Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- List of Tables and Figures
- Acknowledgments
- 1 The Changing Media Landscape
- 2 The Measurement of Media Behavior
- 3 The Media Environment
- 4 Screen Media: Television, Videos, and Movies
- 5 Audio Media: Radio, Tapes, and CDs
- 6 Print Media: Books, Magazines, and Newspapers
- 7 Interactive Media
- 8 Patterns of Overall Media Consumption
- 9 Media Behavior: A Youth Perspective
- 10 Summary and Conclusions
- Appendixes to Chapter 2 Methods
- Appendixes to Chapter 3 The Media Environment: Results and Statistical Tests
- Appendixes to Chapter 4 Screen Media: Results and Statistical Tests
- Appendixes to Chapter 5 Audio Media: Results and Statistical Tests
- Appendixes to Chapter 6 Print Media: Results and Statistical Tests
- Appendixes to Chapter 7 Interactive Media: Results and Statistical Tests
- Appendixes to Chapter 8 Overall Media Consumption: Results and Statistical Tests
- Appendixes to Chapter 9 Youth Perspective on Media Behavior
- References
- Author Index
- Subject Index
9 - Media Behavior: A Youth Perspective
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 August 2015
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- List of Tables and Figures
- Acknowledgments
- 1 The Changing Media Landscape
- 2 The Measurement of Media Behavior
- 3 The Media Environment
- 4 Screen Media: Television, Videos, and Movies
- 5 Audio Media: Radio, Tapes, and CDs
- 6 Print Media: Books, Magazines, and Newspapers
- 7 Interactive Media
- 8 Patterns of Overall Media Consumption
- 9 Media Behavior: A Youth Perspective
- 10 Summary and Conclusions
- Appendixes to Chapter 2 Methods
- Appendixes to Chapter 3 The Media Environment: Results and Statistical Tests
- Appendixes to Chapter 4 Screen Media: Results and Statistical Tests
- Appendixes to Chapter 5 Audio Media: Results and Statistical Tests
- Appendixes to Chapter 6 Print Media: Results and Statistical Tests
- Appendixes to Chapter 7 Interactive Media: Results and Statistical Tests
- Appendixes to Chapter 8 Overall Media Consumption: Results and Statistical Tests
- Appendixes to Chapter 9 Youth Perspective on Media Behavior
- References
- Author Index
- Subject Index
Summary
The preceding chapters have looked at young people's media behavior from a “mediacentric” perspective. That is, we have focused on each individual medium (and on media overall), exploring their roles in children's and adolescents' lives. Our perspective changes somewhat in this chapter. Rather than beginning with media, we begin with the young people themselves, then explore how their attitudes, abilities, and actions are related to their media behaviors. In the following pages we examine such things as whether and how social adjustment or “contentedness” and academic performance relate to media behavior. We also compare heavy and light media users and examine the degree to which high exposure to one medium relates to amount of exposure to other media. Finally, we report the results of an analysis conducted to determine whether 8- to 18-year-olds can be classified into different “types” of media users.
PERSONAL CONTENTEDNESS AND MEDIA USE
A negative relationship between media consumption and various conceptualizations of social satisfaction or contentedness or “affective equilibrium” has long been noted, to the point that “greater-than-ordinary use of pictorial media such as television arguably has become recognized as a possible symptom of personal maladjustment” (Comstock, 1991, p. 33). Several early studies of young people's TV use found that children and adolescents having difficulties with parents or friends devote more time to television than do better adjusted youngsters (Johnston, 1974; Maccoby, 1954; Schramm et al., 1961; Tangney, 1988). Similar relationships have also been reported for young people's VCR usage (Morgan, Alexander, Shanahan, & Harris, 1990) and for adolescents' music consumption (Christenson & Roberts, 1998; Lyle & Hoffman, 1972a). Finally, there is evidence that adults and older adolescents use media for mood management – to escape unpleasant emotions and/or maintain satisfying mood states (Kubey, 1986; Kubey & Czikszentmihalyi, 1990; Zillmann, 1988).
To determine whether a relationship between media use and contentedness still holds, we included a small battery of items assessing the degree to which young people or their parents view themselves or their children as well adjusted or contented.
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- Information
- Kids and Media in America , pp. 165 - 189Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2003