Authors

• Harju, Auli (Tampere University)
• Ridell, Seija (Tampere University)
• Saariketo, Minna (Aalto University)

Keywords

communications, electronic equipment, mass culture, mass media, mass media use, social media, telecommunications equipment, youth

Abstract

The survey charted the everyday media use of 16-30-year-olds in Finland. The survey was conducted as part of the Young people imagining media(ted) futures: developing a methodology for change research project, which was a joint project between Research Centre Comet at Tampere University and the Information Networks Programme at Aalto University.

First, the respondents were asked which electronic devices they had at home (e.g. smartphone, laptop, smart watch) and which devices they found the most important for their personal use. The respondents' use of various social media apps, such as Instagram, TikTok and Discord, was examined, and they were asked about the content they consumed online (e.g. news, social media posts, podcasts, music). Further questions surveyed what was most important to the respondents when using electronic media equipment and apps (e.g. having discussions with others, having a fun way to spend time, creating content of their own, making purchases online), whether the respondents' media use habits had changed in the past year, and whether they had ever tried to restrict their use of media. At the end of the survey, several open-ended questions were presented to the respondents regarding their satisfaction in their media use and their expectations and hopes for the media and electronic devices of the future.

Background variables included the respondent's year of birth, gender, NUTS3 region of residence, household composition, level of education and economic activity and occupational status.