias, con la necesidad de ayudar a sus hijos en el uso responsable de estas herramientas y comprender sus beneficios y riesgos. Por lo tanto, analizamos qué estrategias han utilizado los padres y madres para supervisar el uso de esas herramientas por sus hijos. Se realizaron 12 entrevistas semi-estructuradas con padres y madres de niños y adolescentes de edades comprendidas entre nueve y diecisiete años, residentes de la ciudad de Recife, ubicadas en Pernambuco, Brasil. Las entrevistas fueron analizadas de acuerdo con la Psicología Social Discursiva (Potter, 1996; Potter & Whetherell, 1987). Se concluye que, para los participantes, las redes sociales son importantes mecanismos en los procesos de interacción social. Sin embargo, todavía reportan dificultades en lo que consideran arriesgado o no para sus hijos y las estrategias de mediación ocurren de diferentes maneras y sin seguir una orientación específica.

Mediação parental do uso da internet pelas crianças / Parental mediation of internet use by children / Mediación parental del uso de internet por niños

Investigou-se a mediação parental de pais universitários brasileiros (n=50) para guiar o uso da internet pelos filhos de 7 a 12 anos, partindo da hipótese de que as crenças relacionadas a esse uso interferem no tipo de mediação adotada. Um questionário fechado foi aplicado, e os resultados indicam que os respondentes, em média com 28 anos (± 8.58), recorrem a um tipo de mediação mista, caracterizado tanto pela estipulação de regras quanto pela supervisão, conversa e acompanhamento das atividades do filho na internet, embora demonstrem preferência pelo uso da mediação ativa e do uso acompanhado. Verificou-se que pais que mais conversam e orientam também aplicam mais regras para o uso da internet pelos filhos, entretanto as crenças parecem não afetar o tipo de mediação utilizada. Tal resultado precisa ser relativizado, uma vez que se trata de um estudo-piloto, mas aponta para necessidade de mais estudos sobre o tema

We investigated if the main beliefs of parents are related to the type of parental mediation used to guide the use of Internet by children. A questionnaire was applied to 50 parents of both sexes and at least one child aged 7-12 years. The results indicate that respondents, on average 28 years old (± 8.58), resort to a mixed type of mediation, characterized by the stipulation of rules for the children's use and the supervision, discussion and monitoring of activities of the child on the Internet, although they prefer using active mediation and co-using. It was found that beliefs do not seem to affect the type of mediation used. This result needs to be relativized, since the sample size is limited and scales used have not been validated, but points to the need for further studies on the subject

Se investigó la mediación parental de padres universitarios brasileños (n=50) para orientar el uso de internet por los hijos de 7 a 12 años, partiendo de la hipótesis de que las creencias relacionadas con este uso interfieren en el tipo de mediación adoptada. Los resultados indican que los encuestados, en promedio con 28 años (± 8,58), recurren a un tipo de mediación mixta, que se caracteriza tanto por la estipulación de reglas como por la supervisión, diálogo y acompañamiento de las actividades del hijo en internet, aunque prefieren el uso de la mediación activa y el uso acompañado. Se comprobó que los padres que más dialogan, mientras que las creencias no parecen afectar al tipo de mediación utilizada. Este resultado debe ser relativizado, ya que se trata de un estudio piloto, pero señala la necesidad de realizar más estudios sobre el tema