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The COVID-19 pandemic dramatically altered daily life for Gen Z. The purpose of this study was to examine parental perceptions of the pandemic’s effects on their children’s peer relationships. As children sought peer connection during the pandemic, technology usage soared. The second purpose of the current study was to assess how greater time on social media affected adjustment among Gen Z and whether this effect was mediated by experiences of cyber victimization.

In total, 250 U.S. parent-child dyads participated in the study. Parents reported on their children’s social media use and described how they believed the pandemic affected their children’s peer relationships. Child participants were transitioning to middle school and reported on cyber victimization and adjustment.

Thematic analysis of parental reflections revealed three themes: children spent more time online since the onset of the pandemic, there were negative implications of increased time online and there were positive and protective implications of being online. Analysis also indicated significant indirect effects of social media use on internalizing and externalizing problems through victimization.

Parents reported Gen Z continues to use electronic forms of communication and social media at high rates even after pandemic-related restrictions eased with some suggesting that their children prefer digital over face-to-face communication because they have become accustomed to this way of connecting and may find it easier than in-person interaction. Current findings highlight concerns about this increased time online as social media use negatively affected adjustment via cyber victimization.

The paper reviews Fox’s frames of reference against subsequent changes in the composition of the labour force, shifts in social values and the arrival of the politics of identity.

A close reading of the frames of reference is placed in the context of Fox’s writing on the search for managerial legitimacy. That search is then considered in relation to the subsequent revolution in equal opportunities and contemporary efforts to promote equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI).

At the core of Fox’s frames lies the fundamental question of whether employers accept trade unions as a legitimate expression of employee interests. Changes in the composition of the labour force and the related arrival of identity politics has led to the emergence of a new set of interests based on social identity. These interests exist because of state legislation, social pressure from campaign groups and the awareness of the right to equal treatment regardless of gender, race, sexuality etc. It follows that the emergence of these identity-based interests means that employers are all pluralists now. This new pluralism has the ideological challenge of gaining approval not only from employees but also from the public in a world where errant employers are vulnerable to hashtag activism.

By revisiting Fox’s frames of reference, and emphasizing the role of employee interests, the paper shows that Fox's original insights on managerial authority and the need for “legitimising sentiments” are still relevant even if his frames are now outdated.