Is It Me, or Is It You? Exploring Contemporary Parental Worries in Norway

Abstract

Moral panics are typically studied retrospectively, often addressing historical concerns rather than contemporary ones. However, we argue, that understanding the types and levels of media-related worry among the public in general, and parents in particular, might aid an understanding of probable topics of future media panics and discourses of anxiety. Consequently, in this study we seek to uncover what parents today worry about a lot, and which factors predict strong media-related worry. Using a representative sample with Norwegian children 9-17 years, and one of their parents, we look at the top worries of parents. Then, we seek to understand the number one media-related worry-“my child using the mobile phone too much”-and if and how such worry is linked to characteristics of the parent or of characteristics of the child. Our findings show that the characteristics and experiences of the child as perceived by the parent, correlate more strongly with parent worries over smartphone use than the adult-related variables do. And, importantly, family atmosphere matters: Children who feel that it is easy to talk with their parents about what they experience online, have parents who feel substantially less worried about mobile phone use.