Parental digital mediation: Restriction and enablement during the COVID-19 lockdown among low SES parents in Lima, Peru

Abstract

Physical distancing and lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic had a substantial impact on families’ lives, especially those from socioeconomically vulnerable backgrounds. In this context, fast-paced digitalization occurred in significant areas of everyday life, including school education, entertainment, socialization, and work. The literature reports on binary typology of parental mediation: restrictive and enabling; few studies shed light on the joint application of these strategies. This article focuses on how these two strategies are used together within the context of the pandemic among low socioeconomic status (SES) parents of Lima. Thirty parents (29 mothers and 1 father) with children between the ages of 6–11 participated in a 5-day digital mediation report preceded and followed by two semi-structured interviews. The study approaches parental mediation from a contextualized perspective wherein mediation strategies are dynamic, and restrictive and enabling strategies can coexist. © 2024 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.