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What Changed During COVID-19? How the COVID-19 Crisis Changed Parental Perceptions and Practices Related to Children's Internet Use in Five European Countries

Sciacca, Beatrice orcid logoORCID: 0000-0003-0678-4902, Trültzsch-Wijnen, Christine W. orcid logoORCID: 0000-0003-1959-2571, Velicu, Anca orcid logoORCID: 0000-0003-1088-6266, Días, Patricia orcid logoORCID: 0000-0001-7948-4439, Milosevic, Tijana orcid logoORCID: 0000-0003-1502-7479 and Staksrud, Elisabeth orcid logoORCID: 0000-0001-9829-4817 (2023) What Changed During COVID-19? How the COVID-19 Crisis Changed Parental Perceptions and Practices Related to Children's Internet Use in Five European Countries. International Journal of Communication, 17 . pp. 6198-6221. ISSN 1932-8036

Abstract
The COVID-19 lockdown saw an increased reliance on digital technology for children, which might have called for changes in parental mediation practices. The present study aimed at analyzing the extent to which such changes took place, their predictors, and their differences across countries. Data were collected from 2,412 parents and 2,412 children in Austria, Ireland, Norway, Portugal, and Romania. Results showed that on average 48.3% of parents used mediation practices with the same frequency as before the lockdown, while 38% applied more mediation. Both active and restrictive mediation were predicted by children’s time online, parents’ worry about risks, parents’ technology fatigue, and parent-child involvement. Furthermore, restrictive mediation was predicted by risks encountered online by children, while active mediation was predicted also by children’s excessive Internet use. Differences in parental mediation changes were observed across countries.
Metadata
Item Type:Article (Published)
Refereed:Yes
Uncontrolled Keywords:Parental mediation, COVID-19, Internet use, adolescence, children, crosscountry
Subjects:Social Sciences > Distance education
Social Sciences > Education
Social Sciences > Social psychology
Social Sciences > Sociology
DCU Faculties and Centres:DCU Faculties and Schools > Institute of Education
Research Institutes and Centres > DCU Anti-Bullying Centre (ABC)
Publisher:University of Southern California/ USC Annenberg Press
Official URL:https://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/view/20542
Copyright Information:Authors
Funders:Joint Research Centre, Austrian Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research, Meta Ireland, UiO:Norden, Horizon 2020, Science FOundation Ireland, European Regional Development Fund
ID Code:31707
Deposited On:22 Oct 2025 13:50 by Beatrice Sciacca . Last Modified 22 Oct 2025 13:50
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