Feind oder Freund in meiner Hosentasche? – Zur Rolle von Individuum, Peergroup und Eltern für die (dys)funktionale Handynutzung

Summary

Friend or Foe in the Pocket? – The Role of the Individual, Peergroup and Parents for (dys)functional Mobile Phone Use

In order to provide consultative support to parents as well as to children and young people, background knowledge regarding the motives of mobile phone use, functions of usage, comprehension of the attraction of this all-round medium also as knowledge about potential hazards are essential. This study offers empirical results about potentials and risks. The peergroup plays an important role for riskful and problematic mobile phone involvement. Parents function as a role model and the explicit parental mediation practices and their impact on the child are in focus. Data was acquired from a quota-sample survey with 500 children between the age of 8 and 14 years and one of their parents, qualitative interviews (20 children and their parents) and eight peergroup-discussions (52 participants). The present paper illuminates the above mentioned aspects and derives implications for guidance practice.