Digital parenting

Digital parenting has become an essential part of raising children in today’s highly connected world. Digital media is deeply embedded in children’s daily lives, shaping how they learn, communicate, and spend their leisure time. For parents who grew up in a predominantly analog world, this presents new challenges: learning how to guide, support, and regulate children’s digital experiences in ways that promote well-being and healthy development.

The IRTIS Digital Parenting working group explores how parents and children navigate digital media within the context of family life. Our work focuses on parental mediation, digital and eHealth literacy, online risks, and communication between parents and adolescents about their online experiences. Using quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-method approaches, we examine how parental knowledge, skills, emotions, and perceptions shape children’s online well-being, safety, and development, while also investigating when and why adolescents choose to share—or withhold—information about their online lives.

Our team

We are a team of psychologists, media scientists, and sociologists. We share an interest in information and digital technologies and studying their long-term impacts. To study this topic, we are carrying out longitudinal surveys of children, adolescents, and adults. Each of us specializes in a specific case of this broad field of study. You can learn more about the members of our group below and in our profiles.

We are continuously working on data analyses and writing articles. Below is the list of published outcomes from our longitudinal datasets. We will regularly update it.

Journal articles

2025

Gulec, H., Muzik, M., Smahel, D. & Dedkova, L. (2025). Longitudinal Associations Between Adolescents’ mHealth App Use, Body Dissatisfaction, and Physical Self-Worth: Random Intercept Cross-Lagged Panel Study. JMIR Ment Health, 12, e60844. doi:10.2196/60844
Kvardova, N., Machackova, H., Maes, Ch. & Vandenbosch, L. (2025). Navigating Beauty Standards on Social Media: Impact of Appearance Activity on Adolescents’ Body Dissatisfaction. Journal of Youth and Adolescence. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-025-02159-y
Lacko, D., Kyslík, F., Smahel, D. & Machackova, H. (2025). Gaming together, feeling better—or feeling worse? How social video gaming impacts loneliness and depressive mood differently for boys and girls. Computers in Human Behavior, Volume 172, November 2025, 108752. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2025.108752
Svestkova, A., Huang Y. & Smahel D. (2025). Factors that influence trust and willingness to use generative AI for health information: A cross-sectional study. DIGITAL HEALTH. 2025;11. doi:10.1177/20552076251360973
Tercova, N. , Muzik, M., Dedkova, L. & Smahel, D. (2025). The Reciprocal Relationship Between Parental eHealth Literacy Mediation and Adolescents’ eHealth Literacy: Three-Wave Longitudinal Study. Journal of Medical Internet Research 2025, 27, e67034. doi:10.2196/67034

2024

Lacko, D., Machackova, H. & Smahel, D. (2024). Does violence in video games impact aggression and empathy? A longitudinal study of Czech adolescents to differentiate within- and between-person effects. Computers in Human Behavior, 159, 108341. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2024.108341
Lebedíková, M., Araujo, R., Mýlek, V., Šmahel, D., & Dědková, L. (2024). The reciprocal relationship between consensual sexting and peer support among adolescents: A three-wave longitudinal study. Computers in Human Behavior, 152, 108048. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2023.108048 https://osf.io/4pdyh/

Research reports

Smahel, D., Šaradín Lebedíková, M., Lacko, D., Kvardová, N., Mýlek, V., Tkaczyk, M., Svestkova, A., Gulec, H., Hrdina, M., Machackova, H., & Dedkova, L. (2025). Tech & Teens: Insights from 15 Studies on the Impact of Digital Technology on Well-Being. EU Kids Online.
Mýlek, V., Dědková, L., Šestauber, J., & Macháčková H. (2023). Adolescents’ face-to-face meetings with online acquaintances. Brno: Masaryk university.
Bedrosova, M., Dufkova, E., Dembytska, N., Gerzicakova, M., & Dedkova, L. (2022). Cyberhate in Czech families: Adolescents’ experiences andtheir caregivers’ knowledge. Brno: Masaryk University.

Conferences

Mýlek, V., Dědková, L., Dienlin, T. & Shouten, A. P. (2024, September 24-27). Does online communication improve or diminish adolescents’ social skills? Presented at the 10th European Communication Conference (ECREA), Ljubljana, Slovenia. Available here.
Terčová, N., Mužík, M., Dědková, L. & Šmahel, D. (2024, September 24-27). The reciprocal relationship between parental e-health literacy mediation and adolescents' e-health literacy: A three-wave longitudinal study. Presented at the 10th European Communication Conference (ECREA), Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Tkaczyk, M., Ksinan, A. J. & Šmahel, D. (2024, September 24-27). Longitudinal associations between screen time, bedtime and daytime sleepiness among adolescents: A three-wave panel study. Presented at the 10th European Communication Conference (ECREA), Ljubljana, Slovenia. Available here.
Šaradín Lebedíková, M., Olveira Araujo, R., Šmahel, D. & Kaveri Subrahmanyam (2024, September 24-27). Individual factors of expected and unexpected sexting and the subsequent feelings: A nationally representative study in adolescents. Presented at the 10th European Communication Conference (ECREA), Ljubljana, Slovenia. Available here.
Dědková, L., Mýlek, V., & Geržičáková, M. (2024, September 24-27). Do restrictions work? Examination of the impact of parental restrictions on adolescents’ online flirting with new people in 4-wave panel. Presented at the 10th European Communication Conference (ECREA), Ljubljana, Slovenia. Available here.
Güleç, H., Mužík, M., Šmahel, D. & Dědková, L. (2024, September 24-27). The Reciprocal Associations between Adolescents’ mHealth App Use, Body Dissatisfaction and Physical Self Worth: A Three Wave Longitudinal Study. Presented at the 10th European Communication Conference (ECREA), Ljubljana, Slovenia. Available here.
Lacko, D., Macháčková, H., & Šmahel, D. (2024, September 24-27). Within- and between-person effects of violence in video games on aggression and empathy. Presented at the 10th European Communication Conference (ECREA), Ljubljana, Slovenia. Available here.
Švestková, A., Šmahel, D. & Dědková, L. (2024, September 24-27). Insight into the vicious circle: A longitudinal study of health anxiety and health-related internet use in adolescents. Presented at the 10th European Communication Conference (ECREA), Ljubljana, Slovenia. Available here.
Jaron Bedrosova, M., Mylek, V., & Dedkova, L. (2023). (Cyber)victimization among Czech youth: Comparing experiences of non-heterosexual and heterosexual adolescents. Presented at the 13th Conference of the Media Psychology Division (MediaPsych 2023), Belval, Luxembourg. Available here.
Mylek, V., & Dedkova, L. (2023). Adolescents’ interactions with people from the internet and the quality of their offline friendships. Presented at the 13th Conference of the Media Psychology Division (MediaPsych 2023), Belval, Luxembourg. Available here.
Dědková, L., Mýlek, V., & Lebedíková, M. (2022, October 19-22). The impact of parental mediation on children’s online activities: Two-wave panel study. Presented at the 9th European Communication Conference (ECREA), Aarhus, Denmark. Available here.
Geržičáková, M., Dědková, L., & Mýlek, V. (2022, October 19-22). Does momma know best? Parental characteristics and their association to parents' knowledge about children's online risks [Poster presentation]. Presented at the 9th European Communication Conference (ECREA), Aarhus, Denmark. Available here.
Mýlek, V., & Dědková, L. (2022, October 19-22). Why, with whom, and what was the outcome? Face-to-face meetings between adolescents and people from the internet. Presented at the 9th European Communication Conference (ECREA), Aarhus, Denmark. Available here.

Popularizations

Dědková, L., & Mýlek, V. (2023, February 22). How effective are parenting strategies when it comes to meeting people online? [blogpost] Available here.
Mýlek, V. (2022, November 16). Why do Czech adolescents meet face-to-face with people from the internet? IRTIS blog. [blogpost]. Available here.