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As the world undergoes its fourth industrial revolution, digital media are becoming more prevalent in both rural and urban communities. This shift has had a profound impact on our daily lives, transforming the way we live, work, and communicate. Although technology now plays a crucial role in our daily routine, it can lead to interference in human relationships, a phenomenon referred to as technoference. This interference has significant consequences, particularly in parent-child relationships, as it can adversely affect children's emotional and behavioral development and the mental health and overall functioning of parents. Thus, for children to grow up healthy and for families to be harmoniously balanced, all the family subsystems need to be aligned in a healthy manner. This study conceptualizes how family health is affected when technological devices are brought as a subsystem into a family system. The researchers developed a conceptual multidimensional framework based on several interrelated theoretical concepts, and this framework is presented in three sequential frames for better comprehension, to identify how the interference, in particular, impacts the various dimensions of a healthy family system and contributes to dysfunctional family functioning and mental health issues in both parents and children.

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Purpose: With the increasing ubiquity of smartphones in our daily lives, technoference has emerged as a novel threat to family relationships and child development. This study explored the impact of parent-child technoference on child problematic smartphone use and its underlying mechanism and potential gender difference among children. Participants and Methods: The participants were 3032 fourth-grade students (42.6% female; 80.6% one-child families; 32.9% lower income level families, 33.3% middle income level families; Mage = 10.59 years, SD=0.32) from 535 primary schools. Students in the target classes were invited to participate anonymously in the questionnaire survey in classrooms. Then, SPSS, AMOS and other software were used to analyze the data. Results: 1) Parent-child technoference, negative parenting styles and child problematic smartphone use were positively correlated with each other, while they were negatively correlated with parent-child relationship; 2) Parent-child technoference can not only directly and positively predict child problematic smartphone use, but also indirectly and positively predict child problematic smartphone use through parent-child relationship and negative parenting styles respectively; 3) Parent-child relationship and negative parenting styles play a chain mediating role between parent-child technoference and child problematic smartphone use; 4) There are significant gender differences in the chain mediation model. Conclusion: The results showed that parent-child technoference significantly affected child problematic smartphone use through a chain mediation of parent-child relationship and negative parenting styles. Gender differences were observed, with girls experiencing a more pronounced disruption in the parent-child relationship, while boys were more likely to develop problematic smartphone use. In cases of strained parent-child relationships due to technoference, girls also tended to perceive more negative parenting styles. These findings promote parents' understanding of the influencing factors and mechanisms of child problematic smartphone use, especially helpful for follow-up measures to prevent and intervene child problematic smartphone use from the perspective of families and parents.

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Background: Digital stress refers to the stress resulting from persistent use of digital media. Given its major implications for well-being, it is crucial to explore how the use of digital media would contribute to the stress. Drawing on the frameworks of DSMT (i.e., using a digital device during social interactions) and perceived peer norms, we explored whether and how perceived peer norms of DSMT and adolescents' own DSMT were associated with digital stress. Method: Adolescents between the ages of 12 and 18 were recruited through the Qualtrics survey panels. A total of 2105 adolescents completed a one-time online survey (Mage = 15.39, S.D. = 1.82). Results: Path analysis revealed that all three self-DSMT variables (level, positive self-perception, negative self-perception) were associated with higher digital stress, with level and negative self-perception having stronger associations than did positive self-perception. Furthermore, peer DSMT level was related to higher digital stress both directly and indirectly through all three self-DSMT variables. Positive peer perception of DSMT was indirectly related to higher digital stress through higher self-DSMT level and more positive self-perception of DSMT, but was related to lower digital stress through reduced negative self-perception of DSMT. Negative peer perception of DSMT contributed to higher digital stress both directly and indirectly by intensifying teens' own negative perception of DSMT. Judging from the total-paths coefficients, all three peer norm variables were related to higher digital stress, with level having the largest coefficient, followed by negative peer perception and finally positive peer perception of DSMT. Discussion and conclusion: All three perceived peer norms of DSMT (level, positive perception, negative perception) had the potential to increase digital stress directly and/or via impacting teens' own engagement in and perceptions of DSMT, with perceived peer engagement and negative peer perception being the greater risk factors. At the individual level, a similar pattern emerged-self-DSMT level and negative self-perception had noticeably stronger associations with digital stress than did positive self-perception.

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Contradictory results in the extant literature suggests that additional risk factors should be considered when exploring the impacts of maternal smartphone use on mother-infant relationships. This study used cluster analysis to explore whether certain risk factors were implicated in mother-infant dyads with high smartphone use and low mother-infant responsiveness. A cross-sectional survey of 450 participants in the UK measured infant social-emotional development, maternal depressive, anxiety and stress symptoms, wellbeing, social support, smartphone use, and mother-infant responsiveness. Participants were predominantly White (95.3%) and living with a partner (95.2%), with infants who were born full-term (88.9%). Cluster analysis identified three clusters characterized as; cluster (1) "infant at risk" showing high infant development concerns, high maternal smartphone use, and low mother-infant responsiveness; cluster (2) "mother at risk" showing high maternal depressive, anxiety, and stress scores, low social support, high maternal smartphone use, and low mother-infant responsiveness, and cluster (3) "low risk" showing low maternal smartphone use and high mother-infant responsiveness. Significant differences were found between all risk factors, except for maternal smartphone use and mother-infant responsiveness between clusters 1 and 2 suggesting that both clusters require early intervention, although interventions should be tailored towards the different risk factors they are presenting with.

Resultados contradictorios en la literatura existente sugieren que se deben considerar factores de riesgo adicionales cuando se explora el impacto del uso que la madre hace del teléfono inteligente en las relaciones madre­infante. Este estudio usó un análisis de grupo para explorar si ciertos factores de riesgo estaban implicados en las díadas madre­infante con uso elevado del teléfono inteligente y la baja sensibilidad madre­infante. Una encuesta transversal de 450 participantes en el Reino Unido midió el desarrollo socioemocional del infante, los síntomas maternos depresivos, de ansiedad y estrés, el bienestar, el apoyo social, el uso del teléfono inteligente, así como la sensibilidad madre­infante. Las participantes eran predominantemente blancas (95.3%) y convivían con una pareja (95.2%), con infantes nacidos en un período de gestación completo (88.9%). Los análisis de grupo identificaron tres grupos caracterizados como: grupo 1) "infante bajo riesgo," mostrando altas preocupaciones sobre el desarrollo del infante, uso elevado del teléfono inteligente por parte de la madre, así como baja sensibilidad madre­infante; grupo 2) "madre bajo riesgo," mostrando altos puntajes de depresión, ansiedad y estrés maternos, bajo apoyo social, uso elevado del teléfono inteligente por parte de la madre, así como baja sensibilidad madre­infante; y grupo 3) "bajo riesgo," mostrando bajo uso del teléfono inteligente por parte de la madre, y alta sensibilidad madre­infante. Se encontraron diferencias significativas en todos los factores de riesgo, excepto en el caso del uso del teléfono inteligente por parte de la madre y la sensibilidad madre­infante entre los grupos 1 y 2, lo cual indica que ambos grupos requieren de una temprana intervención, aunque las intervenciones se deben moldear en términos de los diferentes factores de riesgo que se le presenta a cada grupo.

Les résultats contradictoires dans les recherches existantes suggèrent que des facteurs de risque supplémentaires devraient être pris en considération en explorant les impacts de l'utilisation maternelle du smartphone sur les relations mère­bébé. Cette étude a utilisé une analyse typologique afin d'explorer si certains facteurs de risque étaient impliqués chez les dyades mère­nourrisson avec une utilisation élevée du smartphone et une réaction mère­nourrisson faible. Une étude transversale de 450 participantes au Royaume Uni a mesuré le développement socio­émotionnel du bébé, les symptômes dépressives, d'anxiété et de stress maternel, le bien­être maternel, le soutien social, l'utilisation du smartphone et la réaction mère­nourrisson. Les participantes étaient essentiellement Blanches (95,3%), vivant avec un partenaire (95,2%), avec des bébés étant nés à terme (88,9%). Une analyse typologique a identifié trois clusters (types) avec ces caractéristiques: type 1) "nourrisson à risque" avec des problèmes de développement infantile élevés, une utilisation maternelle du smartphone élevée, et une réaction mère­bébé faible; type 2) "mère à risque" faisant état de scores maternels élevés de dépression, d'anxiété et de stress, d'un soutien social faible, avec une utilisation maternelle du smartphone élevée, et une réaction mère­bébé faible, et type 3) "risque faible" montrant peu d'utilisation maternelle du smartphone et une réaction élevée mère­bébé. Des différences importantes ont été trouvées entre tous les facteurs de risque, saut pour l'utilisation maternelle du smartphone et la réaction maternelle entre les types 1 et 2, ce qui suggère que les deux types exigent une intervention précoce, bien que les interventions devraient être adaptées aux différents facteurs de risque avec lesquelles elles se présentent.

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BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic transformed the home lives of many families in the United States, especially those with young children. Understanding the relationship between child and parent screen time and family stressors exacerbated by the pandemic may help inform interventions that aim to support early child development. OBJECTIVE: We aim to assess the changing relationship between family screen time and factors related to pandemic-induced remote work and childcare or school closures. METHODS: In the spring of 2021 we administered a survey, similar to one administered in the spring of 2019, to a national sample of parents of young children (aged 6 to 60 months). Using iterative sampling with propensity scores, we recruited participants whose sociodemographic characteristics matched the 2019 survey. Participants were aged >18 years, proficient in English or Spanish, and residing in the United States. The main outcomes were changes in child screen time (eg, mobile phone, tablet, computer, and television) and parenting technoference, defined as perceived screen-related interference with parent-child interactions. Additional survey items reported pandemic-related job loss, and changes to work hours, work location, caregiving responsibilities, day care or school access, and family health and socioeconomic status. RESULTS: We enrolled 280 parents, from diverse backgrounds. Parents reported pandemic-related changes in child screen time (mean increase of 1.1, SD 0.9 hours), and greater parenting technoference (3.0 to 3.4 devices interfering per day; P=.01). Increased child screen time and parenting technoference were highest for parents experiencing job loss (mean change in child screen time 1.46, SD 1.03; mean parenting technoference score 3.89, SD 2.05), second highest for working parents who did not lose their job (mean change in child screen time 1.02, SD 0.83; mean parenting technoference score 3.37, SD 1.94), and lowest for nonworking parents (mean change in child screen time 0.68, SD 0.66; mean parenting technoference score 2.66, SD 1.70), with differences significant at P<.01. School closure and job loss were most associated with increased child screen time during the pandemic after controlling for other stressors and sociodemographic characteristics (d=0.52, P<.001; d=0.31, P=.01). Increased child screen time and school closure were most associated with increased parenting technoference (d=0.78, P<.001; d=0.30, P=.01). CONCLUSIONS: Work and school changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic were associated with increased technology interference in the lives of young children. This study adds to our understanding of the interaction between technology use at home and social factors that are necessary to support early childhood health and development. It also supports possible enhanced recommendations for primary care providers and childcare educators to guide parents in establishing home-based "screen time rules" not only for their children but also for themselves.

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We examined objective smartphone use (via a mobile sensing application) and self-reported desire to change phone use among a sample of 268 U.S. parents of infants. Using the Transtheoretical Stages of Change model as a conceptual foundation, we contextualized their attitudes and behaviors and explored how phone use and desire to change relate to perceptions of distraction and problematic phone use around their child. Latent profile analysis of parents' precontemplation, contemplation, and action scores revealed two classes-precontemplators (15%) and contemplators (85%). Contemplators-those considering or desiring change-showed more bedtime phone use and general social networking than precontemplors; however, there were no significant differences between groups on other objective use measures (e.g., total daily duration of phone use, phone use around child, etc.). Contemplators also showed greater perceptions of problematic use around their child and parenting distraction. Moreover, parents' problematic use and distraction were predictive of higher contemplation scores, even after controlling for demographic and objective phone use variables. Taken together, these results suggest that perceptions of phone use as problematic may be more important than actual phone habits, especially total phone use duration, for desire to change. Suggestions for future research and intervention are provided.

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PURPOSE: The term 'technoference' refers to habitual interferences and disruptions within interpersonal relationships or time spent together due to use of electronic devices. Emerging evidence suggests associations between parental technoference and young people's mental health and violent behaviours. This scoping review sought to summarise the existing literature. METHODS: A scoping review was undertaken across six databases (APA PsycINFO, MEDLINE, ASSIA, ERIC, Social Sciences Premium Collection, SciTech Premium). Searches included articles examining the association between parental technoference and adolescent mental health and violent behaviours. All included studies provided empirical findings. RESULTS: Searches retrieved 382 articles, of which 13 articles met the eligibility criteria. A narrative approach was applied to synthesise the eligible findings. Across all studies, adolescent perceptions of parental technoference were negatively associated to adolescent mental health and positively related to adolescent violent behaviours. Parental cohesion and mental health were identified as significant mediating factors. CONCLUSION: Findings suggest that parents should be aware of the environment in which they use electronic devices as their use can potentially, directly and indirectly, influence adolescent mental health and violent behaviours. Further research into the potential caveats of parental technoference could support the development of evidence-informed guidelines for parental management of electronic devices.

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Adolescents' phone use during face-to-face interactions (i.e., digital social multitasking [DSMT]) has gained increasing attention because of its prevalence as well as implications for well-being. However, most studies have focused on only one dimension of the behavior and relied on variable-centered approaches. Informed by the DSMT framework, we adopted a person-centered approach to identify different groups of adolescents based on their levels, perceptions, and motives of phone use during face-to-face interactions with friends. We also examined how these groups differed in five well-being variables (loneliness, depressive symptoms, digital stress, friendship quality, and satisfaction of basic psychological needs). A total of 517 adolescents (Mage = 14.83, standard deviation [SD] = 1.93; 50 percent female) completed an online survey. Three profiles were identified: the Intentional (low levels, quite positive perceptions, motivated for clear goals), the Embracers (high levels, highly positive perceptions, strong motives), and the Unimpressed (low levels, low positive perceptions, low motives). The Embracers scored the highest on both positive and negative indicators of well-being, whereas the Unimpressed scored the lowest on all well-being scales. The Intentional appeared to be the most adaptive group. Implications are discussed.

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Technoference, the interference caused by excessive use of digital devices, has been shown to negatively impact parent-child relationships and children's emotional development. This paper explores the potential of Riau Malay culture, one of Indonesia's indigenous cultures, to offer solutions to the problem of technoference in parenting. Parents can establish closeness, develop their children's potential, and transmit cultural values by returning to cultural values and integrating the principles found in Tunjuk Ajar Melayu or Malay teachings. This approach ultimately contributes to the well-being of families and communities, fostering stronger emotional connections and supporting children's healthy development in the digital era.

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Parental technological immersion during parenting activities has been shown to alter parent-child interactions. This concept, referred to as parental technoference, has the potential to affect parent-child relationships and children's health and development. This scoping review utilized the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) methodology to identify, describe, and summarize: (a) evidence of parental technoference on parent-child relationships, and children's health and development; (b) definitions and measurements of parental technoference; (c) research designs and methodologies used to investigate parental technoference; and (d) literature gaps. We searched MEDLINE, APA PsycInfo, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Cochrane Database for Systematic Reviews, JBI EBP Database, Embase, CINAHL, and Scopus, as well as the reference lists of included studies for literature on parental technology use during parenting and parent-child interactions and its effects on parent-child relationships, and children's health and development. Sixty-four studies, found in 61 publications, met the review criteria. The effect of parental technoference on parent-child relationships was most studied, and findings demonstrated that parents recognized, and researchers observed, changes in parents' and children's behaviors. Adolescent self-reported mental health concerns and maladaptive technological behaviors (e.g., cyberbullying) were associated with more parental technoference, and findings highlighted safety concerns for children. Other aspects of children's development, although less studied, were also negatively impacted by parental technoference. No significant associations were found between parental technoference and children's medical and physiological health, yet these associations were the least studied. Additional research is needed to understand these associations and evaluate interventions designed to mitigate technoference harms.

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INTRODUCTION: Phone use during face-to-face interactions (i.e., digital social multitasking [DSMT]) is a growing activity among adolescents. DSMT appears to be a risk factor for problematic phone use, but little is known about why adolescents engage in DSMT and how different motives of DSMT would be associated with problematic phone use. Drawing on the framework of DSMT and the uses and gratifications theory, this study explored (1) the motives of adolescent DSMT and (2) the direct and indirect relationships between DSMT motives and problematic phone use via the level and perception of DSMT. METHOD: The study involved survey data from 517 adolescents in the United States recruited through the Qualtrics panels (Mage = 14.83, SD = 1.93) in the fall of 2020. The sample's gender and racial/ethnic distributions were nationally representative. RESULTS: We developed a scale measuring adolescent DSMT motives, which showed that adolescents engaged in DSMT because of enjoyment and connection, boredom, information, and habitual use. The motive of habitual use was associated with problematic phone use both directly and indirectly via level of DSMT and perceived distraction caused by DSMT. The information motive was directly associated with problematic phone use, while the boredom motive was indirectly associated with problematic phone use via perceived distraction. Conversely, the motive of enjoyment and connection was related to lower problematic phone use both directly and indirectly via lower perceived distraction. CONCLUSION: The study identifies DSMT-related risk and protective factors for problematic phone use. The findings should help adults recognize adaptive versus maladaptive forms of DSMT among adolescents and develop proper guidance and intervention.

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There is ample evidence that young children's screen media use has sharply increased since the outbreak of the novel 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19). However, the long-term impact of these changes on children's adjustment is currently unclear. The goals of the current study were to assess longitudinal trajectories of young children's screen media exposure through a series of national COVID-19 home lockdowns and to examine the predictive associations between different aspects of media exposure and post-lockdown behavioral adjustment. Data were collected at four timepoints during and after home lockdown periods in Israel. Longitudinal data measuring various aspects of media use, behavioral conduct and emotional problems were gathered from a sample of 313 Israeli children (54% females) between the ages two to five years (Mage at T1 = 3.6), by surveying their mothers at 5 points in time. Child overall screen time use, exposure to background television, use of media to regulate child distress and maternal mobile device use all changed throughout the lockdown periods. Moreover, during lockdowns children's behavior problems were concurrently and positively correlated with screen time, use of media to regulate child distress, and exposure to background television. However, these were not longitudinally related to child behavior problems in the post-lockdown period. Possible implications for family media use during a public health crisis are discussed.

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The COVID-19 pandemic has touched many aspects of people's lives around the world, including their romantic relationships. While media outlets have reported that the pandemic is difficult for couples, empirical evidence is needed to test these claims and understand why this may be. In two highly powered studies (N = 3271) using repeated measure and longitudinal approaches, we found that people who experienced COVID-19 related challenges (i.e., lockdown, reduced face-to-face interactions, boredom, or worry) also reported greater self and partner phone use (Study 1) and time spent on social media (Study 2), and subsequently experienced more conflict and less satisfaction in their romantic relationship. The findings provide insight into the struggles people faced in their relationships during the pandemic and suggest that the increase in screen time - a rising phenomenon due to the migration of many parts of life online - may be a challenge for couples.

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Intimacy is essential for fulfilling romantic relationships. Although many factors can impact intimacy, the increased regular use of technological devices within our daily lives makes technoference an important one to consider. Technoference (i.e., interference in face-to-face interactions caused by the use of technological devices) is commonly associated with relationship difficulties, including conflict, dissatisfaction, and decreased relational well-being. However, less is known about the direct and indirect impact of technoference on intimacy among couples. We hypothesized that negative perceptions of a partner's technology use and poor communication satisfaction within a romantic relationship help explain the association between technoference and intimacy. University students (N = 141), who were in a romantic relationship of at least 6 months duration, completed online questionnaires assessing technoference, perceptions of their partner's technology use, communication satisfaction, and intimacy in their romantic relationship. PROCESS macro model 6 was used to test the serial mediation models. Results suggest that the relationship between technoference (general, partner's, and participant's) and intimacy is serially mediated by negative perceptions of partner's technology use and communication satisfaction. These findings can help to identify and inform strategies to maximize intimacy levels between couples, thus fortifying romantic relationships as a whole.

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With the increasing use of smartphones in our lives, technoference has become a new threat to family relationships and child development. The present study explored the impact of technoference in conjugal interactions on child smartphone dependence and its underlying mechanism. The participants were 6923 fourth grade children (55.0% boys; the average age was 10.60 years) in 545 primary schools and their parents (35.3% fathers). We found that technoference in conjugal interactions was significantly associated with child smartphone dependence. Technoference in conjugal interactions indirectly affected child smartphone dependence through marital conflict or coparenting and a chain mediation between marital conflict and coparenting. These findings support the spillover theory and provide relevant empirical evidence and advance our understanding of parental functioning on child smartphone dependence within the Chinese culture.

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In previous years, concerns have been repeatedly raised regarding the impact of parental use of smartphones and other portable digital devices (PDD) in the presence of infants and young children on children's development. Recently, this topic gainedmore attention by researchers. Therefore, this review aimed at answering the following questions based on the current state of research: How does parental use of PDD in the presence of their 0-3-year-old child affect the quality of the parent-child interaction and relationship, their child's affective and physiological regulation as well as social-emotional and cognitive development? The literature search of six databases based on previously established criteria resulted in 22 articles. The results suggest that parents are less sensitive and responsive towards their children while using PDD. Furthermore, negative effects on children's affect and physiological regulation during parental device use were reported, which appear not to persist beyond the period of use. Moreover, parental technoference in everyday life might affect the parent-child relationship, although respective findings are inconsistent. Furthermore, parental technoference appears to be associated with impaired child learning. Further research is needed to determine the extent of parental use and specific patterns of use leading to lasting negative consequences for child development.

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BACKGROUND: With increases in the use of technological devices worldwide, parental technoference is a potential threat to the quality of parent-child relationships and children's health and development. Parental technoference refers to disrupted interactions between a parent and child due to a parent's use of a technological device. The aims of this scoping review are to map, describe, and summarize the existing evidence from published research studies on the impacts of parental technoference on parent-child relationships and children's health and development and to identify the limitations in the studies and gaps in the literature. METHODS: This scoping review will be conducted in accordance with the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) methodology. A search for relevant research studies will be undertaken in APA PsycInfo, MEDLINE, Central, Cochrane Database for Systematic Reviews, JBI EBP, and Embase (OVID). CINAHL (Ebsco) and Scopus will also be searched. Grey and popular literature will be excluded. This review will include primary research studies and review papers published in English with no time limit that identify the impacts of technoference on parent-child relationships and child health and developmental outcomes. Parent participants include primary caregivers, either biological, adopted, or foster parents, of children under the age of 18 who engage in technoference. Two reviewers will independently screen the titles, abstracts, and full texts of studies according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Disagreements will be resolved through discussion with a third researcher. Data will be extracted into a data charting table including author(s), year of publication, country, research aim, methodology/design, population and sample size, variables/concepts, and corresponding measures and main results. Data will be presented in tables and figures accompanied by a narrative summary. DISCUSSION: The goal of this scoping review is to present an overview of the evidence on the impacts of parental technoference on parent-child relationships and child and health developmental outcomes, highlighting the current risk of children of today. It will identify gaps in the literature, inform future research, advise recommendations for parents on technological device use, and possibly guide the development of interventions aimed at addressing parental technoference. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Open Science Framework https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/QNTS5.

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Television studies have shown that some negative effects of screens could depend on exposure time, but more importantly on the characteristics of the child, the type of content viewed, and the context in which it is viewed. Studies on newer screens show that these factors are still valid but new ones now play a negative role: portable screens increase the duration of exposure and lowered the age at which exposure begins. More worryingly, new screen persuasive designs and dark patterns largely used incite more frequent use, attracting the attention of children and parents, resultantly interfering deeply in parent/child relationships. In this text we suggest that current academic recommendations have to be more broadly shared but also that new recommendations are needed: especially to advise parents not to let their screen interactions compete with real interactions with their child which are the core of learnings (especially language) and emotional regulations but also of their security.

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Technoference refers to incidents in which technology use interferes with interpersonal exchanges (e.g., conversations, playing). Although research on technoference is in its infancy, there is preliminary evidence that mothers believe technoference has a detrimental impact on the social-emotional functioning of their child. The current study investigated the degree to which technoference was associated with attachment between mothers and their elementary-aged children. A second aim was to determine if the relationship between technoference and children's social-emotional functioning may be moderated by mother-child attachment. Surveys were completed by a sample of 80 mothers and their elementary-aged children. This study is unique in asking elementary-aged children to report their perceptions of parental technoference and the impact it has on their relationship with their mother and their own social-emotional functioning. More frequent technoference was associated with less secure mother-child attachment as rated by children, but not as rated by mothers. That is, frequent technoference may not significantly influence a mother's attachment to their child, but it is associated with a child's attachment to their mother. More frequent technoference was associated with decreased ratings by mothers regarding their child's social-emotional functioning. Furthermore, maternal attachment moderated the relationship between technoference and child externalizing behaviors, such that a more secure attachment served as a protective factor against the negative impact of technoference on child externalizing behaviors. However, attachment did not moderate the relationship between technoference and most social skills assessed in our study. Implications from this study are discussed, including ways to increase awareness of technoference among school personnel, parents, and youth.

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