Deepali Nongmaithem and Asem Babina Devi
Manipur University, Canchipur, Imphal, Manipur
Pages:352-359
To examine how digital technology and internet use influence parent-child relationships.
The rapid changes in human lives due to the easy accessibility, adoption of the internet,
and technology have shaped the human-to-human relationship. With technology being
the dominant part of everyday life, it raises concerns about the potential disruption in
family relationships, especially between parents and their children. Studies across
different ages and cultures are collected using databases like Google Scholar, PubMed,
and PsycINFO. The studies and their findings are organised thematically, focusing on
attachment, technoference, interaction quality, etc. A good parent-child relationship or
having secure attachment acts as a buffer towards overuse of digital technology and
problematic internet use. However, insecure attachment and a lack of communication
between parent and child lead to negative emotional and behavioural outcomes, while
a few studies show that shared media use and parents using technology can release
stress and improve parent-child bonding. Parental involvement in children’s media use,
sharing children’s activities, and balancing internet or digital technology use are the
keys to maintaining a good parent-child relationship and regulating emotions. Proper
attention towards their children’s emotional needs, engaging more in traditional activities,
improves parent-child bonding.