International Journal of Sub-Saharan African Research (IJSSAR)

Background: There is growing concern among stakeholders about the use and misuse of digital media by young people, particularly secondary school students. Media literacy scholars recommend parental mediation as an effective strategy for mitigating the potential risks associated with digital media use among young people. Although previous studies have examined parental mediation strategies as mechanisms through which parents regulate their children's digital media use, few have investigated parents' perceptions of, and preferences for, specific parental mediation strategies and the implications of these preferences for young people's social media use.
Objective: This study investigated parental mediation strategies for managing secondary school students' social media use. Specifically, it examined the active, restrictive, and technical mediation strategies adopted by parents and assessed the influence of parents' background characteristics on the adoption of these mediation strategies.
Method: The study adopted a cross-sectional descriptive survey design. Using a combination of stratified and simple random sampling techniques, a sample of 384 parents was selected from chosen local government areas of Lagos State, Nigeria. Data were analysed using SPSS version 25. Descriptive statistics (frequencies, percentages, and tables) were employed alongside correlation and regression analyses. Results: The findings revealed that parents adopted all three parental mediation strategies—active, restrictive, and technical—to regulate their children's digital media use. However, further analysis established a clear hierarchy of strategy preference, with restrictive and technical mediation serving as the primary approaches, while active mediation, particularly its discursive component, was adopted less consistently.
Conclusion: The study concludes that digital parenting is largely driven by parents' fear of the potential misuse of digital media, resulting in a preference for restrictive mediation strategies. This finding suggests that many parents have yet to embrace media literacy-oriented approaches that foster their children's critical thinking, digital competence, and resilience when engaging with digital media.
Unique Contribution: This study enriches the literature on parental mediation by providing context-specific evidence from Nigeria. It contributes to the growing body of research advocating the development of parental mediation models that reflect the realities of the contemporary digital media environment. By examining parental mediation strategies within the context of social media use, the study addresses an important theoretical and practical gap with implications for policymakers, educators, and media practitioners.
Key Recommendation: The study recommends a reassessment of current parental mediation practices by investigating the long-term effects of predominantly control-oriented approaches on children's digital resilience, self-regulation, and media literacy. Policymakers and educators should move beyond promoting technological control tools and encourage parents to adopt mediation strategies that strengthen children's media literacy competencies. Intervention programmes should particularly promote the integration of discursive active mediation with restrictive and technical mediation to achieve a more balanced and effective digital parenting approach.