IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/cog/meanco/v8y2020i4p208-217.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

“The Kids Hate It, but We Love It!”: Parents’ Reviews of Circle

Author

Listed:
  • Davide Cino

    (Department of Communication and Performing Arts, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Italy)

  • Giovanna Mascheroni

    (Department of Communication and Performing Arts, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Italy)

  • Ellen Wartella

    (Department of Communication Studies, Northwestern University, USA)

Abstract

The contribution aims to present a critical analysis of Circle—a screen time management and parental control device—through the lens of parental mediation, children’s surveillance, and children’s rights to online participation. Circle promises to sell parents peace of mind by allowing them to monitor their children’s online activities. In order to investigate how parents themselves understand Circle, we conducted a quantitative and qualitative content analysis of a sample of 154 parental reviews about the device on Amazon and Searchman by parents of children from early childhood to adolescence, with respect to perceived advantages and disadvantages of the device, parenting styles, and (the absence of) children’s voice and agency. Results suggest an ambivalent relationship between parents and the device. Most reviews adhere to the dominant discourses on ‘screen time,’ framing children’s ‘intimate surveillance’ as a good parenting practice, and emphasize the need for the ‘responsible parents’ to manage their children’s online experiences with the aid of Circle. Others, in turn, criticize the device for failing to enable fine grained monitoring, while few reported the device could dismiss children’s voice and cause conflicts in the households. Overall, findings suggest that parental control devices may promote restrictive mediation styles hindering children’s voice and their exploratory and participatory agency online.

Suggested Citation

  • Davide Cino & Giovanna Mascheroni & Ellen Wartella, 2020. "“The Kids Hate It, but We Love It!”: Parents’ Reviews of Circle," Media and Communication, Cogitatio Press, vol. 8(4), pages 208-217.
    • Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v8:y:2020:i:4:p:208-217
    DOI: 10.17645/mac.v8i4.3247
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/3247
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.17645/mac.v8i4.3247?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Sonia Livingstone & Ellen Helsper, 2010. "Balancing opportunities and risks in teenagers' use of the internet: the role of online skills and internet self-efficacy," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 35373, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    2. Sonia Livingstone & Kjartan Ólafsson & Ellen J. Helsper & Francisco Lupiáñez-Villanueva & Giuseppe A. Veltri & Frans Folkvord, 2017. "Maximizing opportunities and minimizing risks for children online: the role of digital skills in emerging strategies of parental mediation," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 68612, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Davide Cino & Giovanna Mascheroni & Ellen Wartella, 2020. "“The Kids Hate It, but We Love It!”: Parents’ Reviews of Circle," Media and Communication, Cogitatio Press, vol. 8(4), pages 208-217.
    2. Joyce Vissenberg & Leen d'Haenens, 2020. "Protecting Youths’ Wellbeing Online: Studying the Associations between Opportunities, Risks, and Resilience," Media and Communication, Cogitatio Press, vol. 8(2), pages 175-184.
    3. Joyce Vissenberg & Leen d'Haenens, 2020. "Protecting Youths’ Wellbeing Online: Studying the Associations between Opportunities, Risks, and Resilience," Media and Communication, Cogitatio Press, vol. 8(2), pages 175-184.
    4. Kim, Sunha & Faith, Myles S., 2020. "Cyberbullying and ICT use by immigrant youths: A serial multiple-mediator SEM analysis," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 110(C).
    5. Elisabeth Staksrud & Kjartan Ólafsson & Sonia Livingstone, 2013. "Does the use of social networking sites increase children’s risk of harm?," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 45016, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    6. Park, Sora & Na, Eun-Yeong & Kim, Eun-mee, 2014. "The relationship between online activities, netiquette and cyberbullying," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 74-81.
    7. Beatriz Villarejo-Carballido & Cristina M. Pulido & Lena de Botton & Olga Serradell, 2019. "Dialogic Model of Prevention and Resolution of Conflicts: Evidence of the Success of Cyberbullying Prevention in a Primary School in Catalonia," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(6), pages 1-11, March.
    8. Amanda Third, 2016. "Researching the benefits and opportunities for children online," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 71259, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    9. Sonia Livingstone & Peter K. Smith, 2014. "Annual research review: harms experienced by child users of online and mobile technologies: the nature, prevalence and management of sexual and aggressive risks in the digital age," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 55691, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    10. Trucco, Daniela & Cabello, Patricio & Claro, Magdalena, 2022. "Inequalities and participation in the digital society: online experiences among children and adolescents in Brazil and Chile," Revista CEPAL, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL), August.
    11. Bayraktar, Fatih & Barbovschi, Monica & Kontrikova, Vera, 2016. "Risky sociability and personal agency-offline meetings with online contacts among European children and adolescents," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 78-83.
    12. Baker, Daniel P., 2021. "Growing up gay in a digital world: A double-edged sword for sexual minority young men in England," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 128(C).
    13. Elina Hasanen & Henriikka Koivukoski & Lauri Kortelainen & Hanna Vehmas & Arja Sääkslahti, 2021. "Sociodemographic Correlates of Parental Co-Participation in Digital Media Use and Physical Play of Preschool-Age Children," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(11), pages 1-19, May.
    14. Lopez-Sintas, Jordi & Lamberti, Giuseppe & Sukphan, Jakkapong, 2020. "The social structuring of the digital gap in a developing country. The impact of computer and internet access opportunities on internet use in Thailand," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    15. Hsieh, Yuli Patrick, 2011. "Implications of communication multiplexity for digital inequality: The role of online social networking skills," 8th ITS Asia-Pacific Regional Conference, Taipei 2011: Convergence in the Digital Age 52324, International Telecommunications Society (ITS).
    16. repec:zib:zbjtwe:v:2:y:2024:i:2:p:76-81 is not listed on IDEAS
    17. Toran, Mehmet & Kulaksız, Taibe & Özden, Bülent, 2024. "The parent–child relationship in the digital era: The mediator role of digital parental awareness," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).
    18. Vilmantė Pakalniškienė & Roma Jusienė & Sandra B. Sebre & Jennifer Chun-Li Wu & Ilona Laurinaitytė, 2020. "Children’s Internet Use Profiles in Relation to Behavioral Problems in Lithuania, Latvia, and Taiwan," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(22), pages 1-18, November.
    19. Mihaela Rus & Mariana Floricica Călin & Mihaela Luminița Sandu & Mihai Ștefănoaia & Carmen-Mihaela Baiceanu & Maria Pescaru & Constantina Alina Ilie Miloș & Florin Lobonț & Ramona Băluțescu, 2025. "The Impact of Addictive Behaviors and Online Behaviors on Adolescents’ Conflict Management Ability: A Psychosocial and Legal Perspective," Societies, MDPI, vol. 15(5), pages 1-20, May.
    20. Roser Beneito-Montagut, 2017. "Emotions, Everyday Life, and the Social Web: Age, Gender, and Social Web Engagement Effects on Online Emotional Expression," Sociological Research Online, , vol. 22(4), pages 87-104, December.
    21. Ifeanyi Adigwe, 2024. "Adolescents’ Online Risks and Parental Mediation in Nigerian Families: Gender in Focus," SAGE Open, , vol. 14(3), pages 21582440241, August.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v8:y:2020:i:4:p:208-217. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: António Vieira or IT Department (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.cogitatiopress.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.