Dr. Stephen Kline

Media Analysis Laboratory, Simon Fraser University

May 2001

We all live in a media saturated world. Communication technologies–telephones, radio, television, the internet–have become so seamlessly embedded in our everyday life that we rarely reflect upon how many hours we spend with media, what our media preferences are, how they differ from others, and our concerns towards the media. But, the corporations that advertise to us monitor teenage media culture closely and regularly, yet, it costs thousands of dollars to find out what teen’s favourite TV programmes are or what web sites they surf.

This is why we at the Media Analysis Laboratory of Simon Fraser University developed the Media Use Audit for BC Teens. In this second wave of the Media Use Audit, we surveyed 728 BC teens to explore several key issues and concerns relating to media consumption. The Audit was designed to survey not just one medium, but the total context of media use. We asked about older media such as phone, radio and television and radio, as well as new media–videogames, personal computers and the Internet. We also sought to be sensitive to the social context that shapes media use (family, friends and schoolwork). In this report, we present what BC teens told us about their media use.

BC teen’s lives are saturated with media. Teens report they spend over 1/3 of their time each week with media of some kind. There is a thriving ‘bedroom culture’ in BC with 85% of teens reporting they have two or more media in their bedrooms. We found that teens that had access to media in their bedrooms were more likely to spend more time playing with them. Given the amount of time they devote to it, it is not surprising that 78% of the sampled teens regard media as addictive. Those media considered the most addictive were videogames, television, and chat lines.

Music remains central to teen culture, as it has been since Elvis first swung his hips. The difference is that today’s teens have access to music through a vastly expanded network of technologies. Teens report spending a good deal of time (over 15 hours per week) listening to radios, CDs and walkmans, but music television and downloading music from the internet are also highly revered leisure activities. Television still occupies a great deal of attention (over 12 hours per week); however new media (computers, videogames, internet) are increasingly making their presence felt, particularly in the lives of boys.

Compared to their homes, schools remained a relatively media free zone, however, BC teens report increasing access to wired worlds at school. Still, the Media Audit found little evidence that teens actually used the Internet and interactive media for educational purposes. Teens consistently reported they used electronic media for entertainment: Educational television programs, videogames, and using the Internet for homework consistently ranked at the bottom of teen’s media preferences. Teens also spent little time reading (5 hours per week), and derived little pleasure from current events in either the press or on television.

A digital divide was revealed in youth media consumption habits. Boys reported that they were more likely to have access to, enjoy and spend more time with videogames, computers, and the Internet. Just li ke television, boys new media preferences show an inclination towards combat, action adventure and sports.

BC teens showed little concern about advertising in their media. Yet young people may not be as digitally savvy as some pundits have claimed. Neither sex enjoyed Internet shopping, or bought goods or used credit cards very much on line and they liked web advertising least, and reported rarely responding to it. Many however, were willing to provide private information, reported being were less concerned about security on the Internet than their parents, and considered it unnecessary to know the real identity of the person they chatted with on the Internet. Teens report the Internet, was the medium in which they were most likely to be exposed to inappropriate violent and sexual content. They also noted that surfing the Internet was a significant disruption to their sleep, homework and chores.

About 40% of BC teens claimed to be subject to no media restrictions at all. BC teens report their parents more heavily regulated their Internet activities, than any other media. They were twice as likely to experience rules concerning their Internet activities than for either television or videogames. Boys were more likely to have their videogame play regulated in someway, but girls were 10% more to be restricted from chat lines.

Despite the prevalence of media in their lives, teens continue to value social contact: They ranked hanging with friends their most prized leisure activity and while they would happily give up sleep, home work or chores to be with their media, they were less likely to trade off a social opportunity to spend time with friends or family. This was particularly true for girls who seemed to use media to extend their social connections. Girls liked the phone, e-mail and chat lines more than boys.