Parent–Child Adaptive Responses for Digital Resilience
This research investigates U.S. parents’ responses to the rapidly changing, novel environment of the internet, applying evolutionary theory and interdisciplinary methodologies. Novel environments pose potential challenges to existing adaptive strategies, so this research investigates important quest...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2025-03-01
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| Series: | Social Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/14/4/197 |
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| author | John P. Ziker Jerry Alan Fails Kendall House Jessi Boyer Michael Wendell Hollie Abele Letizia Maukar Kayla Ramirez |
| author_facet | John P. Ziker Jerry Alan Fails Kendall House Jessi Boyer Michael Wendell Hollie Abele Letizia Maukar Kayla Ramirez |
| author_sort | John P. Ziker |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This research investigates U.S. parents’ responses to the rapidly changing, novel environment of the internet, applying evolutionary theory and interdisciplinary methodologies. Novel environments pose potential challenges to existing adaptive strategies, so this research investigates important questions about how parents and children perceive the risks of children’s entry into the virtual world and how they mitigate potential risks. The research focuses on parents of children in middle childhood (children ages 6–12), a significant period in human life history when children start building relationships outside the family. We utilize in-depth interviews (<i>n</i> = 26), cultural domain analysis (<i>n</i> = 32), surveys (<i>n</i> = 199), and participatory co-design (<i>n</i> = 34) to synergize theoretical concepts in evolutionary anthropology with the applied research focus of human–computer interaction. Cultural domain maps and interview results identify and classify perceptions of costs, benefits, and risks, including intrinsic and extrinsic sources of risk and risk tangibility. Survey results further identify platforms and risks of highest priority and confirm parental interest in new kinds of tools for managing the digital experiences of their children. Life history theory informs our approach to the development of parental control software that favors skill building and encourages parent–child discussions supporting child executive function and resilience to risks. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-1bf57f0bed6a45d1be10925a5f2eca9e |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2076-0760 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Social Sciences |
| spelling | doaj-art-1bf57f0bed6a45d1be10925a5f2eca9e2025-08-20T03:13:49ZengMDPI AGSocial Sciences2076-07602025-03-0114419710.3390/socsci14040197Parent–Child Adaptive Responses for Digital ResilienceJohn P. Ziker0Jerry Alan Fails1Kendall House2Jessi Boyer3Michael Wendell4Hollie Abele5Letizia Maukar6Kayla Ramirez7Department of Anthropology, Boise State University, 1910 University Drive, Boise, ID 83275-1950, USADepartment of Computer Science, Boise State University, 777 W. Main Street, Boise, ID 83702, USADepartment of Anthropology, Boise State University, 1910 University Drive, Boise, ID 83275-1950, USADepartment of Anthropology, Boise State University, 1910 University Drive, Boise, ID 83275-1950, USADepartment of Computer Science, Boise State University, 777 W. Main Street, Boise, ID 83702, USADepartment of Anthropology, Boise State University, 1910 University Drive, Boise, ID 83275-1950, USADepartment of Computer Engineering and Computer Science, California State University Long Beach, 1250 Bellflower Blvd., Long Beach, CA 90840, USADepartment of Computer Science, California State University, East Bay, 25800 Carlos Bee Blvd., Hayward, CA 94542, USAThis research investigates U.S. parents’ responses to the rapidly changing, novel environment of the internet, applying evolutionary theory and interdisciplinary methodologies. Novel environments pose potential challenges to existing adaptive strategies, so this research investigates important questions about how parents and children perceive the risks of children’s entry into the virtual world and how they mitigate potential risks. The research focuses on parents of children in middle childhood (children ages 6–12), a significant period in human life history when children start building relationships outside the family. We utilize in-depth interviews (<i>n</i> = 26), cultural domain analysis (<i>n</i> = 32), surveys (<i>n</i> = 199), and participatory co-design (<i>n</i> = 34) to synergize theoretical concepts in evolutionary anthropology with the applied research focus of human–computer interaction. Cultural domain maps and interview results identify and classify perceptions of costs, benefits, and risks, including intrinsic and extrinsic sources of risk and risk tangibility. Survey results further identify platforms and risks of highest priority and confirm parental interest in new kinds of tools for managing the digital experiences of their children. Life history theory informs our approach to the development of parental control software that favors skill building and encourages parent–child discussions supporting child executive function and resilience to risks.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/14/4/197digital technologylife history theorymiddle childhoodparentsriskresilience |
| spellingShingle | John P. Ziker Jerry Alan Fails Kendall House Jessi Boyer Michael Wendell Hollie Abele Letizia Maukar Kayla Ramirez Parent–Child Adaptive Responses for Digital Resilience Social Sciences digital technology life history theory middle childhood parents risk resilience |
| title | Parent–Child Adaptive Responses for Digital Resilience |
| title_full | Parent–Child Adaptive Responses for Digital Resilience |
| title_fullStr | Parent–Child Adaptive Responses for Digital Resilience |
| title_full_unstemmed | Parent–Child Adaptive Responses for Digital Resilience |
| title_short | Parent–Child Adaptive Responses for Digital Resilience |
| title_sort | parent child adaptive responses for digital resilience |
| topic | digital technology life history theory middle childhood parents risk resilience |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/14/4/197 |
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