From empty nest to Social Networking Site: What happens in cyberspace when children are launched from the parental home?

摘要

With the present study we explore the popular assumption that parents become more active in their child-related Social Networking Site (SNS) use when the child leaves the parental home. Moreover, we aim to investigate whether parental empty nest feelings predict their child-related SNS use to stay in contact with children living outside the parental home, controlling for a variety of other possible predictors (e.g., family, parent, and child characteristics). We conducted an online survey among an MTurk sample of N = 758 US parents of children who were either expected to move out of the parental home shortly or had moved out recently. Results showed that child-related SNS use increased in the period when the child was leaving the parental home. Over the subsequent two years, SNS use decreased gradually, to eventually reach a level similar to that of six months before the child's launch. In addition, multiple regression analyses revealed a significant association between empty nest feelings and child related SNS use over and above general social media activities of parents, and while controlling for other possible predictors. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.