How can parents fight smartphone overuse? New research provides key insights

New research published in the journal Addictive Behaviors sheds light on effective parental strategies to combat problematic smartphone use among adolescents. The study emphasizes the importance of a balanced approach, advocating for parental participation in the digital lives of their children, rather than mere supervision.

Understanding Problematic Smartphone Use

Problematic smartphone use refers to a behavioral pattern where an individual excessively uses their smartphone in a way that significantly interferes with daily life, such as personal health, work, and social interactions. It is characterized by an intense urge to use the smartphone, prolonged use that goes beyond intended periods, and distress or irritation when unable to use it.

The impacts of problematic smartphone use are wide-ranging, including disrupted sleep patterns, decreased productivity, and strained personal relationships. For adolescents, who are still developing social and emotional skills, problematic smartphone use can be particularly detrimental, possibly leading to reduced academic performance and poor social interactions.

“As a parent, the impact of smartphones on adolescents has always hit close to home,” said study author Yaniv Efrati, the head of the Addiction Behaviors Lab at Bar-Ilan University’s Faculty of Education. “Together with my close friends and colleagues, Hananel Rosenberg and Yaakov Ophir, we often discuss our shared concerns about our children’s smartphone use (as well as about the exaggerated warnings that screen use is completely destructive and the endless guilt parents experience today).”

Study Aims and Methodology

In the new study, the researchers sought to better understand the influence of family dynamics and parental involvement on problematic smartphone use among adolescents. By examining how different parental strategies affect adolescents’ smartphone behaviors, the study sought to identify more effective methods for parents to mitigate these issues.

The study included 1,187 family triads from Israel, each including a mother, a father, and an adolescent. The age of the adolescents ranged from 14 to 18 years, capturing a critical developmental stage. The research employed a longitudinal design, with data collected at two points in time — baseline and a six-month follow-up. This approach allowed the researchers to observe changes and developments over time.

Improving Communication: A Path to Reducing Smartphone Overuse

The researchers assessed various aspects of parent-adolescent interactions: how parents and children discuss smartphone usage, general communication quality, and the level of parental support provided to the adolescents.

Efrati and his colleagues found that improvements in how parents — both mothers and fathers — communicate with their children about smartphone use were linked to significant reductions in problematic smartphone use, social pressures related to smartphone use, and emotional reliance on smartphones over time.

Furthermore, they found that better general communication with fathers (but not mothers) was also associated with similar reductions in problematic smartphone use and its related pressures and emotional impacts. On the other hand, increased emotional support from mothers (but not fathers) specifically led to a reduction in the emotional gains children derive from smartphone use.

Four Different Parental Mediation Strategies

The researchers also examined various parental mediation strategies to understand how these approaches influenced problematic smartphone use. These strategies were categorized into four main types: restrictive, negative active, positive active, and co-use mediation.

Restrictive mediation involves setting clear rules and boundaries regarding smartphone use. Parents who adopt restrictive mediation may impose limits on the amount of time their children can spend on their phones, restrict access to certain apps, or establish specific times when smartphone use is permitted. The key characteristic of restrictive mediation is the emphasis on control and regulation to prevent excessive or inappropriate use without necessarily engaging in discussion about the reasons behind these rules.

Negative active mediation focuses on the parents’ active disapproval of certain types of smartphone use. Parents using this approach often criticize the negative aspects of extensive smartphone use, such as potential risks to mental health, distraction from academic responsibilities, or exposure to inappropriate content. They might frequently discuss the dangers and downsides of smartphones, aiming to discourage certain behaviors through warnings and admonishments.

In contrast to negative active mediation, the positive active strategy emphasizes the constructive use of smartphones. Parents who engage in positive active mediation encourage their children to use their smartphones in beneficial ways. This might involve guiding them towards educational apps, discussing content critically, and encouraging balanced use that enhances learning and development. Here, the focus is on fostering a healthy relationship with digital devices through positive reinforcement and supportive engagement.

Co-use mediation involves parents participating in smartphone use with their children. This strategy is about shared experiences, where parents and adolescents might use apps together, play games, or explore the internet collectively. The intention is to make smartphone use a joint activity, which allows parents to directly supervise and interact with their children in the digital space. This approach can help parents understand the allure of certain applications and games, providing a basis for more informed discussions about digital habits.

Mediation Strategy Outcomes

The researchers found that increased use of restrictive mediation, whether by mothers or fathers, was associated with a significant decrease in PSU and reduced social pressure to use smartphones. More stringent rules set by fathers also led to a decrease in the emotional gains children obtained from smartphones.

But increased use of negative active mediation had unintended negative effects. This approach resulted in increased PSU when used by mothers and heightened social pressure when employed by fathers.

In contrast, an increase in positive active mediation by mothers (encouraging beneficial smartphone use) led to a decrease in emotional gain from smartphones, indicating that positive reinforcement in discussions about smartphone use can effectively reduce reliance on digital devices for emotional satisfaction.

In addition, an increase in co-use of smartphones, where fathers and their children used devices together, led to a decrease in social pressures associated with smartphone use over time, contrary to initial predictions. This suggests that shared use can mitigate some of the social incentives for excessive smartphone use.

“I was surprised by the range of strategies that emerged in the study,” Efrati told PsyPost. “Typically, studies point to one or two strategies, arguing that these specific strategies are the ultimate solutions to this problematic smartphone use. In this study, we discovered that the world, as always, is more complicated than what we thought.”

The Key Takeaway: A Balance Approach

Together, the findings suggest that a nuanced approach, which combines open communication, supportive parenting, and careful mediation, is essential in helping adolescents navigate their digital environments healthily.

“Parents should not be discouraged as their (simple) actions, presence, and involvement can protect their children from problematic screen use,” Efrati explained. “Our findings advocate for a balance between guidance and shared use — essentially, being part of the digital experience rather than just supervisors from afar.”

“The understanding that the parents have the power to help mediate their children is of course encouraging but requires the parents to invest effort and resources for this. So, this is encouraging news but also demanding at the same time.”

Limitations and Future Directions

But the study, like all research, includes some caveats.

“It’s important to note that our study is based on a specific demographic in Israel, so while the insights are valuable, they might manifest differently in other cultural settings,” Efrati noted. “Expanding this research globally could help us understand broader applications. Another important caveat of our study is that it does not establish the causal mechanisms of the parental strategies we identified.”

“Indeed, the longitudinal nature of our study (a rare commodity in the literature on this topic) can help us define the direction of the relationships between the parental strategies and the outcome of problematic smartphone use, but it cannot substitute for a randomized controlled trial (RCT). Further research is needed if we wish to scrutinize the exact mechanism that underlies these strategies.”

Regarding the long-term goals for this line of research, Efrati explained that he and his colleagues “are deeply committed to this journey. We envision creating comprehensive, practical tools that parents worldwide can use to help their children navigate the digital world more healthily. We’re particularly excited to see how these strategies could be adapted across different cultures.”

“Something that we did not investigate in this study, but we still believe is important is the power of community and educational systems,” Efrati said. “These are, in our view, quite important components in the support families need within this endless struggle. This isn’t just a parental issue; it’s a societal one that requires collective action and awareness. For example, parents of elementary school students may join together to sign a community contract in which they all agree to postpone the purchasing of the first smartphone to their children (so they will only receive them during 5th or 6th grade).”

“This work is a genuine team effort,” Efrati added. “I know it sounds like a cliche, but we truly complement each other. Dr. Hananel Rosenberg has much experience in communication research and Dr. Yaakov Ophir has a lot of experience in clinical psychological science (they are both from Ariel University) so together we manage to conduct highly creative interdisciplinary work (and have fun along the way ).”