The Mass Media Survey 2021

Statistics Norway (SSB) has conducted several surveys on the use of mass media since 1967. From 1991 onwards, Statistics Norway has conducted annual quarterly surveys with a cross-sectional sample of people between the ages of 9 and 79. The purpose of the survey is to provide an overall presentation of Norwegians' use of different types of mass media and access to such media. The results are published annually in the Norwegian Media Barometer (www.ssb.no/medie).

The Mass Media Survey measures Norwegians' use of various mass media throughout the year, and data collection is therefore carried out quarterly throughout the year, with four equally large sub-samples per quarter. To get a good picture of media use, it is also important to achieve an even distribution of interviews on different days of the week.

Since the purpose of the survey is to provide an overall presentation of the use of mass media, questions are asked about the use of different types of media: audio media (radio, music playback), film media (television, video, recordings from TV, etc.), the internet and print media (books, newspapers, magazines, periodicals, etc.).

With an ever-increasing number of new mass media, and not least platforms, it is becoming more complex to cover the total mass media consumption pattern of the population. It is particularly challenging to distinguish between the use of traditional media platforms and online media. The Mass Media Survey therefore incorporates some changes each year, and makes adjustments to capture the use of new media channels and platforms. However, it is important to emphasize that an important purpose of the survey is to measure developments over time, which means that more traditional media still have a large place in the survey.