Characterizing digital parenting: A dyadic study of generation alpha children in Korea.

Abstract

Despite its growing relevance, digital parenting (DP)-defined broadly as parental perceptions of digital technologies, approaches to mediation, and patterns of parent-child interaction related to children's digital use-and the discrepancies between parent and child perceptions of it remain largely underexplored. This study examined patterns of DP discrepancies between the Generation Alpha children and their mothers and how these different DP discrepancy patterns would be associated with children's problem behaviors. Using data from 362 Korean children (ages 9-10) and their mothers (M = 41.78), results from dyadic latent profile analysis revealed four distinct profiles: two incongruent profiles with significant mother-child discrepancies (child-perceived controlling DP [24.31%] and mother-perceived engaging DP [13.26%]) and two congruent profiles with little mother-child discrepancies (congruently uninvolved DP [31.22%] and congruently inconsistent DP [31.22%]). Children in the congruently inconsistent DP profiles showed elevated attention problems than those in the congruently uninvolved DP profile. In addition, children in the child-perceived controlling DP and congruently uninvolved DP profiles showed increased rule-breaking behaviors. Interestingly, children in the mother-perceived engaging DP profile had the highest digital use but lower problem behaviors, potentially reflecting an adaptive DP approach that balances guidance with independence. Findings highlight the negative effects of perception discrepancies and inconsistent DP while emphasizing the significance of active mother-child digital communication. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).