“Listen to me!” The role of family supervision and parental phubbing in youth cyberbullying

 “Listen to me!” The role of family supervision and parental phubbing in youth cyberbullying

Hi everyone!

I will begin by defining the term “phubbing," as it may be unfamiliar to some of you (as it initially was to me).

Phubbing means the act of ignoring the people you're with to focus on your phone or another, or as Roberts and David (2026) defines it, “the interruption of a conversation or social activity to answer or check a mobile phone”. 

Children’s digital development is mostly influenced by their families, particularly through parenting styles and guidance. Excessive control or excessive laxity do not reinforce children’s positive activities on the Internet. Therefore, a supportive parenting style, offering instruction, setting appropriate rules, and engaging in shared use of technology provides healthier Internet habits in children. 

Research highlights the benefits of instructive mediation (e.g., explaining online content and the proper way to use a device) and shared use (e.g., exploring websites or playing games together). However, negative parental behaviours, such as parental phubbing, can harm children’s digital practice and development.

Parental phubbing harms the parent-child bonds and can negatively affect children's psychological and emotional development. It weakens attachment, communication, and emotional expression, and is connected to behavioural problems and increased internalization of problems. 

Research shows that phubbing leads to feelings of rejection and low self-esteem, and may foster mobile phone addiction, social withdrawal, and aggression in children. Children may mimic this behaviour, normalizing poor digital habits and even contributing to cyberbullying (Liu et al., 2019). In support of this idea, a study by X. Wang et al. (2021) found that parental phubbing was positively related to children’s social withdrawal and aggression. However, positive parenting behaviour, which includes emotional support and guidance in digital use, can protect children from becoming involved in risky behaviour on the Internet. 

While I have focused primarily on the concept of phubbing, those interested in exploring the topic further may find this article particularly interesting. It presents a study examining the association between parental phubbing and family supervision of Internet and social media use in relation to cyberbullying victimization and aggression, which offers valuable perspectives for deeper understanding.

References

Elboj-Saso, C., Íñiguez-Berrozpe, T., Cebollero Salinas, A., & Bautista Alcaine, P. (2024). “Listen to me!” The role of family supervision and parental phubbing in youth cyberbullying. Family Relations, 73(3), 1568–1587. https://doi.org/10. 1111/fare.12968

Liu, R. D., Wang, J., Gu, D., Ding, Y., Oei, T. P., Hong, W., Zhen, R., & Li, Y. M. (2019). The effect of parental phubbing on teenager’s mobile phone dependency behaviors: The mediation role of subjective norm and dependency intention. Psychology Research and Behavior Management, 12, 1059–1069. https://doi.org/10.2147/PRBM. S224133

Roberts, J. A., & David, M. E. (2016). My life has become a major distraction from my cell phone: Partner phubbing and relationship satisfaction among romantic partners. Computers in human behavior, 54, 134–141. https://doi.org/ 10.1016/j.chb.2015.07.058 

Wang, X., Qiao, Y., Li, W., & Lei, L. (2021). Parental phubbing and children’s social withdrawal and aggression: A moderated mediation model of parenting behaviors and parents’ gender. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 37 (21– 22), NP19395–NP19419. https://doi.org/10.1177/08862605211042807