‘Please Let Me Breathe’: A Case Study of Digital Parenting Beliefs and Fears Among Middle-Class Thai Generation Y Parents in Bangkok
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Abstract
In Thailand’s hyperconnected society, middle-class Thai Generation Y parents—raised alongside the internet—are now navigating parenting in a digital age where screens are ever-present. This qualitative study examines how Generation Y parents of children aged 3–6 integrate digital technology into their parenting, the fears they associate with its use, and the belief systems that shape these perceptions. Based on in-depth interviews with fourteen Bangkok-based parents, the data were thematically analyzed to uncover key patterns. The findings reveal that digital technology serves multiple roles in daily parenting: as a caregiver, a pacifier, an educator, and a surveillance tool. Parents expressed seven core fears, including exposure to harmful content, emotional disturbance, developmental delays, pseudo-autism, attention deficits, vision problems, and poor socialization. These fears reflect a hybrid belief system shaped by Western medical knowledge, Buddhist morals, Eastern family norms, and parental intuition. Thus, daily parents of this generation act like negotiators and protectors, balancing institutional guidance and personal judgment. In conclusion, the study moves beyond binary views of techno-optimism and techno-fear, revealing how culturally embedded belief systems shape digital parenting. These insights offer a valuable foundation for reflecting on digital parenting frameworks that are more nuanced and that recognize the various layers that respond to local realities.
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