Dispositivos digitais como novos babysitters

: mediação parental e práticas digitais de famílias com crianças dos 3 aos 6 anos INM

Abstract

To grow up in a digital society is to grow surrounded by stimuli that shape the individual’s day to day and the way they relate with each other. The family life was impacted by the digital structure and the digital media draw today their routines. In this reality, children are exposed to digital media since early age, and these are used as their babysitters. For its current characteristic and complexity this is a relevant theme to be explored. This investigation looks to understand how the parental mediation processes occur in the families interviewed, what’s behind those processes, as well as the motivations to make
the digital media available to children. Furthermore, this investigation intends to
understand how the babysitting expresses itself through digital media. The methodology consists in a thematic analysis of 10 semi-structured interviews with families, parents and children, who use digital media. It was possible to answer to the question elaborated. In light of the results, it’s possible to understand that de parental mediation expresses itself through the way the parents make the digital media available to them, through the rules applied to the digital uses, through the parents’ perspective about the digital media that impacts their action with it, and also the co participation of parents and kids in the use of digital media. It’s possible to understand that the digital media act, or used to act, as babysitters in the families, even those that don’t recognize it. Babysitting expresses itself through the way parents make the digital media available in order to make them entertained, and here the digital media act as a temporary substitute for the parental role.

Date of Award	18 Jan 2024
Original language	Portuguese
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Patrícia Dias (Supervisor)