Implications of the family expert role for parental rules regarding adolescent use of social technologies

We conducted individual semi-structured qualitative interviews with a diverse group of 40 adolescents to assess their perceptions related to (a) the location of expert power within their families with respect to social technology use (cell phones and social networking sites) and (b) the implications of such power for parental rule setting and enforcement related to adolescent use of these technologies. Results indicated substantial variability in who adolescents perceived to be the family experts. Rules regarding access to social technologies existed in most families regardless of the technology type and regardless of whether parents or youth were perceived as technology experts. In contrast, family expert status had implications for the types of content rules that parents set regarding adolescents’ use of social technologies and the manner in which such rules were enforced.