Digital parenting and transnational migration: cultural and emotional drives for digital media use

Portugal is a country historically marked by in and out (trans)mobility flows of immigrants and emigration. Considering these families’ voices are missing in national research, we aim to explore the “niche” of transnational families. Within the scope of children’s rights in a digital age that gives rise to this volume, we focus on two research questions: (1) how are late modern transnational families incorporating and making sense of communication tools in their everyday parenting chores and family’s interactions; and (2) how are they regulating children’s digital provision and protection.

We selected six different families (in Portugal and England) in terms of cultural and socio-economic characteristics, making part of an ongoing qualitative longitudinal study (iTec Families). The chapter builds on their testimonials, perceptions and practices to stimulate the debate around children and technology in the domestic context and parental guidance and mediation, confronting critically these cases with up-to-date literature from a socio-constructivist standpoint.

We will attempt to demonstrate whether the adoption and appropriation of digital technology is a relevant element shaping family’s daily lives, and whether digital artefacts and affordances help foster connectedness within the family, supporting relationships, and bridging physical distance with faraway relatives.