Children and Their Changing Media Environment: A European Comparative Study

by Livingstone,Sonia

• ISBN13: 9780805834994
• ISBN10: 0805834990
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Nonspecific Binding
• Copyright: 2001-05-01
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

Focusing on the meanings, uses, and impacts of new media in childhood, family life, peer culture, and the relation between home and school, this volume sets out to address many of the questions, fears, and hopes regarding the changing place of media in the lives of today's children and young people. The scholars contributing to this work argue that such questions--intellectual, empirical, and policy-related--can be productively addressed through cross-national research. Hence, this volume brings together researchers from 12 countries--Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Israel, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland--to present original and comprehensive findings regarding the diffusion and significance of new media and information technologies among children. Inspired by parallels and difference between the arrival of television in the family home during the 1950s and the present day arrival of new media, the research is based on in-depth interviews and a detailed comparative survey of 6- to 16-year-olds across Europe and in Israel. The result is a comprehensive, detailed, and fascinating account of how these technologies are rapidly becoming central to the daily lives of young people. As a resource for researchers and students in media and communication studies, leisure and cultural studies, social psychology, and related areas, this volume provides crucial insights into the role of media in the lives of children. The findings included herein will also be of interest to policymakers in broadcasting, technology, and education throughout the world.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. vii
Foreword	p. xi
Researching Young People and the Changing Media Environment	p. 1
Childhood in Europe: Contexts for Comparison	p. 3
Doing Comparative Research With Children and Young People	p. 31
A Time and Place for New Media	p. 51
Old and New Media: Access and Ownership in the Home	p. 53
Children's Use of Different Media: For How Long and Why?	p. 85
Media Use Styles Among the Young	p. 113
Media Genres and Content Preferences	p. 141
Contexts of Youth and Childhood	p. 159
Media at Home: Domestic Interactions and Regulation	p. 161
Bedroom Culture and the Privatization of Media Use	p. 179
The Role of Media in Peer Group Relations	p. 201
Computers and the Internet in School: Closing the Knowledge Gap?	p. 221
Emerging Themes	p. 243
Who Are the New Media Users?	p. 245
Gendered Media Meanings and Uses	p. 263
Global Media Through Youthful Eyes	p. 283
Children and Their Changing Media Environment	p. 307
Country Abbreviations	p. 335
Participating Institutions and Research Teams	p. 337
Measurement of Time Use	p. 349
Author Index	p. 359
Subject Index	p. 365
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