Poster presentation by Deborah Gassner at the UXPA 2016 conference in Seattle, WA, June 1-3, 2016. We so often hear the negatives regarding children and phone use, but what are the other, often positive, implications of using technology across generations? This study was designed to understand how mothers and adolescent daughters use text messaging in order to communicate with each other. Texting allows a mother and daughter an additional opportunity to communicate and connect, which can serve to strengthen their relationship.

1. Mothers, Daughters, and Smartphones–Oh My!
What role does texting play in the parent-child relationship?
Deborah Gassner, User Experience Designer, Blink UX
Poster Presentation
UXPA Conference June1-3, 2016

2. A typical teenage girl between
ages 13 and 17 sends and
receives 40 texts per day. For
the oldest girls (15 to 17), this
rises to a median of 50 messages
exchanged daily.
Teens, Social Media & Technology Overview
2015, Pew Research Center, April 2015
OVERVIEW
We so often hear the negatives regarding
children and phone use, but what are the
other, often positive, implications of using
technology across generations?
This study was designed to understand how
mothers and adolescent daughters use
text messaging in order to communicate
with each other. Texting allows a mother
and daughter an additional opportunity to
communicate and connect, which can serve
to strengthen their relationship.
METHODOLOGY
Eight women were interviewed during individual
one-on-one, one hour sessions, with one researcher
present. Sessions were videotaped. A session guide
was used to guide the interview process.
Participants: Women ranging in age from 38 to 52
years old with daughters from 11 to 17 years old.
All work outside the home—six work full-time and
two work part-time. All women live in Seattle.
RESEARCH
QUESTIONS
What role does texting play in the mother-
daughter relationship?
What are the ways in which texting has mitigated
or increased the challenges of face-to-face
communication?
PARENTING FROM AFAR
All women spoke of the convenience and
utility provided by texting. They gave
numerous examples of text exchanges that were
commonplace. For example, a daughter will ask if
she can go to a friend’s house after school, she will
let her mother know the bus is late, or the mother
will ask where the daughter is.
However, there were other reasons women
appreciated the ability to stay in touch beyond
simple logistics. A mother will send a text to
check in with her daughter as a follow up to an in-
person interaction, for instance, asking whether a
headache has gone away, how the test went, or
how things are going with a particular girl she has
been struggling with at school.
“Our whole life is held together by this
communication through screens. We
spend 11 hours every day apart and I
feel like I am parenting from afar.”
P1 Amy, mother to 14-year-old Audrey
Texting is not the only mode of communication for
important or difficult topics for any of the women;
however, it is often seen as a good way to send
reminders to their daughters about behavior.
“Sometimes I am just an annoying mom
and I say ‘I love you. I hope you’re
making good choices.’ ”
P2 Julia, mother to 16-year-old Grace
CONNECTING WHILE
PULLING AWAY
Women with older daughters spoke of texting
as providing an important connection. As the
girls become more independent and value their
privacy, the women appreciated the opportunity to
communicate when they do not talk in person as
often as they once did.
“At 16 she’s pulling away. Texting
with her feels like a little private
conversation. Sometimes a text feels
like a little lifeline to her from me.”
P2 Julia, mother to 16-year-old Grace
SAYING YOU’RE SORRY
Women spoke of texting as a way to bridge
difficult conversations that happened in-person.
Three of the women described the same scenario:
the mother sending a text as an apology follow-up
after a “rough start” to the morning.
“At times, if we are in disagreement over
something, it has been helpful to talk
via texting. Sometimes I can get her
to open up more. When personalities
struggle in person, texting can give us
a chance to talk without getting overly
angry or emotional.”
P5 Kristin, mother to 13-year-old Chloe
SILENT SUPPORT
A text is silent. The privacy that is afforded by a
silent conversation came up in several interviews
as an added benefit of texting. The scenarios cited
were both one-time unique situations as well as
regular occurrences.
• Audrey, 14, was visiting her father out-of-state
and needed to talk to her mother when the visit
was challenging and she did not want for her
father to know that she was upset.
• Bella, 12, was at a new friend’s house for a
sleepover party and was uncomfortable
because the family had very different rules
around behavior. She instigated a lengthy text
conversation with her mother because she was
anxious.
• Eva, 14, struggles with peer relationships and
will often text her mother during the school day
to ask for support or advice.
In all of these examples the girls are not able to
deal directly with the situation and communicate
with the people they are with so they reach out to
their mothers for advice or support. However, in
the second example—the girl at the sleepover—the
mother voiced her concern about her daughter
texting her instead of talking to the girls she was
with. “She wanted to be cool,” she explained and
said she hopes that her daughter can develop
skills in communicating directly and will not rely on
texting her mother instead of talking to her peers.
FINDINGS
Mothers, Daughters, and Smartphones–Oh My!
What role does texting play in the parent-child relationship?
Deborah Gassner, User Experience Designer, Blink UX
Contact
 deborah@blinkux.com @crunchyplastic
Acknowledgements
As a UX Designer I am fascinated by the way people use
technology, and this study came out of the desire to investigate
one aspect of that theme more deeply. At Blink UX, we periodically
take on projects unrelated to client work, such as this one, in an
effort to further our collective knowledge and abilities. With that
in mind, I would like to thank Siri Mehus, Ph.D. and Tom Satwicz,
Ph.D. for their insight and encouragement.
CONCLUSION
“I feel like there’s
a closeness to our
texting. She doesn’t
really want to talk
ever.”
P7, Katherine, mother to 17-year-old Erin
All of the women believe that texting with
their daughters has an overwhelmingly
positive impact on their relationship. They
appreciate the additional avenue with which to
connect and parent that texting provides; this is
especially significant with the high school-aged
girls who are becoming more independent.
Many women reflected upon their own behavior
and recognized that they themselves are
struggling with the tension between the phone
as a means of connection and distraction.
They want to model healthy behavior for their
children which, when it comes to phone use, is
not always easy for them. They are aware that
this conversation, be it with themselves or their
daughters, is an ongoing one.
PARENTING FROM AFAR
Three of the study’s
eight participants
with their daughters.
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distribution or commercial use.
PARENTING FROM AFAR
SAYING YOU’RE SORRY
PARENTING FROM AFAR
CONNECTING WHILE PULLING AWAY