Children’s digital rights with the context of parental mediation styles: The role of children’s age, gender, parents’ digital skills and parent-child communication – A scoping review

The digital age has transformed childhood experiences, with children increasingly engaging with digital technologies- smartphones, social media and online platforms. This scoping review aims to explore the tension between parental digital mediation style and children’s rights in the digital space. It also explores the factors influencing mediation approaches, including parents’ digital skills, communication styles and children’s age and gender. The review is guided by Arksey and O’Malley’s five-stage framework, alongside PRISMA guidelines. This review analyses 53 studies sourced from ERIC, Scopus, Web of Science and PsycINFO. Only seven of these articles directly addressed children’s rights in the context of parental mediation, highlighting a critical research gap. Although the 3Ps framework positions protection, participation, and provision as interconnected dimensions of children’s digital rights, the selected studies reflect an imbalance in how these three dimensions have been explored. Findings also reveal that age appears to be a significant factor, with younger children experiencing more restrictive strategies, whereas older children are allowed more active mediation. Findings on gender roles were less consistent throughout the articles. Parents with higher digital skills are more likely to adopt active, enabling mediation approaches. The review underscores the importance of open communication, suggesting that parent-child interaction promotes active mediation over restrictive control. This study highlights the need to prioritise direct engagement with children, rather than privileging adult perspectives, to better understand children’s needs and rights in the digital space.