Managing children's internet advertising experiences: parental preferences for regulation

Abstract

Recent research suggests that children are spending a significantamount of time on the Internet which increases their exposure tosubtle, engaging, and interactive ads. As a result, policy makers havedeveloped regulations intended to empower parents to manage theirchildren’s exposure to Internet advertising. However, prior researchhas not examined parental perceptions of these regulations. Thisarticle aims to identify (1) parents’ regulatory preferences regardingchildren’s exposure to Internet advertising and (2) whether (and how)parents’ locus of control (LOC) drives their regulation preferences.Findings reveal that internal-LOC parents prefer parental respon-sibility while external-LOC parents prefer government regulations,parental responsibility, and involvement of independent organizationsand firms. External-LOC parents’ preference is mediated by theirconcerns about Internet advertising and their tendency to have faithin regulation. Policy makers can use the findings to develop guidelinesthat better assist parents in influencing their children’s Internet use.