According to the data analysed, the higher parents’ educational level, the less time their children spend on the internet at home, during the week. Specifically, the time devoted to this activity is limited to a maximum of two hours a day. In this way, the evidence shows that children of parents with post-compulsory secondary schooling and in particular a university degree use new technologies less than children of parents with only compulsory schooling. 
 

One of the reasons that might account for this is that parents with a higher educational level might possibly make a conscious effort to reduce the time their children spend on the internet because they are aware that misuse of ICTs can have negative effects on educational achievement.

Another argument is based on the type of care the parents give to their children. According to numerous empirical studies, parents’ educational level influences the amount and quality of the time they devote to their children. People who have post-compulsory secondary and university studies tend to spend more time with their family, and also tend to provide their children with more intellectual stimulation. On the other hand, parents who are more disadvantaged, both economically and educationally, tend to interact less with their children, as the care they provide tends to be more along the lines of supervision than intellectual stimulation.

The results show that couples in which both members are university graduates have a greater effect in terms of limiting their children’s computer use than couples who combine different educational levels.

In addition to reducing time spent on the internet, couples with high educational levels are also more likely to guide their children to make use of new technologies for educational rather than leisure purposes. In this case, as in the previous one, a positive influence is exerted by the time parents spend with their children and the intellectual stimulation they offer them, two aspects that are related to high parental education level.

The findings also suggest that households with more economic resources tend to be equipped with a wider variety of digital devices. This may lead to an increase in internet use, as these devices provide children with more possibilities of access to new technologies. In the absence of a direct indicator of household income or wealth, we opted to use the number of possessions in the home as an approximation of the household’s economic level.

The effect of wealth on internet access is felt at all educational levels, independently of the type of studies received by the parents. In this way, as can be seen in the graph, wealthy households in which the parents only have compulsory education also show greater internet use.

MANZANO, D. and M. FERNÁNDEZ-MELLIZO (2019): «Origen familiar, uso del tiempo y de las tecnologías de la información», Revista Internacional de Sociología, 77(3):136.