Digital Babysitting and Technoference: Parenting Structure Shifts And Early Social Alienation In Academic Families In Papua
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.59211/mjpjetl.v4i2.418Keywords:
Digital Babysitting, Social Alienation, Sociology of the Family, Technoference, Academic Families.Abstract
The digital transformation within academic environments has fundamentally altered the domestic landscape of educated middle-class families in Papua, triggering the phenomena of digital babysitting and technoference. This study aims to analyze the structural shifts in child-rearing practices, the typologies of technoference, and their structural implications for the socio-emotional character of early childhood within the families of lecturers and administrative staff at IAIN Fattahul Muluk Papua. Employing a descriptive qualitative approach grounded in the sociology of the family and social change, empirical data were gathered through in-depth interviews with 12 purposively selected informants, naturalistic observations, and documentary analysis. Data analysis was executed using the interactive model of Miles, Huberman, and Saldaña. The findings reveal that digital babysitting is deliberately adopted as an instrumental rational coping strategy to navigate the dual-role conflict caused by the invasion of digitized bureaucratic workloads into the domestic sphere. Meanwhile, technoference manifests through spontaneous communication interruptions and divided attention, systematically degrading the family's primary socialization function. Consequently, early childhood social alienation occurs, characterized by a deficit in face-to-face communication capacity, emotional co-regulation failure (digital tantrums), and the disruption of intergenerational cultural transmission. This study concludes that digital technology has denaturalized conventional parenting roles and generated novel social vulnerabilities within contemporary domestic institutions in Papua.
Downloads
References
[1] M. I. Gomes, H. Sousa, M. Lousada, and D. Figueiredo, “Factors Contributing to Screen Exposure in Preschool Children and Its Associated Outcomes: A Systematic Review,” Child. Care. Health Dev., vol. 52, no. 2, pp. 1–18, 2026, doi: 10.1111/cch.70241.
[2] I. Koning, H. Vossen, H. Brons, and R. van den Eijnden, “Richtlijn Gezond Schermgebruik,” Amstardam, 2025. [Online]. Available: Open Overheid National Guideline 2025
[3] Alfiasari, T. Sumarti, E. S. Wahyuni, and I. R. Johan, “Optimizing Left- behind Children ’ s Well - being of Migrant Worker ’ s Families in Rural Areas through Strengthening the Nuclear Family System : A Perspective from Child ’ s View Optimalisasi Kesejahteraan Left-behind Children pada Keluarga Pekerja Migra,” Sodality J. Sosiol. Pedesaan, vol. 10, no. 02, pp. 179–195, 2022.
[4] Z. Khairati and H. Rahmah, “Screen-Based Emotion Regulation in Early Childhood Parenting : A Systematic Literature Review and Bibliometric Analysis,” J. Ilm. Tumbuh Kembang Anak Usia Dini, vol. 11, no. March, pp. 167–182, 2026, doi: 10.14421/jga.2026.111-12.
[5] A. H. F. Anto, A. N. Azizah, M. I. S. Al Musyaawi, and A. R. Hamdani, “The dynamics of parents and children communication: A scoping review Dinamika pola komunikasi orang tua dan anak: Scoping review,” Psikoislamika J. Psikol. dan Psikol. Islam, vol. 20, no. 2, pp. 650–673, 2023, doi: 10.18860/psi.v20i2.21827.
[6] F. Salih and M. Thampy, “Impact of phubbing behaviour on emotional availability among children in early childhood years - A review analysis,” Int. J. Home Sci., vol. 12, no. 3, pp. 34–37, 2026, doi: 10.22271/23957476.2026.v12.i3a.2127.
[7] M. Huang et al., “Parenting stress and young children’s problematic media use: the serial mediating roles of parental phubbing and parent–child conflict,” Front. Psychol., vol. 17, no. April, 2026, doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1806359.
[8] B. C. Rodriguez, X. V. R. Saldaña, and E. C. R. Vasquez, “The Impact of Technoference on Parenting Styles towards Children,” Journallaedusci, vol. 01, no. 04, pp. 16–25, 2020, doi: 10.37899/journallaedusci.v1i5.256.
[9] J. Yang, Y. Yang, L. Zhang, and D. Tong, “The relationship between parental technoference and malevolent creative behavior among adolescents: the mediating role of phubbing and the moderating role of mindfulness,” BMC Psychol., vol. 14, no. 1, 2026, doi: 10.1186/s40359-026-04037-z.
[10] V. Adeyemi, “The Impact of Digital Technology on a Child’s Cognitive and Social Development: Implications for Education,” Prem. J. Psychol., 2025, doi: 10.70389/pjp.100006.
[11] Z. Cheng and Z. Cheng, “The Impact of Parental Technoference on Attachment Security in Infants and Toddlers : A Systematic Review Part 1 : Immediate Impacts of Technoference on Parent – child Interaction,” Atlantis Press SARL, 2026. doi: 10.2991/978-2-38476-553-9.
[12] Hermansyah, R. A. Dasing, and G. H. Renngiwur, “Konstruksi Sosial Penundaan Tugas Akademik Mahasiswa di Era Digital,” Morfol. J. Ilmu Pendidikan, Bahasa, Sastra dan Budaya, vol. 4, no. 1, pp. 26–35, 2026, doi: 10.61132/morfologi.v4i1.2554.
[13] M. M. Sari and D. F. Syawaludin, “The Influence of Digital Parenting on the Social Behavior of Early Childhood in the 5.0 Technology Era,” J. Multidisiplin Indones., vol. 3, no. 3, pp. 11–20, 2024, doi: 10.58344/jmi.v3i3.2257.
[14] I. M. Sakir, “Meotode Penelitian: Kuantitatif, Kualitatif, dan Mixed Method,” Filosofi Indonesia Press, 2024, pp. 1–342.
[15] M. B. Miles, A. M. Huberman, and J. Saldana, Qualitative Data Analysis; A Methods Sourcebook. SAGE Publications, 2014.
[16] P. D. A. Wari et al., “Guided Digital Interaction Digital Parenting Strategy for Early Childhood Cognitive Development among Working Mothers,” Indones. J. Early Child. Educ. Res., vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 162–174, 2026, doi: 10.31958/ijecer.v5i1.16863.
[17] A. A. A. Mustaghfiroh, A. Wibowo, and Y. Al Ansori, “Digital Parenting Strategies And Their Effectiveness In Setting Limits On Gadget Use In Children In Early Childhood In Central Java Province,” Int. J. Grad. Islam. Educ., vol. 7, no. 1, pp. 236–243, 2026.
[18] T. Reiter et al., “Investigating Phubbing in Everyday Life: Challenges & Lessons for Future Research,” in Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems - Proceedings, Association for Computing Machinery, 2024, pp. 11–16. doi: 10.1145/3613905.3651009.
[19] B. T. McDaniel and J. S. Radesky, “Technoference: Parent Distraction with Technology and Associations with Child Behavior Problems,” Physiol. Behav., vol. 89, no. 1, pp. 100–109, 2018, doi: 10.1111/cdev.12822.
[20] S. Eiteljoerge, A. Matzerath, H. Gweon, and N. Mani, “Infants follow the gaze of same-age peers, young children, and adults,” Soc. Dev., vol. 34, no. 1, pp. 1–17, 2025, doi: 10.1111/sode.12786.
[21] S. P. Petkova, V. R. Manolova, and S. R. Vezenkov, “Restoring Attachment in Children with Early Screen Addiction,” Nootism.eu, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 74–78, 2025, doi: 10.64441/nootism.2ncsc.7.
[22] M. A. Ruben, M. D. Stosic, J. Correale, and D. Blanch-Hartigan, “Is Technology Enhancing or Hindering Interpersonal Communication? A Framework and Preliminary Results to Examine the Relationship Between Technology Use and Nonverbal Decoding Skill,” Front. Psychol., vol. 11, no. January, 2021, doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.611670.
[23] Hermansyah and S. Mariah, “Strategi Guru dalam Mengembangkan Kemandirian Anak Usia Dini di RA Al-Asrafy Asyaman Swakarsa,” Semant. J. Ris. Ilmu Pendidikan, Bhs. dan Budaya, vol. 3, no. 3, pp. 310–328, 2025, doi: 10.61132/semantik.v3i3.1982.
[24] L. H. I. Annisa, B. F. Rukmana, I. Wahyudi, and M. Amnullah, “The Relationship between Screen Time and Speech and Language Development in 3-6 Years Children,” THRIVE Heal. Sci. J., vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 80–88, 2025, doi: 10.56566/thrive.v2i2.330.
[25] L. A. Marbun and D. R. Nasution, “the Influence of Social Media on Family Communication Patterns in the Digital Era,” OPINI J. Commun. Soc. Sci., vol. 1, no. 2, pp. 34–39, 2024, doi: 10.70489/opini.v1i2.324.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
URN
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Hermansyah, Debby Riana Hairani
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Authors grant the journal the right of first publication. which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided that the original work is properly cited. Authors are responsible for ensuring that any third-party materials included in their work have proper permissions.
