Engl. transl.: MIKE- Media, Interaction, Children, Parents: 2019 MIKE Study Results Report.

"MIKE stands for Medien, Interaktion, Kinder, Eltern (Media, Interaction, Children, Parents). This biennial study, initiated in 2015, yields a representative image of the media behaviors of primary school age children living in Switzerland. In 2019, a total of 1,103 children and 562 parents were interviewed. The key findings of the MIKE study 2019 are:  Children in Switzerland have access to a great variety of media offered in their homes. Still, nonmedia activities like sports and playing are top favorites of primary school children.  Almost half of all children interviewed have their own smartphones, which, on average, they are given at the age of a little under ten years. Once they have their own smartphones, their use of digital media changes markedly: the internet, social networks and YouTube gain importance.  During all of primary school age, the TV remains the most frequently used electronic medium.  The favorite game in 2019 was the co-op survival game, Fortnite. This result is surprising in that the game is officially recommended for children 12 years and older, and most of the children interviewed had not reached that age yet.  A similar picture resulted for movies and TV series, with Harry Potter being highly popular among children—a movie series that is, in parts, also approved for children 12 years and older.  The children’s experiences with TV as well as internet content are more positive than negative. Frightening content includes scenes in horror movies and horror videos, visualizations of murder and death as well as fantasy movies like Harry Potter. In dealing with unsettling content, children develop their own coping strategies, most frequently diversion or talking with parents.  Parents’ leisure behavior is closely connected with that of their children. Therefore, it is important that parents be aware of being role models.  Media use is regulated in most of the families interviewed, and partly monitored as well. However, the parents sample is biased in that mothers with high levels of education are overrepresented. Additional aspects in the interplay of family and media that have been treated in the study are, among others, parents’ satisfaction with their children’s media use, knowledge of and compliance with age recommendations, awareness of a child’s internet use, and application of technological tools to protect the child against improper content. The data collected about children’s and parents’ media and other leisure activities are analyzed according to the following characteristics: age, gender, language area, origin, socio-economic status, degree of urbanity, and family size. The MIKE study yields a solid base of representative findings for various institutions and authorities as well as for private use."

MIKE stands for Medien, Interaktion, Kinder, Eltern (Media, Interaction, Children, Parents). This biennial study, initiated in 2015, yields a representative image of the media behaviors of primary school age children living in Switzerland. In 2019, a total of 1,103 children and 562 parents were interviewed. The key findings of the MIKE study 2019 are: Children in Switzerland have access to a great variety of media offered in their homes. Still, nonmedia activities like sports and playing are top favorites of primary school children. Almost half of all children interviewed have their own smartphones, which, on average, they are given at the age of a little under ten years. Once they have their own smartphones, their use of digital media changes markedly: the internet, social networks and YouTube gain importance. During all of primary school age, the TV remains the most frequently used electronic medium. The favorite game in 2019 was the co-op survival game, Fortnite. This result is surprising in that the game is officially recommended for children 12 years and older, and most of the children interviewed had not reached that age yet. A similar picture resulted for movies and TV series, with Harry Potter being highly popular among children—a movie series that is, in parts, also approved for children 12 years and older. The children’s experiences with TV as well as internet content are more positive than negative. Frightening content includes scenes in horror movies and horror videos, visualizations of murder and death as well as fantasy movies like Harry Potter. In dealing with unsettling content, children develop their own coping strategies, most frequently diversion or talking with parents. Parents’ leisure behavior is closely connected with that of their children. Therefore, it is important that parents be aware of being role models. Media use is regulated in most of the families interviewed, and partly monitored as well. However, the parents sample is biased in that mothers with high levels of education are overrepresented. Additional aspects in the interplay of family and media that have been treated in the study are, among others, parents’ satisfaction with their children’s media use, knowledge of and compliance with age recommendations, awareness of a child’s internet use, and application of technological tools to protect the child against improper content. The data collected about children’s and parents’ media and other leisure activities are analyzed according to the following characteristics: age, gender, language area, origin, socio-economic status, degree of urbanity, and family size. The MIKE study yields a solid base of representative findings for various institutions and authorities as well as for private use.