Examination of the relationship between the demographic characteristics and the levels of digital awareness of parents

In this study, it was aimed to examine the relationship between parents' digital awareness levels and demographic characteristics. The study group of this research, which is in relational survey type; It consists of 378 parents who have at least 1 child at pre-school, primary and secondary school levels in the central districts of Samsun province, can use smart phones and participate in the survey in electronic environment. "Parent Demographic Information Form" and "Digital Parenting Awareness Scale (DEFO)" were determined as data collection tools in order to examine the relationship between parents' demographic characteristics and their digital awareness levels. SPSS 22.0 V. statistical package program was used in all statistical calculations. Research findings were given as n(%), mean and standard deviation values, and the findings were considered significant at the p< .05 level. Reliability coefficients (cronbachalpha) were calculated in order to control the internal consistency of the answers given by the parents participating in the study to the scale items. The conclusions reached as a result of the findings are as follows: The negative model sub-dimension score of the fathers participating in the study is higher than the mothers, and the sub-dimension score of efficient use and protection from risks is lower; The risk protection sub-dimension score of parents aged 20-30 was higher than parents aged 41 and over; Negative model and digital neglect sub-dimension scores of parents with undergraduate and higher education level are higher than parents with primary and secondary education. On the other hand, parents with secondary education have higher levels of effective use and protection from risks compared to parents with primary education and undergraduate and higher education. ; The digital neglect sub-dimension score of parents who have 5 or more digital tools at home is higher than those who use 1 digital device; The risk protection and negative modeling sub-dimension scores of parents who use technological tools very well are higher than parents who use weak technological tools; In addition, while there was a difference in the sub-dimension scores of protection from risks according to the number of children the parents had; It was observed that there was no statistically significant difference between the sub-dimension total scores of the digital parenting awareness scale according to income status. In line with the findings obtained, a discussion was made by considering the literature, and suggestions were made to parents and researchers.