Parental Dialogic Reading Habits in Shaping Adolescent Screen Time Behaviors and Emotional Wellbeing: An Ethnographic Inquiry

Abstract

This ethnographic study explored how parental reading habits can shape adolescents’ screen time behavior and emotional wellbeing in a world where excessive screen use is linked to emotional challenges and behavioral issues in adolescents. Through in-depth interviews with four participants, including parents and adolescents, this study explored how parental engagement in reading activities helps adolescents manage screen time and make a strong emotional bond. I spent over two months in day time and conducted workplace interviews, observation and reviewed journals. The process involved multiple readings, initial coding, categorizing and narrative interpretation to assemble parents’ experiences on dialogic reading and its influence in shaping adolescent screen time behavior and emotional well-being. The findings indicate that parental reading habits contribute to better screen time control and emotional resilience.