Parental Mediation of Social Media Use and Its Implications for Adolescents’ Social Behavior: A Qualitative Study

The growing presence of social media has reshaped the ways adolescents interact and develop social behavior, particularly among junior high school students. Social media is no longer used only for communication and entertainment; it has become an important part of students’ learning processes, self-expression, and everyday social engagement. Within this context, parental involvement plays a key role in shaping how adolescents experience and respond to digital media. This study explores how parents mediate their children’s use of social media and examines the implications of these practices for students’ social behavior. Using a qualitative case study approach, data were collected through in-depth interviews, observations, and document analysis involving students, parents, and teachers who were purposively selected to reflect diverse family backgrounds and levels of parental education. The data were analyzed using the interactive model of Miles, Huberman, and Saldaña, which involves processes of data condensation, data display, and conclusion drawing. The findings show that students actively use social media platforms particularly WhatsApp, TikTok, and YouTube for communication, entertainment, and learning support. Parental mediation takes various forms, ranging from minimal supervision and restrictive control to more dialogic and collaborative guidance. Parents with higher levels of digital literacy tend to engage more actively with their children through open communication and value-based discussions, helping adolescents use social media in more constructive ways. This form of parental involvement is associated with the development of positive social behaviors, such as stronger communication skills, adaptability, and empathy. In contrast, limited parental involvement is often linked to less positive social outcomes, including reduced face-to-face interaction and uncritical imitation of online trends. Overall, the study highlights the crucial role of parents as mediators in shaping the social impacts of social media and emphasizes the importance of strengthening parental digital literacy and collaboration between families and schools to support healthy social media use among adolescents. Keywords: parental mediation; social media use; adolescents; social behavior; qualitative study.