Look at me, I am here! A Diary Study on Parental Phubbing and Children's Delay of Gratification

The last few years have witnessed a rapid development of new technologies, which has forced the use of new media in every aspect of life. In public places, it is not uncommon to see young people staring at their phone screens. Nor is it uncommon to see young mothers taking care of children and using a cell phone at the same time. Many studies show that being constantly online has negative effects on many spheres of life. The main aim of the diary study was to analyze the impact of mothers' use of smartphones in the presence of children on the children's ability to delay gratification. The sample size was N = 90. The participants were mothers of children aged 1-3 years. They were instructed to answer the questions that would be sent to their mobile phones every day, for 14 consecutive days. We used the Distraction in Social Relations and Use of Parent Technology Scale, the Modified Delayed Gratification Inventory, and the Daily Mood Measure, where mothers rated the items as describing their child and as referring to themselves (self-rating). We found that perceived children's and mother's positive emotions were mediators in the relationship between parental phubbing and children's ability to delay gratification. Parental phubbing was negatively related to mother's happiness, and since mother's happiness was positively correlated with perceived children's happiness, this translated into children's higher delay of gratification. The results may help understand the meaning of parental phubbing in a child's life.