Parental Control in Modern Society: Priorities and Forms of Implementation

Abstract

The problem of parental control as one of the basic characteristics of parent-child relationships is considered. The authors believe that the singularity of the modern era is determined by the dominance of prefigurative culture society with its characteristic fracture of patterns of behaviour established in previous generations. The results of empirical study of parental control in modern society are presented. The main spheres of its application and methods of implementation are characterized. It is shown that the priority sphere of control of today’s parents is the child’s state of health. The authors note that at the same time many parents underestimated the importance of control in the sphere of children’s interaction with the Internet and other modern means of mass communication. It is emphasized that in the present context “trust” control in these areas is tantamount to acquiescence and failure to take responsibility for the child. It is shown that in the information society one cannot apply to the former, traditional forms of parental control, which characterize the society of postfigurative culture. The obtained data indicate a lack of understanding of the parents the global changes of the whole sphere of social interaction related to the formation of fundamentally new communication culture of the modern society. The question of the elaboration of new methods of parental control that meet the requirements of the modern era is raised.