Rumi Bintey Habib
Researcher: What is your name?
Respondent : My name is Sawda Tasnim Nubah.
Researcher: What is your department?
Respondent : Iam from department of business administration.
Researcher: What is your year of study?
Respondent: Iam currently on my second year.
Researcher: What is your present address?
Respondent: My address is House 32/34 road 6 Block F Banasree Rampura
Researcher : What is your residential status? You are living with your parents/hostel/sublet/others?
Respondent: Iam living with my parents
Researcher: What is your age?
Respondent: Iam 21 years old.
Researcher: What is your gender?
Respondent: Iam female.
Researcher: What is your marital status?
Respondent: Iam single.
Researcher:. What apps/social media do you use and why?
Respondent: I mostly use Instagram because its easy and fun to use. I use facebook as all my friends use
it too. I have Netflix in my phone for [Link] is used for communication. I sometimes
use snapchat for fun. I use youtube daily for multiple purposes such as studies, productivity and
knowledge gaining.
Researcher: How often do you communicate with your parents online?
Respondent: I do not communicate much with my parents online . I sometimes text them if I think I will
be home late from university or hangout with friends, other than that I do not really interact with them
much online.
Researcher:, what is your preference of communication texting or face-to-face communication with your
parents?Why?How did you chose this preferred communication technique?
Respondent: I prefer either one of these patterns depending on the situation. If I want to share
something Iam a bit afraid of letting them know for example my examination marks then I prefer texting
over face to face interaction. However, if I simply wish to let them know about how my day went or
perhaps I want to know how their day went then I surely prefer face to face interaction. Besides, my
parents are not very good with texting so I usually avoid chatting with them online
Researcher: What topics do you usually discuss online VS. in person and could you kindly answer this in
details.
Respondent: Well, when Iam interacting with my parents online I usually send them reels or memes that
they will find funny. Thus we usually have small light hearted conversation about matters that are not
very serious for example my mother once sent a meme about how young girls spend large sums of
money behind skincare and still consume junk food and forget to drink water everyday. Next I
remember replying that it wasn’t just me who made such careless mistakes everyday with a laughing
emoji. Another example is of how my mother once sent me a recipe of chicken teriyaki and then I
responded eagerly about how I would cook it for Eid. Sometimes my parents send me motivational
messages online. My father once sent me a post about a young girl who once failed in class 7 but
became international maths Olympiad champion when she was in college. He sent me this to encourage
me in studies and also because I used to be extremely afraid of maths. Next I replied to him saying that I
was grateful to have supportive parents and that I would try my best to improve in maths too. In real life
my parents and I discuss matters in great details. They involve political discussions, for example about
how if Jamaat comes to power it would mean that Bangladesh’s progress will become slow. I remember
my dad telling me about how Sheikh Mujibur Rahman did some good deeds in life but how he deserved
criticism for not doing enough for poor people during difficult times such as famine. I remember this
conversation lasting for about an hour almost! Once my father gave me a long lecture about how
Muslims should try to be be better at practicing Islam and be kinder to other human beings. This
conversation also was quite long and I even asked some questions related to religion during this
conversation out of curiosity. In real life we also talk about movies, music and beautiful countries in
Europe besides such serious matters.
Researcher: Do your parents understand your online world?
Respondent: They do understand it. Both my parents use social media and surf the internet so yes they
are quite good at handling the online world by now.
Researcher: Have you ever had argument at home about your digital media use?
Respondent: Yes I did. Sometimes I have to use digital media for long hours such as when having group
discussions about studies or assignments. Parents tend to think we just use studies as an excuse to
waste time online sometimes but however messenger or whatsapp calls are simply the fastest ways to
communicate with peers for academics
Researcher: Have you ever taught your parents something digital for example any apps or features?
Respondents: Yes I did. I taught my mother how to take screenshots of recipes posted online. I also
taught her how to order food and jewelleries online. Once she asked me to teach her how to deactivate
facebook a long time ago, I remember showing her the process step by step. I did not have to teach me
father anything digital however. As he is the breadwinner of the family he has always handled and
overcome new challenges through his own efforts because he believes that as human beings we should
be as responsible as possible.
Researcher: Has digital media helped your bond with family members?
Respondent: In some cases it did. In some cases it actually did not. For example, when I was around 16
years old I used to annoy my parents a lot urging them to buy me western outfits because my female
classmates and friends used to wear them a lot. However my parents did not approve of Muslim women
wearing western so they scolded me and thus the use of social media led to the quality of my bond with
parents deteriorating. My mother was upset with me for about a month because she saw her
classmates’ children getting admission in public universities on facebook and also in good universities
abroad. She was sad after seeing those online and that affected my bond with her as she used to tell me
that I deeply disappointed her by not studying hard enough to get admission in Dhaka University or BUP.
In contrast during the pandemic my family members and I watched movies on Netflix together which
helped our bond grow.
Researcher: What should parents know about the online lives or activities of young people?
Respondent: Parents should be very aware about the daily activities of their children. Due to internet a
lot of social problem exists. Too much social media like Instagram everyday may lead to mild depression
according to research. Teenagers often compare the highlights such as a trip abroad of others lives with
their own lives and feel depressed if their parents are not wealthy enough to afford trips like that. Porn
addiction is quite common among young boys and parents should be very cautious about this. Often due
to availability of Netflix immature girls may get addicted to shows such as gossip girls or friends where
nothing valuable is shown really. Instead these shows show a lot of dramatic situations about love
relationships and might instill unrealistic beauty standards among young girls. Often young children play
games online and if too much violent games are played it might lead to an unhealthy mindset and
thinking process eventually. Thus it is important for parents to know about these online activities of
young people.
Researcher: On 12th December how much time did you spend on digital media?
Respondent: I spent around 5 hours
Researcher: What were some of the apps or platforms you used?
Respondent: I used Netflix, Instagram, facebook messenger and Chatgpt
Researcher: For what purpose did you use them? Learning, chatting, entertainment, family
communication, others?
Respondent: I used them for entertainment mainly and I used chatgpt to answer one of the questions of
my student I tutor for pocket money. Facebook messenger was used for communication.
Researcher: Example of digital interaction with family?
Respondent: I used messenger to do video call with my younger sister who lives in a hostel in Rajshahi.
Researcher: Any positive moment or conflict?
Respondent: My sister expressed that she missed gossiping with me in person before going to bed and
momos and tea cooked by me for her. It was a positive moment for me.
Researcher: On 11th December how much time did you spend on digital media?
Researcher: I spent around 6 hours.
Researcher: What were some of the apps or platforms you used?
Respondent: I used whatsapp, Netflix and Instagram
Researcher: For what purpose did you use them? Learning, chatting, entertainment, family
communication, others?
Respondent: I used them for entertainment and group call with classmates
Researcher: Example of digital interaction with family?
Respondent: I did not interact with family online that day
Researcher: Any positive moment or conflict?
Respondent: I had a conflict with my classmates. We had a disagreement about who would make
presentation slides
Researcher: On 10th December how much time did you spend on digital media?
Respondent: I spent around 3 hours
Researcher: What were some of the apps or platforms you used?
Respondent: I used facebook messenger, Netflix and chatgpt
Researcher: For what purpose did you use them? Learning, chatting, entertainment, family
communication, others?
Respondent: I used them for entertainment and my studies
Researcher: Example of digital interaction with family?
Respondent: Digital interaction with family did not occur on that day.
Researcher: Any positive moment or conflict?
Respondent: My best friend explained me a very difficult theory of economics in a way that made it very
easy to understand for me. It was a positive moment.