E-commerce growth and its impact on families and children
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Abstract
The rapid growth of e-commerce has transformed patterns of consumption worldwide; however, its implications for family dynamics and child development remain underexplored. This study examines the relationship between household e-commerce exposure, family functioning, and child emotional and behavioral outcomes, with particular attention to parental mediation and developmental diversity. Using a cross-sectional quantitative design, data were collected from 100 parents or caregivers of children aged 6–16 years. Measures assessed household e-commerce engagement, children’s exposure to digital commercial cues, parental stress, family interaction quality, parental mediation practices, and child developmental outcomes, including emotional regulation, impulsivity, and attention-related difficulties. The findings indicate that higher levels of e-commerce exposure are associated with increased parental stress and greater developmental risk in children. Children with developmental diversities exhibited heightened vulnerability to these effects, despite comparable exposure levels. Parental mediation emerged as a protective factor, demonstrating associations with reduced parental stress and lower child developmental risk, although it did not fully buffer exposure-related effects. These results suggest that e-commerce functions as a psychosocial environmental factor influencing family regulation processes rather than merely a mode of economic exchange. The study highlights the importance of integrating digital consumption contexts into family-based therapeutic frameworks, such as ReAttach Therapy, and underscores the need for child-sensitive approaches to digital commerce in supporting family and developmental well-being.
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References
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