Technology and Parent-Teen Relationship 1

Duration of Adolescent Technology Use and Closeness with Parents

Sarah H. Khan

Adolescent Psychology

Barnard College, Columbia University

 Technology and Parent-Teen Relationship 2

Abstract

Adolescents are one of the heaviest users of technology as a group. With the ever

increasing amount of time teenagers spend on cell-phones, computers and numerous types of

video games, their attention is absorbed by these devices. This may take away from important

social interactions that develop in-person relationships. One study from 2004 suggests that more

time spent on television, computers and video games leads to a lower quality of attachment to

parents. A good parent-teen relationship is important for adolescent health and development.

Although there have been no recent experiments on how adolescents’ wide use of different types

technology affects their relationship with parents, there are indications that electronic

communication may be reinforcing teenagers’ peer relationships at the expense of relationship

with their parents. This study examined the relationship between duration of adolescents’

technology use and the relationship with their parents. Three types of technology were

considered, namely, computers, cell phones and video games. Self-report questionnaires were

filled out by 63 teenagers (ages 14 to 18) from a high school in Bronx, NY. A statistically

significant negative correlation was found between duration of computer use and closeness to

parent supported by Pearson’s correlation coefficient, r(58) = -0.263. However, there were no

significant correlations found for any of the other types of technology considered. These findings

are attributed to the fact adolescents more commonly use cell phones than the internet to

maintain a good relationship with their parents. Therefore, it is possible that cell phones aid

parent-teen closeness as it allows them to stay in touch when they are not together. Also, most

adolescents reported spending relatively little time playing video games. That may be why video

games did not impact their relationship with parents.

 Technology and Parent-Teen Relationship 3

Introduction

As we advance further in technology, its use for everyday purposes is becoming

increasingly common, especially among subsequent generations. Technology use is increasing

due to its undeniable benefits, especially of better communication. With newer methods of

communication and sharing information emerging every day, come the shortcomings of a world

inundated with technology. A recent article in the New York Times suggests that the infatuation

with technology and cell phones in particular is taking away from face-to-face social interactions

(Carr, 2010). In person communication seems to be decreasing as people are increasingly

connected wherever they are through their computers and cell phones or hooked to a video game

instead of engaging in conversation with the people around them.

For the purposes of this study we will categorize technology into three main categories,

computers, cell phones and video games. Computer use includes the use of the internet, all online

and offline activities including social networking, doing homework and playing games. Cell

phone use in addition to talking and texting includes new capabilities of cell phones such as

internet related activities and also playing games. Video games refer to all kinds of gaming

platforms outside of computers and cell phones, such as television based consoles and portable

video game consoles. This study aims that these three categories will also encompass new forms

of technology that are less easily categorized, such as “iPads” by Apple that include video games

as well as most features of computers and cell phones.

Adolescents are one of the heaviest users of technology as a group (Subrahmanyam,

2008). They are invaluable consumers of new forms of communication such as instant

messaging, text messaging, social networking, blogs and photo and video sharing mediums
 Technology and Parent-Teen Relationship 4

(Subrahmanyam, 2008). David Carr (2011) from the New York Times calls young people

“digital natives” which represents how different they are from their parents and older groups of

people in terms of technology use. They are born into the age of technology compared to

previous generations who learnt to use it after they were older. Thus, it is also younger

generations who have a harder time separating themselves from technology because they might

suffer socially among peers if they are not up to date or well connected (Richards et. al., 2010).

As a result, a lot of time is spent on all these forms of technology and it is now

increasingly integrated into adolescents’ lives. Teenagers say that technology has become an

immensely important part of everyday life. Most say it is because it helps them keep in touch

with their friends as well as their parents. (Subrahmanyam, 2008)

When looking at patterns of technology use of groups like adolescents, it is important to

take into account the recentness of statistics. Patterns of technology use are changing so

frequently that research on these patterns from only a decade ago may be outdated. This is

reflected by the fact that the number of internet users in North America has grown by 146.3%

from 2000 to 2010 and 444.8% in the world from 2000 to 2010 (Internet World Stats, 2011).

Therefore, when it comes to research about technology it is important to take into account

relevance of the research to the current time.

Also specifically within adolescents, usage patterns have changed a lot in the last few

years. This is not confined to the internet or computer based technology. With respect to cell

phones, about 75% of 12-17 year-olds now own cell phones as found in 2010 compared to 45%

in 2004 (Lenhart, 2010). In 2008, Virgin Mobile reported that nine out of ten teenagers who own

cell phones have text messaging capability and two thirds of them use text messaging every day.
 Technology and Parent-Teen Relationship 5

They also reported that more than half of their customer aged 15 to 20 years send or receive at

least eleven text messages per day whereas about one fifth of them text twenty-one times per day

or more.(Subrahmanyam, 2008)

Adolescents’ preferred mode of communication is texting and they are the heaviest users

of text messaging as a group (Bilton, 2010). Among all teens, their frequency of texting is now

greater than the frequency of every other common form of interaction with their friends

including in person interaction (Lenhart, 2010). It was found in 2010 that young people under 18

send and receive more than double the amount of text messages per month than any other age

group (See Figure in Appendix 1) (Bilton, 2010). Text messaging is rampant among teenagers

and also something that has been increasing quite rapidly in recent years. It was found that

Verizon Wireless hosted 17.7 billion text messages from October through December 2006 which

was more than double the total from the same months in 2005.

However, the advantages of technology come along with drawbacks. With the infinite

amount of time teenagers spend on cell-phones, computers and numerous types of video games,

their attention is absorbed by these devices. Text messaging is one of the most noticeable

behaviors that disrupt face to face social interactions. Carr (2010) in his article in the New York

Times about text messaging notices how at a conference people are “adjacent and yet essentially

alone” because everyone is texting and talking rather than engaging with the “flesh-and-blood

human beings” around them. Continuous peering at cell phone screens and typing away with the

thumbs while talking to someone was the theme of his article, called “Keep your thumbs still

when I’m talking to you”. It mainly referred to adolescents and how recently, texting has become

so common that it is taking away from face-to-face social interactions that develop important in-

person relationships. This phenomenon might be one main reason why new technology such as
 Technology and Parent-Teen Relationship 6

texting my cause a decline in face-to-face relationships such as the adolescent-parent

relationship.

Among cell phone owning teens, voice calls are also a central function of their cell

phones, especially for communicating with their parents. Though teenagers make and receive far

fewer calls compared to text messages, voice is still the primary mode of conversing with parents

(Lenhart, 2010). One of the primary reasons parents allow their children to have cell phones is so

that they may monitor their whereabouts and stay in contact with them when they are not in close

proximity (Lenhart, 2010). 94% of cell using teens aged 12-17 report that cell phones give them

more freedom because they can reach their parents no matter where they are (Lenhart, 2010).

However, cell phones are a mixed blessing. Adolescents and parents agree that phones

make their lives safer and more convenient but also mention disadvantages of cell phone use,

especially the fact that they can result in irritating interruptions (Lenhart, 2010). Also, parents are

now less likely than earlier years to say that the internet is a good thing for their adolescents. The

number has decreased by a statistically significant amount from 67% in 2004 to 59% in 2011

(MacGill, 2007).

Adolescents’ internet use is also different from what it used to be a few years ago. They

are more likely to use the internet to keep in touch with friends and people they know from their

offline worlds rather than with strangers which was very common in the early days of the

internet (Wolak, 2003). Such usage patterns have also changed since technology is more

common and youth are more likely to find their family and friends online or contact them on a

cell phone than they were even five or ten years ago (Subrahmanyam, 2008). Therefore,

information about technology usage, be it internet, phone or other media, is quickly outdated due
 Technology and Parent-Teen Relationship 7

to continuous advancement. So it is important to note that research considered should be recent

enough to be representative of current usage patterns.

Most recent forms of technology involve staring at screens for hours and this seems to be

having an effect on the formation of interpersonal ties. Research from New Zealand in 2004

examined the effects of “screen time” on teen attachment to parents and peers. Their definition of

“screen time” includes time spent on television, video gaming and computer use. It was found

that more time spent playing video games as well as more time spent watching television was

associated with low attachment to parents. Only more time spent watching television was

associated with lower attachment to peers. For computer use, the risk for having a low quality

attachment to parents increased by 5 percent per hour spent on the computer. More screen time

was also associated with less time spent reading and doing homework. Conversely, spending

more time reading and doing homework was linked to a better relationship with parents.

(Richards et. al., 2010)

This study, published in 2010, is the only study that examines an effect of a type of

technology on teen relationships. There have been no rigorous experiments up till 2008

published about how adolescents’ extensive use of electronic communication affects their

relationship with their parents. However, some research indicates that it may be reinforcing

communication between peers at the expense of parent-teen communication. Parents may not be

knowledgeable enough about their children's online activities on sites such as the enormously

popular MySpace. (Subrahmanyam, 2008)

Parents are increasingly trying to stay within the loop of their adolescents’ online lives

(Subrahmanyam, 2008) and monitor their teenagers’ use of the internet. However, despite
 Technology and Parent-Teen Relationship 8

parental controls allowed by many types of technology, there are increasingly more ways out of

parental control as well, that give adolescents more and more autonomy. Social networking sites

and other newer forms of communication are making it harder for parents to control and

influence their children’s online activities. By introducing privacy settings, websites help

teenagers hide personal information from strangers, reducing problems such as online sexual

predation. However, it also allows them to choose what information and activities they want to

be visible to their parents and what they want to be hidden from them. (Subrahmanyam, 2008)

Parents are increasingly excluded from their children’s lives as newer forms of social networking

make it harder for them to monitor their children’s online activities (Subrahmanyam, 2008).

This study aims to examine the effect of the increased use of technology on adolescents’

relationship with their parents. This is a very important question given that adolescents require a

close relationship with and affection from their parents. This attachment to parents is important

to their health and development (Richards et. al., 2010). Since there is no research published on

this before except for the study conducted in New Zealand in 2004, there is an increased need to

explore this issue given its importance.

As discussed earlier, there are many different variants of technological devices that take

up adolescents’ time. This study focuses on three types of technology, namely, computers, cell

phones and video games. Self-report questionnaires given to 63 adolescents are used to

investigate the amount of time spent on each type of technology and the relationship of each of

these with closeness to parents. It is hypothesized that an increase in duration of use of each type

of technology separately would lead to a decrease in closeness to parent. It is also hypothesized

that the total duration of use of all three types of technology would also lead to a decrease in

closeness to parent.
 Technology and Parent-Teen Relationship 9

Method

Participants

The participants for this study were 63 students (38 male and 25 female) from the Bronx

School of Law and Finance, a public high school in Bronx, NY. They were high school students

in grades 9 to 11, with ages ranging from 14 to 18 (Mean age = 15.44). These teenagers were

chosen to participate in this study because they were enrolled at the Bronx School. Consent to

participate in the study was obtained verbally from participants.

Procedure

To obtain information about use of different types of technology and relationship with

parents, an anonymous questionnaire was filled out by the participants. The questionnaire was

handed out to the Bronx school students during advisory sessions in classrooms at school. Before

they began filling out the questionnaire, they were informed about the purpose and use of the

study, their anonymity and privacy was assured and their consent was gained. Each participant

took about 10 minutes to complete the survey individually.

Measures

Each survey consisted of 37 closed-ended questions. Each question was either multiple

choice or yes-or-no answer. It contained 9 questions about computer use, 11 questions about cell

phone use, 1 question about video game use, 11 questions about relationship and closeness to a

parent and 5 miscellaneous questions. Many of these questions were regarding possible

confounding variables that might affect the independent variable of the study. For details of the

questionnaire, refer to Appendix 2.

 Technology and Parent-Teen Relationship 10

Results

The present study sought to explore the relationship between the amount of time

adolescents spend on technology and their relationship with their parents. Data was analyzed

using bivariate Pearson correlations between total time spent each day on computers, cell phones

and video games and closeness to parent. Each of these types of technology was also individually

correlated with closeness to parent. There was no significant correlation between total time spent

on technology per day and closeness to parent. Also there was no significant correlation between

time spent on cell phones or time spent on video games and closeness to parent. However, an

examination of the number of hours spent on a computer per day and the rating of closeness to

parent revealed a significant negative correlation between computer use and closeness to parent

supported by Pearson’s correlation coefficient, r(58) = -0.263, p = 0.046 (two-tailed)(Figure 1).

There were additional findings and trends observed in the data as well. It was found that

the majority of teenagers own cell phones and have a computer at home. Only one participant

reported not having a computer and seven (11.1%) reported not having a cell phone. It was found

that the internet helped 27% of adolescents maintain a close relationship with their mothers and

20.7% with their fathers. On the other hand, cell phones helped 68.3% of adolescents maintain a

close relationship with their mothers and 54% with their fathers.(Figure 2) Majority of

participants reported that they generally maintained better relationships in person or on the phone

compared to the internet (In person = 58.7%, phone = 31.7% and internet = 4.8%). It was found

that most participants did not spend a great amount of time playing video games. 70.7% of the

teenagers reported to spend less than 2 to 4 hours a day on video games and 34.5% reported to

spend less than an hour or no time on them. (Figure 3) It was found that 63.5% of participants

picked their mother as the parent they are closest to. 17.5% picked their father, 15.9% picked the
 Technology and Parent-Teen Relationship 11

adult (other than mother or father) with whom they live and 3.2% picked their guardian. Also, in

terms of preferred communication mediums, 58.7% said they have better relationships in person,

31.7% said they have better relationships on the phone and 4.8% picked online relationships.

Figures and Captions

Figure 1: Time spent on a computer each day and closeness to parent. There was a negative

correlation between computer use and closeness to parent supported by Pearson’s correlation

coefficient, r(58) = -0.263, p = 0.046 (two-tailed).

 Technology and Parent-Teen Relationship 12

Figure 2: Percentage of teenagers that report whether internet and cell phones help them

maintain a good relationship with their parents. Cell phones help more teenagers maintain good

relationships with both their mothers and fathers compared to the internet.

Relationship with mother Relationship with father

Internet 27% 20.7%

Cell phones 68.3% 54%

Figure 3: Time spent playing video games. 70.7% of the teenagers reported to spend less than 2

to 4 hours a day on video games. 34.5% reported to spend less than an hour or no time on them.

13.8% spent 1 to 2 hours and 22.4% spent 4 to 6 hours. These calculations exclude missing

values.
 Technology and Parent-Teen Relationship 13

Discussion

The aim of the current study was to investigate the relationship between duration of

adolescents’ technology use and their relationship with their parents. Three main forms of

technology were considered for the purposes of this study, namely, computers, cell phones and

video games.

It was found that the total amount of time spent on all three types of technology

combined did not have a significant correlation with closeness to parents. The same was found

for duration of cell phone use and time spent playing video games when individually correlated

with closeness to parent. A lack of significant result in the overall technology correlation could

have been due to the lack of a significant correlation in two of its three factors when individually

correlated with closeness to parent. Duration of computer use was the only type of technology

use found to have a significant negative correlation with closeness to parent (r(58) = -.263, p =

0.046).

Computers and cell phones –in addition their numerous other uses – are used as

communication devices whereas video games are not. The difference between the correlation

results for computers and cell phones with closeness to parent may be due to the finding that the

participants were more likely to use cell phones to communicate with their parents compared to

the use of the internet. 68.3% participants reported that their cell phone helps them maintain a

close relationship with their mothers and 54% with their fathers. Only 27% of adolescents said

the internet helps them keep in touch with their mothers and 20.7% with their fathers.

Also, 15.9% of these participants reported being closest to the adult (other than their

mother or father) with whom they live. Therefore, many of them do not live with their mother or
 Technology and Parent-Teen Relationship 14

father. These teenagers are more likely to contact their parents through internet using their home

computer.

The findings could mean that cell phones facilitated a relationship between adolescent

and parent when they were not in close proximity. This is consistent with MacGill’s (2007)

findings that parents and adolescents find cell phones helpful and convenient because teens are

able to communicate with their parents, let them know where they are and get advice.

Adolescents say they feel safer with cell phone because they feel that they can contact their

parent or get help whenever they need to (Lenhart, 2010). This would in turn lead to a better

parent-teen relationship. The fact that an adolescent is always on the phone or texting at the

dinner table may just be a very noticeable annoyance when parents and teens are in close

proximity. However, it seems that ability to keep in touch when not in close proximity overrides

this annoyance and leads to a healthier parent-teen relationship.

It may also be true as Lenhart’s (2010) findings suggest that parents now consider cell

phones to be less of a good thing for their children compared to a few years ago, but nonetheless

the current findings suggest that its advantages outweigh the shortcomings. The main reason

parents buy cell phones for their teenagers is so that they may be aware of their whereabouts

(Lenhart, 2010) and this study suggests that it is fulfilling this purpose.

Recently, more and more parents are beginning to use cell phones also. So they know

what is going on in their adolescent’s life. Most adolescents’ cell phones are on a family plan

where usually a parent foots the bill (MacGill, 2007). This also helps parents monitor their

children’s usage when it comes to cell phones. With internet there is a lot more privacy now, and

most parents are not as up to date with the latest features of their teenagers’ favorite social
 Technology and Parent-Teen Relationship 15

networking websites. So even if the parent learns how to use such sites to monitor their teens

online, teens can choose which information and activities they want to hide from them

(Subrahmanyam, 2008).

There was no significant correlation found between the amount of time spent on video

games and closeness to parents. It is important to note that 70.7% of the teenagers who answered

this question, reported to spend less than 2 to 4 hours a day on video games. 34.5% reported to

spend less than an hour or no time on them. This shows that most of these teenagers did not

spend a lot of time playing video games at all. This might be why video games were unrelated to

their closeness to their parents.

Overall, it was found that computer and cell phone ownership was very high among

adolescents. Only one adolescent out of 61 who answered the question reported not to have a

computer at home and only 7 adolescents (11.1%) out of 53 who answered the question correctly

reported not having a cell phone. Lenhart (2010) found 75% of teens owned cell phones whereas

the current study only a year later found that 84.1% owned cell phones. The current studies’

findings are consistent with Lenhart’s findings and suggest that overall ownership of technology

is increasing even more rapidly every year.

Some errors could also affect the results such as participants not understanding the

questions or not paying attention to the wording. The survey was complicated and they may

make mistakes in cases such as if they live with an adult other their parent, who the question is

referring to.

Some errors could also have affected the results of this study. The study used surveys to

gather information from adolescents. Self-report can often be flawed due to participants not
 Technology and Parent-Teen Relationship 16

understanding the question or not paying attention to the wording. The survey was complicated

and they may have made mistakes in certain cases such as if they lived with an adult other their

parent, they might be unsure as to who the next question about “this parent” is referring to. There

were many missing responses in the data collected for this study which may also have

contributed to some errors in the findings.

Also, the sample was confined to one public school in a specific neighborhood in New

York. A bigger sample would have been more representative of adolescents in the United States,

and might have yielded better results. However, a bigger sample was not practical for this study,

but it is suggested for future research that aims to examine the relationship between technology

use and parent-teen relationships.

This research only looked at correlations between duration of technology use and

relationship with parents. This topic has barely been studied so far and further research is needed

to determine the direction of relationship between duration of technology use and relationship

with parents. Perhaps more structured research that controls for affecting factors would be a

better measure in determining a causal relationship. Furthermore, there is no research concerning

how and why technology use may affect adolescent social interactions and relationships. Further

research on this important topic should look at the psychological intricacies of associated with

this correlation.
 Technology and Parent-Teen Relationship 17

References

1. Subrahmanyam, K., Greenfield, P. (2008). Online communication and Adolescent

Relationships. The Future of Children, 18, 1, pp. 119-146.

2. MacGill, A. R. (2007). Parents, Teens and Technology. Pew Internet and American Life

Project, from: http://pewresearch.org/pubs/621/ , accessed on April 22, 2011.

3. Lenhart, A., Ling R., Campbell, S., Purchell, K. (2010) Teens and Mobile Phones. Pew

Internet & American Life Project, from http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2010/Teens-

and-Mobile-Phones/Summary-of-findings.aspx#footnote1, accessed on April 23, 2011.

4. Richards, R., McGee, R., Williams, S. M., Welch, D., Hancox, R. J. (2010) Adolescent

Screen Time and Attachment to Parents and Peers. Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent

Medicine, 164(3), pp. 258-262.

5. Carr, D. (2011). Keep your thumbs still when you’re talking to me. New York Times,

from http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/17/fashion/17TEXT.html?pagewanted=1&_r=2,

accessed on April 27, 2011.

6. Internet World Stats (2011) Usage and Population Statistics, from

http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm, accessed on April 26, 2011.

7. Blackman, S. L. (2010). Cell Phone Usage Patterns with Friends, Parents, and Romantic

Partners in College Freshmen, University of Tennessee Honors Thesis Projects.

8. Bilton, N. (2010). Who’s Calling? Some More Than Others, New York Times: Bits, from

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/24/whos-calling-some-more-than-others/, accessed

on April 27, 2011.

 Technology and Parent-Teen Relationship 18

9. Wolak, J., Kimberly J. Mitchell, and David Finkelhor, “Escaping or Connecting?

Characteristics of Youth Who Form Close Online Relationships,” Journal of Adolescence

26, no. 1 (2003): 105–19.

 Technology and Parent-Teen Relationship 19

APPENDIX 1

Young people under the age of 18 are the highest users of text messaging compared to all other

age groups. The figure below is from the Nielson Company as used by Bilton (2010).
 Technology and Parent-Teen Relationship 20

APPENDIX 2

This survey is distributed by Sarah Khan, a student at Barnard College. The sole purpose

of the questionnaire is a research project that is part of an Adolescent Psychology class at

Barnard. This survey is completely anonymous and your privacy is guaranteed.

Thank you very much for participating.

Technology Use and Parenting Survey

Circle or check the best answer to each question:

1. Age: ________

2. Gender: ___Male ___Female

3. Do you have a computer at home? ___Yes ___No

4. How much time do you spend on a computer on average each day?

o More than 10 hours

o 8 to 10 hours

o 6 to 8 hours

o 4 to 6 hours

o 2 to 4 hours

o 1 to 2 hours

o Less than an hour

5. What do you usually use the computer for? (Check all that apply):

Facebook To play games

Twitter Home work

 Technology and Parent-Teen Relationship 21

Email To watch TV or Movies

IM Other __________________

Skype or other video chatting

6-11. Does the internet help you maintain a close relationship with: (Chose Yes or no for

each category):

Close friend? Boyfriend/Girlfriend? Relative? Sibling? Mom? Dad?

____Yes ____Yes ____Yes ____Yes ____Yes ____Yes

____No ____No ____No ____No ____No ____No

12. Do you own a cell phone? ___Yes ___No

13-16. If yes, how much time a day do you spend on your cell phone for each activity?

(Chose one answer for each column):

Texting Talking Internet Other activities

___More than 10 hours ___More than 10 hours ___More than 10 hours ___More than 10 hours

___8 to 10 hours ___8 to 10 hours ___8 to 10 hours ___8 to 10 hours

___6 to 8 hours ___6 to 8 hours ___6 to 8 hours ___6 to 8 hours

___4 to 6 hours ___4 to 6 hours ___4 to 6 hours ___4 to 6 hours

___2 to 4 hours ___2 to 4 hours ___2 to 4 hours ___2 to 4 hours

___1 to 2 hours ___1 to 2 hours ___1 to 2 hours ___1 to 2 hours

___Less than an hour ___Less than an hour ___Less than an hour ___Less than an hour

17-22. Does your cell phone help you maintain a close relationship with: (Chose Yes or no

for each category)

 Technology and Parent-Teen Relationship 22

Close friend? Boyfriend/Girlfriend? Relative? Sibling? Mom? Dad?

____Yes ____Yes ____Yes ____Yes ____Yes ____Yes

____No ____No ____No ____No ____No ____No

23. Do you think you have better relationships with people you talk to online or on the phone

compared to people you meet and hang out with face to face? (Select one only)

______ I have better relationships on the phone (texting and talking)

______ I have better relationships online

______ I have better relationships in person

24. How much time do you spend playing video games?

a. More than 10 hours a day

b. 8 to 10 hours

c. 6 to 8 hours

d. 4 to 6 hours

e. 2 to 4 hours

f. 1 to 2 hours

g. Less than an hour

25. Do you have a sibling with whom you are very close? ___Yes ___No

26. Do you have a best friend/boyfriend/girlfriend with whom you share everything?

___Yes ___No

27. Pick a parent with whom you are closest:

 Technology and Parent-Teen Relationship 23

___Mom ___Dad ___Guardian ___Adult with whom you live

For each of the following, circle or check one response:

28. Does your parent monitor your internet use?

___Yes, entirely ___Mostly ___Somewhat ___Barely ___Not at all

29. Does your parent monitor your cell phone use?

___Yes, entirely ___Mostly ___Somewhat ___Barely ___Not at all

30. Does your parent know who you talk to online or on your cell phone?

___Yes, entirely ___Mostly ___Somewhat ___Barely ___Not at all

31. How well does your parent know you or understand you as an individual?

___Yes, entirely ___Mostly ___Somewhat ___Barely ___Not at all

32. How often do you talk to this parent (e.g. have a discussion)?

o Don’t talk to him/her much

o Talk once a month

o One a week

o Every other day

o Everyday
 Technology and Parent-Teen Relationship 24

o More than once a day

33. Does your parent give you advice? If so, how often?

__All the time __Most of the time __Sometimes __Rarely __Never

34. Do you take their advice? How often?

__All the time __Most of the time __Sometimes __Rarely __Never

35. How often do you use your cell phone to talk to your parent?

__All the time __Most of the time __Sometimes __Rarely __Never

22. How often do you use the internet to talk to your parent?

__All the time __Most of the time __Sometimes __Rarely __Never

On a scale of 1 to 10 how close would you say you are to this parent in general? ____________

Thank you again!