ABSTRACT
This essay addresses how mobile and persuasive design affordances of media interact with parent–child interaction dynamics, through an infant mental health/dyadic framework. Building upon the concepts that child characteristics (temperament, regulatory abilities) and parent characteristics (mental health, parenting style) interact in a transactional manner over time to influence child developmental outcomes, the essay explores the research on how smartphones and tablet computers associate with parent–child interaction through: (1) mobility into interpersonal spaces; (2) mobility into individual/difficult-to-share/intentional withdrawal spaces; (3) the parent’s experience of toggling their emotional and cognitive resources between child and technology; (4) the parent’s experience of managing technology with persuasive design elements that interact with parent and child characteristics in new ways. How these affordances affect parent self-efficacy, self-awareness about one’s relationship with devices, sense of guilt or polarization about rapidly evolving technology, and relevant intervention or digital literacy approaches are discussed.
