The Presence of Smartphones at Dinnertime: A Parental Perspective

Abstract

In this study, the use of smartphones by children during family dinners at home and the e-communication behaviors of children through their smartphones at dinnertime were examined from the perspective of parents. The objectives were to determine children’s use of smartphones and priority they give to their smartphones, to find out the effect of such use and priority on the importance given to family dinners at home, and to examine whether such use and priority make it difficult for the family to come together for dinner. A new scale was developed to determine children’s use of smartphones and their e-communication behaviors through their smartphones during dinnertime. The findings showed that the priority given to smartphones made it challenging for the family to come together for dinner and that the use of smartphones during the meal had a negative effect on the dinner; additionally, the priority given to smartphones affected the dinner not only negatively but also positively. This contradiction was interpreted based on the assumption that the priority given to smartphones by children makes it difficult for the family to gather for dinner. On the other hand, when the children keep their smartphones in a passive position but at a reachable distance, the importance and concentration they give to the meal could increase.