Systematic review finds parental phubbing and technoference link to poorer attachment in youth, indicating interaction timing matters more than screen frequency.
HRMARS - Parental problematic social media use (PSMU) and related digital media behaviors may compromise caregiver availability and responsiveness, but their associations with parent-child attachment remain unclear. This systematic literature review synthesized evidence by exposure type, developmental stage, attachment direction, reporter, and study design. PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and APA PsycInfo were searched from inception to July 2026. Of 1,139 records, 646 unique records were screened; 33 reports underwent full text assessment, and 29 were included. Direct evidence on parental PSMU was limited to three reports and was inconsistent. Related digital media behaviors showed clearer adverse associations, especially parental phubbing, technoference, and media absorption that displaced attention during interaction. Findings for general social media frequency, broader problematic device use, and smartphone use during feeding were null, mixed, or context-dependent. Adverse findings were most consistent in cross-sectional adolescent studies using child-reported attachment to parents; early-childhood findings varied across bonding and responsiveness measures, and middle-childhood evidence was sparse. Longitudinal findings did not establish a consistent prospective association. Overall, interactional timing and perceived intrusiveness may be more relevant to attachment than frequency of use alone. Longitudinal, dyadic studies using clearly differentiated exposure and attachment measures are needed.
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Shi et al. (2026) studied this question.