Growing Up in the Digital Age: Perceptions of Parenting and Experiences of Online Opportunities and Risks among Urban Chinese Adolescents

Abstract

This dissertation investigates the Internet use of urban Chinese adolescents, focusing on their encounters with online opportunities and risks, their negotiation of parental mediation, and the influence of socio-cultural contexts, including the Chinese concept of Guan (caring governance). Adopting a mixed-methods approach, the research integrates survey data and in-depth interviews across three empirical studies to provide a child-centered and culturally nuanced understanding of urban Chinese adolescents' digital experiences. The Internet presents a dual reality for young people: it offers significant online opportunities for learning, social connection, self-expression, and identity construction, yet simultaneously exposes them to notable online risks, such as harmful content, cyberbullying, and privacy violations. Parents employ various parental mediation strategies (e.g., restrictive rules, active discussion, co-use) to manage these experiences, practices which are deeply intertwined with broader parenting styles and cultural values. While previous research has explored these dynamics, a significant gap exists in understanding how these constructs manifest and interact within the unique socio-cultural landscape of urban China, particularly concerning indigenous parenting concepts like Guan and the balance between culturally ingrained parenting philosophies and evolving family dynamics in a rapidly changing media environment. China, with its vast population of young Internet users and specific governmental regulations shifting usage towards the home, offers a critical yet under-explored context for examining these interactions. This dissertation makes substantial scholarly contributions by advancing child-centered perspectives on digital rights, emphasizing adolescent agency in navigating the digital world. It enriches the understanding of digital childhood and parenting by providing a culturally contextualized view of urban Chinese adolescents' Internet use, particularly through the exploration of Guan. The findings offer practical implications for parents, educators, and policymakers, advocating for a move beyond simplistic views of Internet use towards fostering critical thinking, self-regulation, and digital citizenship. It calls for culturally tailored, child-centered interventions that acknowledge adolescents' needs for autonomy and participation, and for incorporating their perspectives into policy and educational program development.Dissertation Completion Fellowship granted by the Graduate School at the University of Massachusetts Amherst; Suopis Communication Graduate Fellowship granted by the Department of Communication at the University of Massachusetts Amherst; Graduate School Fieldwork Grant by the University of Massachusetts Amherst; Anca Romantan International Fieldwork Grant by the Department of Communication at the University of Massachusetts AmherstDoctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)2026-09-0