The Problem and its Setting 1
Chapter I
THE PROBLEM AND ITS SETTING
Introduction
Digital technology means that devices can be more compact, faster, lighter, and
more versatile. Huge amounts of knowledge can be stored locally or remotely and moved
around virtually immediately. Even the term “information” has expanded to include media
such as photos, audio, and video, and no longer refers to just words and numbers. However,
technology use can cause social and behavioral problems in children because it minimizes
the amount of time kids spend interacting with others. Make sure to monitor your child's
social media use and be aware of the types of websites they're visiting and the games they're
playing online.
Digital addiction or internet addiction of some teenager is one of the common
problems of the parents. More commonly, digital addictions effect individuals and families
in other destructive and dangerous ways. For example, digital addictions can have
detrimental effects on individual’s career or education as they spend their time engaging in
digital usage rather than focusing on school- or work-related tasks. Digital addiction can
lead to procrastination and avoidance of work. Digital addictions can also impede on
relationships as the individual loses interest in socializing or communication at the expense
of their digital device.
Protecting our children remains one of the top priorities for us as parents, always
striving to offer them a safe physical environment. But nowadays, that's only half the job
done. Securing them the same way in the virtual world surfaces as an even more
challenging endeavor.
The Problem and its Setting 2
According to Benedetto & Ingrassia, 2020 digital media has quickly changed ways
in which parents and children communicate, enjoy themselves, acquire information, and
solve problems daily. Very young children are regular users of smartphones and tablet, so
their early digital engagement poses new challenges to parent-child relationships and
parental role. This currently occurs from early infancy, due to the rapid diffusion of
touchscreen devices among younger children. Children aged 2 - 4 years actually are able
to use touchscreen devices, such as tablets or smartphones, to play or watch movies, and
often parents themselves introduce kids to use them in boring social situations.
Background of the Study
Assuring the safety of the children remains one of the top priorities for parents.
Giving them the safe physical learning environment is one of the toughest jobs that the
parents should do but now that the virtual world exists, the role of the parents become more
challenging.
Digital Safekeeping is one of the solutions that we may use in order to protect the
young generations when it comes on using the technology especially social media
platforms that are essential nowadays because of the global health crisis that we’re dealing
right now. This generation is considered as the Net Generation (Howe & Strauss, 2000) in
which young users in this era are the most comfortable on using it known as the Digital
Natives who were born at the turn of 21st century (Prensky, 2001).
The expansion and improvements of technology are continuously growing as years passed
by that is why the involvement of the parents when it comes on guiding their children when
The Problem and its Setting 3
it comes on using these useful gadgets has a big impact so that we may avoid exposing
them to information that aren’t applicable to their age.
According to Steinberg (2005), good parenting helps foster empathy, honesty, selfreliance, self-control, kindness and cooperation. These characteristics haven’t change with
the increased of use of technology, thus, parents must need to be more diligent in observing
these principles with the changes brought by technology and media use.
From the given perspectives, the researcher decided to conduct a study on
Assessing the Parents’ Role on Digital Safekeeping of Grade 7 in Quezon Central Institute,
Inc.
Statement of the Problem
This study attempts to know the Parents’ Role on Digital Safekeeping of Grade 7 in
Quezon Central Institute, Inc.
Specifically, this sought to attain the following objectives:
1. The demographic profile of the respondents (which are the parents).
1.1 Gender
1.2 Age
1.3 Nature of Work
2. What is the parents’ role on digital safekeeping of grade 7 students in terms of:
2.1. Usage of Gadgets
2.2. Privacy
2.3. content sharing;
2.4. Friends’ list; and
The Problem and its Setting 4
2.5. group membership
3. Is there a significant difference between the demographic profile of the respondents
and their role on digital safekeeping of grade 7 of Quezon Central Institute, Inc.?
Significance of the Study
Digital parenting describes parental efforts and practices for comprehending,
supporting and regulating children’s activities in digital environments. According to
Vygotsky’s Theory of Child Development, parental involvement and mediation are
considered as key aspects in facilitating the interaction between children and new media.
To the parents, who served as the main respondents of this study, this will help
them on how to guide their children when it comes on using the digital and technology
resources given to us. Recommendations of strategies will also be provided in order for
them to be aware so that they may come up to the best approach they can use to educate
their children for them to become a responsible user of internet.
To the teachers, who serve as the second parent of the children, this study will help
them to guide the young learners when it comes on using social media platforms to avoid
leaking their personal information and make them understand the relevance of discipline
when it comes on proper usage of these resources.
To the students, for them to know the role of their parents to assure their safety
when it comes on using social media and for them to understand how important it is for
them to cooperate and interact with them.
To the future researches, this will serve as their guide I order for them to gather
credible data or information that will help them to create their future researches.
The Problem and its Setting 5
Scope and Limitation
The researchers focus on the Parents’ role in digital safekeeping. Moreover, it
highlights how parents’ doing their role in digital safekeeping and how significant it is
especially that the young learners nowadays are exposed on using the internet due to online
learning. Thus, this study will find out how Parents talk to their teens about safe and risky
online practices and about appropriate and inappropriate behavior.
Quezon Central Institute is the chosen locale of the study because it will be
convenient for the researchers to gather the total number of respondents needed in order to
create appropriate and credible data that will be helpful to formulate conclusions and
recommendations. The target respondents of this study will be the parents of Grade 7
students that are studying in Quezon Central Institute who are using digital technology
such as tv, cellphone, laptop, computer and etc.
The researchers provide a checklist questioner that will be given to the parents of
the Grade 7 students of Quezon Central Institute in order to know the role of the parents
when it comes on digital safekeeping of the students who are using technology, gadgets or
internet as their tool or resources in learning.
The Problem and its Setting 6
Definition of Terms
For better understanding of the study, the researcher defined the following
significant terms conceptually and/ or operationally.
Factors refers to ...

Digital Media- is any form of media that uses electronic devices for distribution.
This form of media can be created, viewed, modified and distributed via electronic
devices. Digital media is commonly used software, video games, videos, websites,
social media, and online advertising.

Digital Natives- a person born or brought up during the age of digital technology
and therefore familiar with computers and the internet from an early age.

Digital Parenting- describes parental efforts and practices for comprehending,
supporting, and regulating children's activities in digital environments.

Digital Technology- are electronic tools, systems, devices and resources that
generate, store or process data. Well known examples include social media, online
games, multimedia and mobile phones.

Endeavor- try hard to do or achieve something

Internet Addiction- is defined as an unhealthy behavior that interferes with and
causes stress in one's personal, school, and/or work life. Like other addictions,
compulsive Internet usage completely dictates a person's life.

Social media – It means interaction among people in which they create, share,
and/or exchange information and ideas in virtual communities and networks. The
The Problem and its Setting 7
office of communication and marketing manages the main Facebook, Twitter,
Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube account.