Understanding Parents’ Information Seeking About Adolescents’ Use of Social Apps Using Theory of Motivated Information Management

Many parents have concerns about what their adolescent children are doing online, including potential risks of their tweens and teens encountering people who may want to harm them. Some fear they do not know what their children are doing online and may be motivated to seek information to alleviate their uncertainty. This study applied the theory of motivated information management (TMIM) to examine parents’ information management process amid feelings of uncertainty surrounding their adolescent children’s use of social apps. Respondents (N =146) were parents/caregivers of adolescent children recruited using Prolific to complete a survey measuring the components of TMIM (e.g. uncertainty discrepancy, anxiety, efficacy). Findings generally support TMIM’s predictions about parents’ information management process regarding their adolescents’ use of social apps and are used to identify practical suggestions about parents’ uncertainty management regarding their children’s use of social communication technologies.