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Princeton University
Trends in Media UseAuthor(s): Donald F. Roberts and Ulla G. FoehrSource:
The Future of Children,
Vol. 18, No. 1, Children and Electronic Media (Spring, 2008),pp. 11-37Published by: Princeton UniversityStable URL:
http://www.jstor.org/stable/20053118
Accessed: 23/01/2009 13:08
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TrendsinMedia Use
DonaldF.Roberts andUllaG.Foehr
Summary
Americanyouthareawashinmedia.Theyhavetelevisionsetsintheirbedrooms,personalcomputersintheirfamilyrooms,anddigitalmusicplayersand cellphonesintheirbackpacks.Theyspendmoretimewith mediathananysingleactivityotherthansleeping,with theaverageAmericaneight-toeighteen-year-oldreportingmorethansixhoursofdailymediause.Thegrowing phenomenonof "mediamultitasking"?usingseveralmediaconcurrently?multipliesthatfiguretoeightandahalf hoursof mediaexposuredaily.Donald Robertsand UllaFoehrexaminehowboth mediauseandmediaexposurevarywithdemographicfactorssuchasage,raceandethnicity,and householdsocioeconomicstatus,andwithpsychosocialvariables suchasacademicperformanceandpersonaladjustment.Theynotethat mediaexposurebeginsearly,increasesuntilchildrenbeginschool,dropsoffbriefly,thenclimbsagaintopeakatalmosteighthoursdailyamongeleven-andtwelve-year-olds.Televisionand videoexposureisparticularlyhighamongAfricanAmericanyouth.Mediaexposureisnegativelyrelatedtoindicatorsofsocioeconomicstatus,butthatrelationshipmaybediminishing.Mediaexposureispositivelyrelatedtorisk-takingbehaviorsandisnegativelyrelatedtopersonaladjustmentand schoolperformance.Robertsand Foehralsoreviewevidencepointingtotheexistenceofadigitaldivide?variationsinaccesstopersonalcomputersandalliedtechnologiesbysocioeconomicstatusandbyraceandethnicity.The authorsalsoexaminehow therecentemergenceofdigitalmedia suchaspersonalcomputers,videogameconsoles,andportablemusicplayers,aswellasthemediamultitaskingphenomenontheyfacilitate,hasincreasedyoungpeople'sexposuretomediamessageswhileleavingmediausetimelargelyunchanged.Newermedia,theypointout,arenotdisplacingoldermediabutarebeingusedin concertwith them.Theauthorsnotewhichyoungpeoplearemoreorlesslikelytouseseveralmediaconcurrentlyandwhichmediaaremoreorlesslikelytobepairedwithvariousothermedia.Theyarguethatoneimplicationof suchmediamultitaskingisthe needtoreconceptualize"mediaexposure."www.futureofchildren.org
DonaldF.Roberts,theThomas More StorkeProfessorEmeritusintheDepartmentofCommunicationat StanfordUniversity,hasspentmorethanthirtyyearsconductingresearchandwritingaboutyouthandmedia. UllaG.Foehrisamediaresearch consultantspecializingin childrenand mediausebehaviors.VOL. 18/NO.1/SPRING200811
 
DonaldERoberts andUllaGFoehr
America'syouthareawashinelectronicmedia. Whatbeganas amediastreamhalfacenturyagohasbecomeatorrentwhosestrengthcontinuestoincrease.BeforeWorldWarII,massmediaavailabletoyoungpeopleconsistedmainlyofprint(magazines,newspapers,andbooks),motionpictures(bythen,"talkies"hadappeared),and radio(bythe endofthe1930s,U.S.householdsaveragedslightlymorethanoneradiosetapiece).Followingthewar,television setdistributionwentfrom 0.5percentofhouseholdsin1946 to55percentin1956and87percentinI960.1 Themediafloodwasjustgettingstarted,however.Astelevision'sreachcontinuedtogrow?97 percentofU.S.homeshadaTVsetby1974,andin2001the U.S.CensusBureauestimatedthatU.S.householdsaveraged2.4 TVsetsapiece?newelectronicmediabegantospringup.Personalcomputersemergedasconsumerproductsneartheend ofthe1970s(theAppleIIin1977,theIBM-PCin1981)andwerenamedTimemagazine's"personoftheyear"in1982.Personalcomputerswereswiftlyembracedbyfamilieswithchildren.Thesecomputershadpenetratedalmostaquarterofhomeswithchildrenbetweentheagesofthree andseventeenyearsby1989,70percentofsuchhomesby2001,and75percentby2003.Similarly,theInternet,whichbecameavailabletothegeneralpopulationintheearly1990s,wasbeingusedathomeby22percentofthree-toseventeen-year-oldsin1997andby63percentin2003.2Today,notonlyareAmericanyoungpeoplesurroundedbymediaintheirhomesandschools,buttheportabilitymadepossiblebytheincreased miniaturizationofdigitalmediameansthattheycanremainconnectedalmostanywheretheywishtogo.Laptopcomputers,cellphones,andhandheldInternetdevicesarerapidlybecomingbasicequipmentfortoday'steenagers.
12THEFUTUREOFCHILDREN
Hand-in-hand withthegrowthinmediaavailabletoyoungpeoplehasbeenachangeinthecontentavailabletothem.Today,asubstantialpartofthemediaindustryisdevotedtocreatinganddistributingcontentspecificallyaimedatchildrenandadolescents.Televisionhas moved fromfamily programming,tochildren'sprograms,tocompletechannelsaimedattheyouthmarket. Themusicindustryreliesonfourteen-totwenty-four-yearoldconsumers.Youth-orientedinteractivegamesinhabit theTVscreen,thecomputerscreen,anarrayofhandhelddevices,andcyberspace.TheInternet,originallydesignedas acommunicationnetwork forthemilitaryandscientists,hasmorphedintotheWorldWideWeb,withaseeminglyendlessarrayofdestinations,manydesignedspecificallyforkidsandmanymoreopento,albeitnotdesignedfor,them. Withsomanymediaandsomuchcontentavailable,itisnotsurprisingthatyoungpeopledevote muchoftheirtime
tomedia.
Buthow much time? Towhichmedia?Towhatkindsofcontent?Underwhat conditions?Theimportanceofthesequestionsshouldnotbeunderestimated.Withoutanaccuratemappingofyoungpeople'smediaexposure,researcherscanneverfullyunderstandwhetherand howmediaaffectthelives ofchildren andadolescents.Hundredsofstudiesexaminingmediaeffectsonchildren(manyofwhichwill beexaminedinotherarticlesinthisissue)arebasedonassumptionsaboutexposure.Forexample,forchildrentolearnfrommediacontent,whetherthelearningisintended(aswithSesameStreet'seffortstoteachnumbersandlettersorWikipedia'sonlineexplanationsofjustaboutanything)orincidental(aswithchildrenacquiringaggressivebehaviorsfromavideogameormaterialisticvaluesfromanunendingbarrageofadvertisements),they
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