É uma era diferente… é normal

: famílias digitais no pós-pandemia : um estudo qualitativo com famílias e crianças entre os 9 e os 16 anos

Abstract

This dissertation aims to reflect on family mediation regarding the development ofchildren’s digital skills. Three starting questions guided this study: 1) How could the Covid19 pandemic affect the motivations, concerns and mediation of parents/guardians? 2) Andhow did it impact children's digital skills? 3) How does digital mediation inhibit or enablethe development of children's digital skills? To help answer these questions, we chose aqualitative approach with data collection through semi-structured interviews with sixfamilies living in the north of Portugal, with children aged between 9 and 16 years old, andwho addressed relevant aspects related to the family day-to-day life and its digital practices,the repercussions of the Covid-19 pandemic on the online world of families and mediacoverage in the family. Other data collection methods were also used, such as media tours,photographs, drawings made by the families’ children, field notes and participantobservation. To interpret the data, we resorted to the concept of family as a “communicativefiguration” (Hepp & Hasebrink, 2018) – that is, composed by an actors’ constellation, framesof relevance and communicative practices. For data organization and analysis, we combinedthe technique of thematic analysis with that of narrative analysis. The results reflect a strongmediatization (Hepp & Hasebrink, 2018) of homes and suggest that mediation styles directlyinfluence children’s digital skills. Despite the general recognition of the value of these skills,anxiety about the media persists.

Date of Award	11 Jul 2023
Original language	Portuguese
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Teresa Sofia Pereira Dias de Castro (Supervisor)