PARENTAL PURPOSES FOR USING THE INTERNET AND THEIR INFLUENCES ON PARENT-CHILD COMMUNICATION IN THE VIETNAMESE FAMILY

Authors: Valentina MARINESCU (1), Thi Kim Dung LE (2), Thi Mai NGUYEN (3)
Keywords: Internet, Internet usage purpose, communication, family, Vietnam.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.26758/13.1.9

Valentina MARINESCU (1), Thi Kim Dung LE (2), Thi Mai NGUYEN (3)

(1) Faculty of Sociology and Social Work, University of Bucharest, Romania, E-mail: vmarinescu9@yahoo.com

(2) Hue University Vietnam, E-mail: kimdungkls@gmail.com

(3) Hong Duc University, Vietnam, E-mail: mai.ktqt@gmail.com

Address correspondence to: Thi Kim Dung LE,  Hue University Vietnam, E-mail: kimdungkls@gmail.com

Abstract

Objective. The Internet is increasingly confirming its role in all areas of social life, including communication in the family. The influence of the Internet on family communication has been studied in many countries around the world, but research on this issue in the Vietnamese family has not received much attention. This study aims to explore the relationship between parents’ Internet usage purposes and parent-child communication activities.

Material and methods. The study was conducted in 2021, based on a survey of 113 parents aged 35-50 in Hanoi city. Three purposes of parents’ Internet use are considered to explore the relationship with parent-child communication activities including contact, looking for information, and relationship establishment and maintenance.

Results. The research results pointed out that the purpose for which parents use the Internet is related to the positive and negative influences of the Internet on communication activities between parents and children. Parents use the Internet to make contact, look up information, and build and maintain relationships with their children, increasing the amount of communication time and diversifying the topics they discuss. However, the ability to share with and understand children in parent-child communication seems to decline; at the same time, parents using the Internet to look for information and build relationships create increased disruption and decreased interest in communication with their children.

Conclusions. These results suggest solutions and services that support effective communication between parents and children by promoting healthy Internet use.

Keywords: Internet, Internet usage purpose, communication, family, Vietnam.

Introduction

Griffith (2002) defines the Internet as a global network made up of smaller networks that connect millions of computers around the world via telecommunications infrastructure. The Internet is a global network of computers that allows computers to communicate directly with one another (Doan, 1998). Because it provides users with so many practical utilities, the Internet is a perfect example of innovation. The more people use the Net, the more they appreciate its benefits (Ruzgar, 2005).

Hoffman, Novak, & Venkatesh (2004) declare that the Internet has reached the point of indispensability. This indispensability idea is that the Internet has become attached to people’s daily lives, and people cannot live without it. Research by Rahmah and Becker (2001) draws a suitable conclusion with these controversial statements. In today’s world, the Internet is a vital source of information and a means of communication, and the absence of the Internet renders one obsolete (Nguyen, 2015). Besides that, the suitability and satisfaction derived from the Internet have the potential to provide the foundation for sustained and long-lasting Internet use. In addition, the benefits that the Internet brings to users make them maintain the behavior of using the Internet. Thus, indispensability, suitability, and satisfaction, as well as the advantages, are variables of sustainability in Internet use behavior (Ruzgar, 2005). Many researchers have confirmed the addictiveness of the Internet due to its effects on the brain system and ability to lead to dependence (Kandell, 1998; Chou, Chou, & Tyan, 1999; Griffiths, 1998). However, the Internet not only has addictive characteristics, but it also provides many benefits to users (Stewart, 2003). This is also confirmed by Young’s study (2004), which found that the Internet has two opposing effects on people: on the one hand, it can lead to addiction and time wastage that negatively impacts both their material and spiritual lives while, on the other hand, it can be useful to them. The Internet’s inherent advantages include offering users low-cost, easy-to-use global connectivity, multimedia, and other conveniences (Laudon & Laudon, 1995; Stewart, 2003; Semertzaki, 2008; Nasmith & Parkinson, 2008).

The Internet affects every aspect of its users’ lives. Increased connectivity has changed the lives of millions of people who go online daily at home, school, work, and other locations such as Internet cafes. In all areas of social life, personal communication has the most influence.. The study by Williams and Rice (1983) supports this finding that no area is more impacted by the Internet than interpersonal communication.

In addition to the pre-existing electronic mail system, the Internet has developed over time by incorporating numerous other features and services to support interpersonal communication. These include individual or group messaging and calling, as well as free video-sharing via social networks and online communities. The Internet is fundamentally changing human communication (Shim, 2007), including communication within the family. Family communication receives positive effects such as providing a new communication tool (Hughes & Hans, 2001), increasing mediated interaction (Pénard, Poussing, & Suire, 2013), and bringing more happiness to the family due to video calls (Shen et al., 2017). However, besides those positive aspects, the accompanying side effects are also worrying. According to Reisberg (2000) and Anderson (2001) the Internet has a detrimental impact on socialization and reduces personal interaction with friends or family members. Numerous studies have demonstrated that using the Internet makes people less likely to communicate, even with family members (Kraut et al., 1998; McKenna, Green, & Gleason, 2002). As a result, the more people participate in social networks, the more lonely they feel (Turkle, 2017).

In Vietnam, the rate of Internet use is pretty high. Vietnam is ranked in the group of 20 countries with the highest Internet usage rate in the world (Lan, 2020). In the family, parents and children are both Internet users, but children tend to use it more. The study by the Center for Research in Culture, Education and Social Life in 2014 shows that up to 19% of children under three years old and 59% of children 3-5 years old are using digital devices for an average time of 30- 60 minutes per day, while many parents see this as a method of babysitting (Le, Nguyen, Nguyen, & Pham, 2017). The UNICEF 2016 Annual Report (2017) states that up to 72% of Vietnamese youth between 15 and 24 years old use the Internet, 94% of Internet users in Vietnam use it daily, and they log on for an average of 6 hours and 42 minutes per day (Lan, 2020).

Many studies in Vietnam have been interested in the topic of the Internet’s influence on communication in the family. Technology-enabled Internet access is a powerful agent capable of profoundly dominating family communication (Le et al., 2017). According to the survey findings “Characteristics of using technology devices in Hanoi families and influencing factors” (Nguyen, 2017), the Internet has been shown to decrease the interaction time between parents and children.

Internet use is associated with time spent in face-to-face interaction between parents and children and increases the distance between family relationships (Nguyen & Le, 2021). The question of how the Internet affects Vietnamese families and family communication has been more or less clarified by previous studies. However, no study has explored the relationship between parents’ Internet usage purposes and how these affect communication with their children. Does a parent’s use of the Internet to communicate with their children serve to enhance or restrict that communication? This study aims to address that question and fill the gap left by previous research.

Material and methods

Research hypothesis

The way people use the Internet has significance when considering the role and influence of the Internet on communication between parents and children in the family. Kraut, Mukhopadhyay, Szczypula, Kiesler and Scherlis (1999) warned that we could predict the social impact of the Internet only if we understood how people used it. Therefore, considering user needs, it is also crucial to pay attention to the purpose of Internet use. December (1996) identified satisfaction in communication, interaction, and information as the three main aspects that explain why people use the Internet. The present study focuses on the three goals for which parents use the Internet: to get in touch, look up information, and build and maintain relationships. On that basis, it investigates the relationship between parents’ Internet use purposes and its effects on their communication with their children in the family.

Research question 1: How is the relationship between parents’ purposes for the Internet use and the Internet’s positive effects on communication between parents and children?

Hypothesis 1A: The more parents use the Internet to contact their children, the more diversity in communication with them increases.

Hypothesis 1B. The more parents use the Internet to look for information, the richer the content of communication between them and their children becomes.

Hypothesis 1C. The more parents use the Internet to build and maintain relationships, the more communication time between parents and children increases.

 

Research question 2: How is the relationship between parents’ purposes for the Internet use and the Internet’s negative effects on communication between parents and children?

Hypothesis 2A. The more parents use the Internet to contact their children, the less time they spend communicating face-to-face.

Hypothesis 2B. The more parents use the Internet to look for information, the more interruption and reduced interest in face-to-face communication with their children result.

Hypothesis 2C. The more parents use the Internet to establish and maintain relationships, the more their ability to share and understand each other in parent-child communication is reduced.

Research sample

When analyzing the EFA exploratory factor, there are 19 observed variables used. So, the minimum sample size required is 19 x 5 = 95 observations. The author surveyed 113 parent-child pairs to ensure the size of the sample.

A survey of 113 parents with children in junior high school and high school in Hanoi was conducted from June to July 2021. Parents participating in the study ranged in age from 35 to 50 and were active in all professions. Of the 113 parents, 79.9% are female, 22.1% are male with a pretty high level of education, 67.3% graduated from university and graduate school. Parents participating in the study belonged to two family groups: two-generation families (63.7%), and three-generation families (36.3%).

Surveying

The questionnaire draws on the existing literature of many research experts on Internet use and communication in Vietnamese families. The scales are built by the authors after determining the research object and purposes. The results presented in this study are part of the thesis “Internet and communication between parents and children in urban Vietnamese families” authored by Thi Kim Dung Le and was improved by a group of experts from Vietnam.

The sample’s selection proceeds as follows: First, the authors identify the subjects participating in the study. They were children and their parents. Children are junior high school and high school age, from junior high school and high schools in Hanoi. From the list of grades 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12, the homeroom teacher selects students in step 4 until the list is full for each class. From the list of students, the classroom teacher contacted them to invite their parents to participate in the survey.

From the list of selected students in junior high school and high school in Hanoi city, the authors continued with contacting and inviting their parents to participate in the research. The researcher provided information about the purpose, content, and manner of conducting the study to each participant before responding to the survey. All parents voluntarily consented to participate in the study. Parents were invited to their children’s school, where they answered the questionnaire under the guidance of the researcher. After data cleansing, the questionnaire was processed using SPSS 20 software to serve as the basis for research analysis.

The scale

The study focused on three purposes of parents’ Internet use: contact, looking for information, and establishing and maintaining relationships. The study aims to explore the relationship between parents’ Internet use purpose and communication activities between parents and children, so three scales are built to measure observed variables:

The scale of positive effects of the Internet on communication between parents and children. This scale includes four aspects of observation rated on a five-point Likert scale ranging from strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (5): (i) diverse forms of communication, (ii) more communication time, (iii) flexible communication moment, (iv) rich communication content, (v) easy to reach consensus. The variables assigned to the positive aspects of the Internet on parent-child communication are PE1 to PE5, respectively. The Alpha Cronbach coefficient for this scale is 0.889.

The scale of negative effects of the Internet on communication between parents and children. This scale consists of four aspects of observation, which are rated on a five-point Likert scale ranging from strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (5) (i) heavy use of the Internet reduces the time of face-to-face communication; (ii) heavy use of the Internet reduces the effectiveness of face-to-face communication; (iii) heavy Internet use disrupts and reduces interest in face-to-face communication, (iv) heavy Internet use reduces sharing and understanding in communication. The variables assigned to the negative aspects of the Internet on parent-child communication are NE1 to NE5, respectively. Alpha Cronbach coefficient for the scale is 0.868.

The scale of satisfaction in communication between parents and children. This scale includes 11 measurement aspects rated on a Likert scale of 5 from very dissatisfied (1) to very satisfied (5): total communication time, face-to-face communication time, communication moment, communication method, communication content, listening ability in communication, expressing emotion ability in communicating, ability to share views and understand each other, effective communication. The variables assigned to the level of satisfaction in communication between parents and children are from S1 to S11, respectively. The alpha Cronbach coefficient for the scale is 0.955.

Results

Descriptive statistics

Table 1

Time spent by parents on the Internet (n=113) (to see Table 1, please click here)

The Internet usage time of parents in the family is pretty high. Parents’ Internet usage time a day is at least 1 hour and, at most, over 6 hours. The amount of time spent online by parents in the survey is relatively consistent with the national average of 6 hours and 42 minutes per day for Internet use (Lan, 2020). Most parents use the Internet for 1-3 hours a day (43.4%), 31% of parents use the Internet for 3-5 hours/day, and 25.6% of parents use the Internet for more than 6 hours/day (Table 1).

Table 2

Devices used by parents for online activity (N = 113) (to see Table 2, please click here)

Due to their convenience, fast speed, and high mobility, mobile phones are the dominant means of accessing the Internet. Therefore, up to 91.2% of parents use mobile phones to access the Internet. Second-ranked, with an Internet access rate of 57.5%, is the laptop – a means of accessing the Internet that is quite fast and relatively flexible, allowing users to work and access the Internet simultaneously. Game consoles are the devices least used by parents to access the Internet, with a very modest rate of 2.7% (Table 2).

The means of accessing the Internet have a relationship with the purpose of using the Internet by the parents and with the communication behavior between parents and children. Survey results show that 91.2% of parents use smartphones to access the Internet, while smartphones are a very convenient means of accessing the Internet anytime, anywhere. Therefore, the use of smartphones as the prime means of accessing the Internet will contribute to supporting communication through the Internet between parents and children.

Table 3

Internet application usage among parents (to see Table 3, please click here)

Descriptive data shows that parental Internet access rates in apps are related to the purposes for which parents go online. Every day, 79.6% of parents access the Zalo application. Zalo is the largest domestic social network in Vietnam, with 60 million users in 2020 (Trong, 2020). Zalo social network is convenient for communication with video calling and messaging functions. Other social networks such as (Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, and Tinder) ranked second with a parental access rate of 71.7%. Youtube and other various websites are also used by parents when accessing the Internet, with relatively high percentages of 43.4% and 46%, respectively (Table 3).

The means of going online are related to the purpose for which parents use the Internet and the communication behavior between parents and children. Survey results show that 91.2% of parents use smartphones for their online activity because smartphones are a very convenient means of accessing the Internet anytime, anywhere. As a result, using smartphones as the primary Internet access method will support parent-child online communication.

The applications through which parents access the Internet are related to their intentions and parent-child communication behavior. Table 3 shows that most parents use social networks (71.7%) and Zalo (79.6%). These social networks play a crucial role in supporting parent-child communication.

Table 4

Purposes for which parents access the Internet (to see Table 4, please click here)

The purposes for which parents access the Internet cover a wide variety. 90.3% of parents use the Internet to contact and find information. The use of the Internet for establishing and maintaining parental relationships is also pretty high (62.8%). Most parents are less interested in using the Internet to express their personalities and viewpoints (17.7%) or to find help (22.1%).

Hypothesis testing

All hypotheses are checked by Pearson’s correlation (p < 0.05).

The first research question examined the relationship between the purpose for which parents use the Internet and the Internet’s positive effects on parent-child communication.

Hypothesis 1A predicts that the more parents use the Internet to contact their children, the more varied the ways they communicate with them. Hypothesis 1A is supported because there is a moderate positive correlation between the parents’ use of the Internet to contact the children and the variety of communication forms with them (r = .306; p < 0.05). That means the more parents use the Internet to contact their children, the more diverse the forms of communication between parents and their children will be (Table 5).

Descriptive statistics show that 56.6% of parents agree and 15.93 % strongly agree that the Internet increases the variety of forms of parent-child communication. The average score for the statement that the Internet increases the diversity of communication forms between parents and children is pretty high (3,796) (Table 6).

Table 5

Relationship between parental Internet usage intent and positive Internet influences on parent-child communication (to see Table 5, please click here)

Hypothesis 1B predicts that the more parents use the Internet to find information, the richer the communication content between parents and children will be. This hypothesis is supported because there is a low-level positive correlation between the parent’s use of the Internet to find information and the communication content between parents and children (r = .269, p < 0.05). It means the more information parents find on the internet, the richer the content of their communication with their children becomes (Table 5). 53.10% of parents surveyed agree that the Internet makes parent-child communication richer, while the percentage that strongly agrees is 15.04%. The average score for the statement ”The Internet enriches parent-child communication content” is 3.726 (Table 6).

Hypothesis 1C predicts that the more parents use the Internet to establish and maintain relationships, the more communication time between parents and children increases. Hypothesis 1C is supported because there is a low positive correlation between the parent’s use of the Internet to establish and maintain the relationship and communication time between parents and children (r = .204; p < 0.05) (Table 5). That means the more parents use the Internet to maintain and establish relationships, the more time they spend communicating with their children.

Descriptive statistics show that 48.67% of parents agree and 8.85% strongly agree that the Internet helps increase communication time between parents and children. The average score for the statement ”The Internet helps to spend more time communicating between parents and children” is 3.522 (Table 6).

Table 6

 Parents’ assessment of the positive influence of Internet use on communication with their children (to see Table 6, please click here)

The second research question examined the relationship between the purpose for which parents use the Internet and the Internet’s side effects on parent-child communication.

Hypothesis 2A predicts that the more parents use the Internet to contact their children, the less time they spend communicating face-to-face. Hypothesis 2A is not supported because there is no correlation between the parent’s purpose of using the Internet to get in touch with the children and face-to-face communication time between parents and children (p > 0.05). That means that parents who use the Internet a lot to contact their children do not reduce the time spent in face-to-face communication (Table 7).

Table 7

Relationship between parental Internet usage intent and negative Internet influences on parent-child communication (to see Table 7, please click here)

Hypothesis 2B predicts that the more parents use the Internet to find information, the more interruption and reduced interest in face-to-face communication with their children will be reported. Hypothesis 2B is supported because there is a low positive correlation between parents’ use of the Internet to find information and the ability to interrupt and reduce interest in face-to-face communication between parents and children (r = .189; p > 0.05) (Table 7). That means parents use the Internet to a great extent to find information that interrupts and reduces interest in face-to-face communication with their children. 38.05% of parents agree, and 15.04% strongly agree that Internet usage disrupts and reduces interest in communication between them and their children. The average score for the statement ”The Internet disrupts and reduces interest in face-to-face communication between parents and children” is 3.398 (Table 8).

Hypothesis 2C predicts that parents use the Internet too much to establish and maintain relationships with their children, reducing their ability to share and understand each other in parent-child communication. This hypothesis is supported because there is a low positive correlation between parents’ use of Internet to establish and maintain relationships and their ability to share and understand each other in parent-child communication (r = .276; p > 0.05) (Table 7). 42.48% of parents agree, and 14.16% strongly agree that using the Internet too much reduces the ability to share and understand each other in interpersonal communication. The average score for the statement ”The Internet reduces the ability to share and understand each other in communication between parents and children” is 3.478 (Table 8).

Table 8

Parents’ assessment of the negative influence of the Internet on communication between parent and children (to see Table 8, please click here)

Discussion

The survey results show that five of the six initial hypotheses are supported (1A, 1B, 1C, 2B, and 2C). So, there is a correlation between the three purposes for which parents use the Internet and its influences on communication between parents and children in families in Hanoi. Parents use the Internet to make contact, increasing the variety of communication forms between parents and children, but this does not reduce the face-to-face communication time between parents and children. Parents using the Internet to find information contribute to a richer content of communication with their children while also increasing the disruption and reducing the interest in face-to-face communication between parents and children. Parents’ use of the Internet to maintain and establish relationships with their children increases total communication time with them but decreases their ability to share and understand each other through communication.

The Internet not only helps people connect quickly, but it also adds new communication tools for them, as noted by Hughes and Hans (2001).

The Internet not only helps people connect quickly, but it also adds new communication tools for them, as noted by Hughes and Hans (2001). Therefore, the communication activities between parents and children are supplemented with many new communication channels. Forms of communication are not limited to face-to-face chat but can be extended through texting or calling (with or without video), even parent-child interactions on social media. Social media accounts are also a new way of communicating nowadays. When parents use the Internet, there is also a variation in the existing forms of communication with their children. Interestingly, parents using the Internet to make contact increase the variety of communication forms but do not reduce the face-to-face communication time between parents and children. That is quite different from previous studies that found that using the Internet (for whatever purpose) also reduces the time spent by individuals in face-to-face communication with others, including family members, such as research by Kraut et al. (1998), McKenna et al. (2002), Shim (2007), Gapsiso and Wilson (2015). The specific cultural characteristics and social context of the research object should be considered in explaining this difference. One of the inherent cultural characteristics of Vietnamese society is placing a strong emphasis on maintaining good relationships with others, and communication is a key-factor for good social relations (Tran, 1999). Besides, the social context in Vietnam creates conditions for parents and children to have a lot of space and time to communicate with each other. Every day, each family usually has two to three meals together. Furthermore, Vietnamese people have the habit of drinking tea after each meal, sitting and chatting with family in one place. Therefore, direct communication between parents and children always seems to have a lot of space and time conditions to take place.

The emergence of the Internet does not reduce the face-to-face communication time between parents and children; on the contrary, the communication between them is also enriched in content when parents use the Internet to find information. This finding shows that the Internet provides a diverse source of information to enhance parent-child conversations. In fact, with just one click, the whole world seems to be within our reach. The Internet provides an information source for communication between parents and children. However, being too focused on finding information on the Internet increased disruption and decreased interest in face-to-face communication between parents and children. Disruptions and reduced interest in face-to-face communication could be the cause of a decrease in the quality of face-to-face communication between parents and children. Therefore, this should be kept in mind when building solutions or services that promote effective communication in the family.

Besides that, the use of the Internet by parents to maintain and establish relationships increased total communication time between parents and children. Therefore, parents who use the Internet to connect, establish and maintain relationships will increase the positive influence of the Internet on communication between parents and children. However, further research is needed on the relationships parents build and maintain online because the parent’s motivation for doing so also hinders parent-child communication by making it harder for them to share and understand one another. Thus, more communication time does not mean parents and children can share and understand each other better during communication.

Conclusion

The findings of the research indicate that the use of the Internet by parents for contact, information seeking, and relationship establishment and maintenance increases the positive effects of the Internet on parent-child communication. These findings support the hypothesis that the purposes for which parents use the Internet influence parent-child communication. Inside, the positive effects are fundamental. Making online contact with children broadens the range of the available communication forms; searching for online information can enrich communication content with them; and establishing and maintaining relationships with children via the Internet increases parent-child communication time. However, both searching for information and building relationships in the virtual environment have side effects: these practices contribute to the disruption and reduction of interest in face-to-face parent-child communication and the decline of the ability to share and understand each other.

It can be considered that the three purposes of using the Internet – to contact, find information, establish and maintain relationships – are healthy usage purposes. It is undeniable that the Internet would improve parent-child communication if it were used for constructive purposes. This finding consolidates the view that the real problem of using the Internet belongs to the users themselves (Shim, 2007). The benefits of the Internet for communication activities will increase if people are encouraged to use it for health purposes. It could be an interesting suggestion to build a system of family support services and solutions to direct individuals to use the Internet effectively and promote more effective communication among family members.

Acknowledgements

This research is funded by Vietnam National Foundation for Science and Technology Development (NAFOSTED) under grant number 504.05-2020.301.

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