Parental mediation of children’s TV viewing in China: An urban-rural comparison

Purpose: This paper aims to examine how parental mediation of children's television viewing varies among urban and rural children in China. Design/methodology/approach: A survey of 1,056 children ages 6 to 14 in nine Chinese provinces was conducted. Independent sample t-tests were performed to make rural-urban comparisons. Correlation analyses were provided on the relationships between parental mediation styles and children's television usage, and between parental mediation styles and children's purchase request. Findings: The paper finds that urban parents engage in more instructive mediation and restrictive mediation than rural parents. Urban parents use restrictive mediation the more often, while rural parents use co-viewing the more frequently. Only urban children's television viewing has a significantly positive relationship with co-viewing with their parents. In general, children's purchase request is positively related to parental mediation styles in rural and urban China (except for restrictive mediation in rural areas). Research limitations/implications: The study is based on an analysis of secondary data. Future studies should adopt established scales of parental mediation styles for the Chinese context. Practical implications: The findings should help public policy makers understand the dynamic parents-children interactions with television, and help marketers find effective and efficient ways to reach young Chinese consumers. Originality/value: The study represents a preliminary effort to examine the antecedents of television parental mediation, its occurrence, and its potential effects in the Chinese context.