Youth Media Participation in Argentina, Egypt, Finland and India 2009-2011

The aim of this study was to chart the media participation of adolescents in Argentina, Egypt, Finland and India. The questions surveyed personal, social and public use of media as well as media literacy. First, the respondents were asked what media equipment (e.g. newspapers, radio, television, mobile phone, music players, video game consoles, computers) they had access to at home or somewhere else, and how often the respondents used them. They were also asked if a variety of media-related services were offered in their community/neighbourhood (e.g. libraries, movie theatres, internet cafés). In addition, the survey examined respondents' opinions on a variety of statements relating to matters such as media skills, rules for media use in the family, interest in media content, and fandom. Next, the respondents were asked which media they used for information-seeking regarding schoolwork, practical everyday matters such as timetables or the weather, current events and politics, puberty and sexuality, products and services, and which media they used for e.g. contacting relatives and friends, searching for a romantic partner, or contacting celebrities. They were also asked if they used media together with their families, friends, partners or virtual friends. It was asked if the respondents published their opinions via different media channels about social, political, cultural and environmental matters or human rights matters. The respondents were also asked if they would have liked to publish their opinions more often and why they had not done so. In addition to publishing opinions, they were asked if they published their own creative content, such as text, music, drawings, videos or computer programmes. Regarding media literacy, opinions were examined on the reliability and truthfulness of news articles, television programmes, internet pages, and advertisements. It was also surveyed whether the respondents thought that young people should be discussed more often in the media. They were also asked if the media often portrayed a distorted image of foreign countries and cultures. Next, the respondents' interest in a variety of themes was examined (both in "factual" and in "fictional" media), along with whether they published opinions or content regarding these themes or discussed them with other people (the themes included e.g. news, politics and society, the environment, human rights, sports, beauty and fashion, art, science, history, technology, and celebrities). The respondents were also asked if they had ever been interviewed for a newspaper article, a radio or television programme or some other medium, and to what extent it was possible for young people to have their opinions heard. The survey also charted respondents' experiences of limitations set on media use by e.g. governmental authorities or legislation, religion, school, family or friends. Finally, the respondents' internet use was surveyed with regard to how often they used the internet in different places (e.g. at school, at home, at a friend's home, in public or on a mobile phone) and for different purposes (e.g. information-seeking, e-mail, shopping, instant messaging, social media, gaming, or watching videos/movies). The respondents' mobile phone use was also examined with regard to how often they used a mobile phone for phone calls, SMS messages, gaming, listening to music or radio, using the internet, taking photos and watching videos, among others. Background variables included age, gender, country, type of neighbourhood, parents' occupations (categorised), ethnic group as well as the language spoken at home and the language used for responding to the questionnaire (mother tongue/English).

本研究旨在描摹阿根廷、埃及、芬兰与印度四国青少年的媒介参与状况。本次调研涵盖个人、社会与公共层面的媒介使用行为，以及媒介素养（media literacy）。首先，调研对象需回答在家或其他场所可接触的媒介设备类型（如报纸、广播、电视、移动电话、音乐播放器、电子游戏机、计算机等），以及对应的使用频率；同时被询问其所在社区/街区是否提供各类与媒介相关的服务，例如图书馆、电影院、网吧等。此外，调研考察了调研对象对一系列与媒介技能、家庭媒介使用规则、媒介内容兴趣、粉丝文化等议题相关表述的看法。随后，调研对象需说明其用于学业查询、时刻表或天气等日常实用事务、时事与政治、青春期与性教育、产品与服务信息获取的媒介类型，以及用于联系亲友、寻找恋爱对象、联络名人等场景的媒介类型。调研还询问了他们是否会与家人、朋友、伴侣或虚拟好友一同使用媒介。调研对象被问及是否曾通过不同媒介渠道发表针对社会、政治、文化、环境议题或人权议题的观点，以及是否希望更频繁地发表观点，同时未如此做的原因。除发表观点外，调研还询问了他们是否会发布自身创作的内容，例如文本、音乐、绘画、视频或计算机程序等。针对媒介素养，调研考察了调研对象对新闻稿件、电视节目、网页与广告的可靠性与真实性的看法；同时调研了他们是否认为应在媒介中更多地讨论青少年议题，以及是否认为媒介时常扭曲呈现外国国家与文化的形象。随后，调研考察了调研对象对各类主题的兴趣（涵盖“纪实类”与“虚构类”媒介内容），以及是否会针对这些主题发表观点、发布内容或与他人讨论相关话题；相关主题包括新闻、政治与社会、环境、人权、体育、美容时尚、艺术、科学、历史、技术以及名人等。调研对象还被问及是否曾接受过报纸文章、广播或电视节目及其他媒介的采访，以及青少年的观点被倾听的可能性程度。本次调研还梳理了调研对象遭遇媒介使用限制的相关经历，限制来源包括政府当局或法律法规、宗教、学校、家庭或朋友等。最后，调研针对调研对象的互联网使用情况展开调查，涵盖其在不同场所（如学校、家中、朋友家中、公共场所或使用移动设备）的互联网使用频率，以及不同使用目的（如信息查询、电子邮件、购物、即时通讯、社交媒体、游戏或观看视频/电影等）；此外还调研了调研对象的移动电话使用情况，包括其使用移动电话进行通话、短信、游戏、收听音乐或广播、上网、拍照及观看视频等活动的频率。本次调研的背景变量包括年龄、性别、所属国家、街区类型、父母职业（分类变量）、族裔群体，以及家庭日常使用的语言与填写问卷时所使用的语言（母语/英语）。