[Paper Review] What Determines Parenting in the Digital Age?

Research finding: the problem lies not in "media itself" but in "parents'' level of understanding." Parents'' media literacy level directly and significantly influences young children''s social competence. Current early childhood media environment: first smartphone use age dropped to around 1 year; 3-4 year-olds average 4+ hours daily use (far exceeding WHO''s recommended maximum 1 hour). Research method: survey of 309 parents in Seoul/Gyeonggi regions; correlation analysis, multiple regression analysis, and PROCESS macro-based 3-step mediation analysis. Research model: parental media literacy → children''s self-regulation → social competence. Key findings: (1) Parental media literacy significantly positively affects children''s social competence (β = .479, p < .001) — parents who better understand media have children who more smoothly form peer relationships, cooperate, and communicate; contradicting "media use undermines social development"; (2) Self-regulation as crucial mediator — parental media literacy strongly influences children''s self-regulation (β = .505, p < .001); self-regulation strongly influences social competence (β = .670, p < .001); the mechanism: parents'' media understanding shapes children''s behavioral control ability, which then enables social competence; (3) Parental media literacy also directly influences social competence (β = .479, p < .001) — both through the mediated path (via self-regulation) and directly. Policy implication: media education for parents may be more effective for improving children''s social competence than restricting children''s media access. The "parental media literacy" concept covers not just knowing how to use devices but understanding media''s emotional and social effects, modeling healthy media habits, and creating media use frameworks with children rather than simply prohibiting or permitting use.