Rated PG: Parental guidance relinquished to kids regarding digital media

ANN ARBOR?Parents can toss out the owner's manual for that new smartphone or tablet'they can get all the digital assistance they need from their teens. According to a new study, more children are guiding their parents on how to use digital media, especially newer media forms such as smartphones, tablets and apps. But the assistance is not without possible conflict. Many parents may feel a loss in authority in the traditional power structure because their children are the technology experts, said Jan Van den Bulck, professor of communication studies at the University of Michigan. Researchers wanted to document to what extent children are perceived to be active agents in their parents' digital media guidance. The sample included 187 parent-child groups in Belgium, where the adolescents were between 12 and 19 years old, while the parents had an age range between 33 and 57 years old. Both parents and children were asked how often they taught the other about media, technologies and applications, including digital media and internet uses.