Parental technoference and the impact on familial relationships

Mobile technologies can become sources of interference that interrupt everyday family life. This concept, dubbed technoference, underlies the current study on how technological intrusions influence the parent–child relationship. This study of U.S. co-parents in families of preschool- and kindergarten-aged children examines the extent to which such interruptions are perceived to have negative consequences on the relationships that co-parents have with their children. The study found that the more the participant perceived the other co-parent as allowing technology to interfere during parent–child time together, the more likely the participant was to rate their co-parent's parent–child relationship quality negatively. Additional studies are needed to understand the young child's view of their parents' media use and how it impacts on their relationships.