ABSTRACT
Parenting young children in the digital age provides a number of challenges and opportunities. Introduction to the digital world begins early (Barr and Linebarger, 2017; Barr, Danziger, Hilliard, Andolina, and Ruskis, 2010), and parents must navigate the introduction of media content, and a multitude of devices. They must gauge their children’s cognitive, social, and physical capability to operate, comprehend, and learn from multiple forms of media. They must also adapt to the child’s increasing knowledge and autonomy with media. At the same time, parents are navigating their own rapidly changing digital worlds. Not surprisingly, the consequences of parental media use and involvement are far reaching. At present, however, the long-term effects of early media exposure on social and cognitive development are largely unknown. The present chapter outlines current levels of exposure by both children and their parents, the role that parents play in supporting learning, and media factors that might interfere with the trajectory of typical development. Although most research has been conducted with television, the extant literature from newer media is also reviewed. The chapter highlights the convergence and divergence of effects between different media types. Finally, the opportunity for the development of effective parenting interventions capitalizing on technology is discussed. The chapter ends with a section on future directions.
