Feeding in the Digital Age: An Observational Analysis of Mobile Device Use during Family Meals at Fast Food Restaurants in Italy
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Field Note Observations Procedure
2.2. Thematic Analysis
2.3. Coding
2.4. Parent Mobile Phone Use
2.5. Child Bid for Attention
2.6. Missed Bid for Attention
3. Results
3.1. Sample Characteristics
3.1.1. Theme 1: Gender Differences in Phone Use
“Father is on his phone and the baby is quiet [about 7 months old]. He glances at the baby, then back to his phone scrolling [maybe on internet]. Not typing. He gets baby’s attention by tapping his hand on the table in front of her to the beat of the radio [while looking at phone]. He looks at her and tickle/pinches her, then goes back to his phone. He is very engaged with his phone. He engages with baby for 1–2 s every 30 s or so and then is back to his phone which was either on table or being held about a foot from his face. Mother returns. He shows her photos on his phone and they laugh. Adults talk bored/content. She is engaging with baby. He is eating while on his phone. She drinks coffee and talks to the baby. She leans toward baby. She feeds the baby with a bottle. He watches, no longer on his phone, then he is back on his phone while she feeds the baby milk from a bottle. He finishes his burger while poking at his phone on the table not engaging with her or the baby. She and the baby engage with one another. Adults speak inaudibly. Baby is eating and content. He is silent and on his phone while his face is flat/neutral in expression most of the time. She smiles and reacts to the baby quickly. Baby holds [mother’s] hands while being fed… Baby smacks table for attention playfully. Mother immediately ignores phone and engages baby using hand play. Father never looks up from phone. Mother takes baby out of chair and bounces her on lap, kisses her playfully. Father never looks up from phone or speaks.”
“Father is still scrolling on his phone. He is silent and nearly motionless. Mother wipes hair from girl’s face [3–4 years old]. Adults are waiting for the girl to finish. Girl eats slowly but steadily while bouncing. Then the mother was on her phone. Father looks around and out the window. Mother scrolls on her phone seeming to be on the internet. Adults are not on phones at the same time. Girl watches mother on the phone. Mother’s face is always pleasant/neutral. Girl clings to mother’s arm and watches her on her phone. Girl then begins to fling herself around the booth. Father finishes the girl’s milkshake. Mother shows the girl her phone again... Father is also on his phone. Always scrolling/internet. The girl then gets under the table. Then she eats her burger and bounces.”
“This pattern was a system of attending to the child and the phone as a loop. She would scroll on her phone, then look at the kids, then look around the room, then back to the phone. When her children required attention, they were immediately acknowledged. However, little to no conversation or interaction was seen while the children were eating.”
3.1.2. Theme 2: Child Bids for Attention
“Boy tries to get under the table and is lightly scolded. Mother is texting and while mother is distracted texting with the phone about a foot from her face the boy sips from the lid of the beer can. Mother looks up from her text and snatches the can away. She does not seem angry; she is just moving the can. The boy holds his burger and nibbles on it but he is more interested in exploring his arms, his body, and the table. Mother holds the phone up a foot from her face and texts with her pinky… Boy is standing on the seat shouting and pounding on the wall. Mother shows almost no reaction to his behavior. Now the boy is seated and wearing trash like a hat.”
“The child was in the presence of her caregiver, but was left unviewed for over 5 min while sitting across the table from him. She pointed things at him, stole fries from him in, stacked all of the trash into a tower on his side of the tray, messed with his items, and finally climbed over the table at him. It was only after this last attention grab that he talked to her while still scrolling on his phone. She then gets onto the floor by him and receives a side hug as he scrolls on his phone with the other hand.”
3.1.3. Theme 3: Age Differences in Parental Phone Use
3.1.4. Theme 4: Boredom
“Mother is scrolling on her cell phone. Phone is held at first—now on table. Now she holds it about 6 inches from her face and scrolls like she is reading or on the internet. Now she takes photos of the kids. And puts the phone on the table. She watches the kids eat. She holds the phone and talks to the girl. Boy watches other people all around him. Mother is back on the phone in front of her face. Mother is scrolling on the phone with a bored expression. Mother always doing rounds with her gaze—kids, phone, around room, kids, phone, around room.”
“Mother seems to be finished with her food. Mother is very patient and waits for the boy to eat. Mother seems bored and eats fries slowly (this fry eating seems to be only for entertainment). Boy hands over his toy and is finishing his burger. Boy is still eating and mother is finishing her drink they talk and mother tries to get response but boy ignores her and eats while staring out the window. Mother eat a piece of boy’s burger. Mother is on her phone and reading an article. She is attending to the boy while reading with speaking and glancing. Until now mother has not used the phone except check charge.”
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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n (%) | Any Parent | Any Parent | Continuous Use | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Phone Use | n (%) | n (%) | ||
n (%) | ||||
Caregiver Gender | ||||
Female | 41 (61%) | 13 (32%) | 10 (77%) | 3 (23%) |
Male | 26 (39%) | 11 (42%) | 6 (55%) | 5 (45%) |
Caregiver Age | ||||
Categories | ||||
20–39 | 31 (46%) | 18 (58%) | 12 (67%) | 6 (33%) |
40–59 | 32 (48%) | 5 (16%) | 3 (60%) | 2 (40%) |
60+ | 4 (6%) | 1 (25%) | 1 (100%) | 0 (0%) |
Family Language | ||||
Italian | 11 (30%) | 5 (46%) | ||
Other European Origin | 8 (22%) | 6 (63%) | ||
Asian Origin | 2 (5%) | 1 (50%) | ||
Inaudible/Unidentifiable | 16 (43%) | 6 (50%) | ||
Child Gender | ||||
Female | 34 (54%) | 17 (50%) | ||
Male | 29 (46%) | 12 (41%) | ||
Child Age Categories | ||||
Infant (Under 1 year) | 4 (50%) | 3 (75%) | ||
Toddler (1–3 years) | 2 (23%) | 2 (100%) | ||
Preschool (3–5 years) | 9 (50%) | 8 (89%) | ||
School Age (5–11 years) | 40 (23%) | 16 (33%) | ||
Teenage (12–18 years) | 7 (50%) | 0 (0%) |
Infant | Toddler | Preschooler | School Age | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Father | ||||
Brief/Intermittent | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
Frequent/Continuous | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
Mother | ||||
Brief/Intermittent | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
Frequent/Continuous | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
Phone Using Parent | Non-Phone Using Parent | |
---|---|---|
Child Bid for Attention | 10 (45%) | 1 (7%) |
Missed Bid for Attention | 5 (50%) | 0 (0%) |
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Kiefner-Burmeister, A.; Domoff, S.; Radesky, J. Feeding in the Digital Age: An Observational Analysis of Mobile Device Use during Family Meals at Fast Food Restaurants in Italy. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17, 6077. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17176077
Kiefner-Burmeister A, Domoff S, Radesky J. Feeding in the Digital Age: An Observational Analysis of Mobile Device Use during Family Meals at Fast Food Restaurants in Italy. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2020; 17(17):6077. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17176077
Chicago/Turabian StyleKiefner-Burmeister, Allison, Sarah Domoff, and Jenny Radesky. 2020. "Feeding in the Digital Age: An Observational Analysis of Mobile Device Use during Family Meals at Fast Food Restaurants in Italy" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 17, no. 17: 6077. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17176077