“Media Time = Family Time” Positive Media Use in Families With Adolescents

Keywords

media, adolescence, family, positive, qualitative, parenting

Abstract

Media use in families has generally been examined from a narrow viewpoint, focusing on monitoring or co-viewing. The current research provides an expanded view of positive media use in families with adolescents by examining associations between diverse positive media use and family and adolescents outcomes. In addition, we used qualitative methods to provide a more comprehensive view of how families use media in positive ways, specifically drawing distinctions between traditional entertainment media and social media. Participants included 633 adolescents and their parents who completed a range of quantitative and qualitative measures on media use and adolescent and family outcomes. Results revealed that positive media use was positively associated with general family functioning (for girls), parental involvement (for both boys and girls), and adolescent disclosure to parents (for boys). Qualitative results revealed that families use media in diverse ways including for entertainment, emotional connection, discussion, information, and documentation. Results are discussed within the broad framework of family systems theory.

Original Publication Citation

Coyne, S. M., Padilla-Walker, L. M., *Fraser, A. M., *Fellows, K., & Day, R. D. (2014). “Media time = family time”: Positive media use in families with adolescents. Journal of Adolescent Research, 29, 663-688.

Document Type

Peer-Reviewed Article

Publication Date

2014-06-17

Permanent URL

http://hdl.lib.byu.edu/1877/5163

Publisher

Journal of Adolescent Research

Language

English

College

Family, Home, and Social Sciences

Department

Family Life

University Standing at Time of Publication

Full Professor

Link to Full Text

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