The role of parents in establishing the media culture of their children through their use of digital platforms

The development witnessed by our current era and the proliferation of media of all kinds has affected the way people think, act and behave in the society in which they live. Hence the importance of the media gauntlet. The issue of conflict or complementarity between new and old media is one of the controversial issues that aroused - and still is - the interest of media and communication scholars and those interested in this important field of knowledge. For traditional media (paper newspaper, traditional radio, and television) and the second: sees the possibility of coexistence side by side between all forms of media and communication, old and new, similar to what happened throughout the history of these media, where the new did not cancel the old completely, even if it affected it on the In a different way from one medium to another (Saleh, Naseer, 2014), digital platforms are one of the new media tools that tried to present themselves as alternative platforms for traditional television, and were able to set new standards for television broadcasting represented in a new form and content for the content provided through these platforms.
Media literacy provides a large area of ​​favorable opportunities to address the psychological, educational and social problems that children suffer from, as it plays a prominent role in providing children and youth with a pure social culture, and helps them to possess the skills of criticism, evaluation, analysis, problem-solving, linking between things and variables, speaking skills, reading and writing, and social and cultural skills Which helps them to communicate effectively, and enables them to absorb cultural specificities in their relationship with generalities and other cultural variables. In addition, media literacy helps to form a model of good example for children; Media literacy is necessary to develop the ability to think critically and analytically, and to establish self-controls that enable parents and children to receive the media flow and the flow of media messages, in a way that helps in selection, and accordingly shows what is moral, intellectual and value.
Hence, this study seeks to identify the role of parents in establishing the principle of media literacy among their children in light of the digital media era that the world is witnessing now in general, and in their use of digital platforms in particular. And to identify the relationship between the level of media culture of parents, the type of mediation, and the process of children’s use of digital platforms, through a questionnaire form with a sample of parents consisting of 400 items.
The study concluded the importance and necessity of spreading the concept of media literacy among parents to educate their children about the use of digital media in general and digital platforms in particular, and to establish the principle of media literacy among children from an early age, because the media literacy of parents reduces the negative effects of using digital platforms on children, and reduces exposure. For negative and non-targeted contents. And the need for a kind of parental mediation during children’s exposure to digital platforms, whether with the participation of parents with their children, the contents they are exposed to, their interests and preferences through digital platforms, or allocating part of their time for that, or discussing with them during and after exposure about those contents to avoid the negative effects of digital platforms