“I had to watch the commercial. That was annoying!” Audio-observing active parental mediation of advertising

Bibliographic Data

ID21642007
AuthorsNils S Borchers (0000-0001-9600-066X, University of Tübingen, corresponding author), Mandy Badermann (0000-0002-4324-0982, University of Tübingen), Chengyuan Shao (0000-0003-2487-1380, Communication University of Zhejiang), Guido Zurstiege (0000-0001-7068-3861, University of Tübingen)
Year2025
Volume28
Issue1
Pages48-81
Publication date2025-01-02
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueThe Communication Review (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1071-4421 • E-ISSN: 1547-7487
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/10714421.2024.2377454
OpenAlexW4400582784
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited72

Active mediation is considered the gold standard mediation style for parents seeking to help their children cope with potentially harmful media content. However, little is known about what actually happens during active mediation episodes. In this study, we employ an interactive task on advertising formats to audio-observe parent – child interactions during active mediation episodes (n = 23 dyads). The study contributes to the body of knowledge by exploring the communicative repertoires that parents and children draw on during active mediation episodes. We show how parents and children, in exercising their agency, respond to one another by adopting the parent positions of educator, role model, investigator, and bridge builder, and the child positions of novice, informant, and cognoscente. Most of the time, the episodes follow a clear pattern according to which parents are in control of the mediation episode and children mainly react to their parents’ initiatives. However, in instances of reverse mediation, this default hierarchy is turned upside down. Here, children explain media logics and educate their parents about advertising. The structure of active mediation episodes mapped in this study will allow researchers to develop a deeper understanding of active mediation as a complex and heterogenous phenomenon

Developmental psychology · Hierarchy · Mediation · Political science · Sociology · Child Development and Digital Technology · Impact of Technology on Adolescents · Psychology · Social Media and Politics · Social Psychology

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