Engl. transl.: MIKE- Media, Interaction, Children, Parents: 2015 MIKE Study Results Report

The MIKE study conducted a representative investigation of the media usage behavior of primary school-aged children living in Switzerland. MIKE stands for Media, Interaction, Children, Parents. Between mid-September 2014 and the end of January 2015, 1065 children between the ages of six and thirteen and 641 parents were surveyed in the three major language regions of Switzerland. The results show that media experiences are part of everyday life for children and that the vast majority grow up in households richly equipped with media. Cell phones/smartphones, computers/laptops, Internet access, and TVs are present in almost all households. Despite the wide range of digital media, playing games is the most common leisure activity. Homework is also part of children's daily routine. The activities of meeting friends, playing sports, and doing something with the family are performed about as frequently as the most common media activities: Listening to music, watching television, and reading books. In the course of elementary school, media usage behavior changes, and the Internet and cell phones, in particular, are used more frequently by older children. Although many children do not yet own a cell phone or do not use one regularly, the cell phone ranks first among the children's favorite media. Children have significantly more positive than negative experiences with both TV and Internet content. In addition to children's media use, the MIKE study looks at numerous aspects of family and media. Parents and children influence each other's media use and often use the same media with similar frequency, except for video games. Parents are most concerned about choice-based and pornographic media content. In addition to global analyses of parents' and children's media and leisure time behavior, the following grouping characteristics are considered: Age, gender, language region, migration background, socioeconomic status (SoS), parents' education, urbanicity level, and family size. The MIKE study provides scientifically reliable and representative data for authorities, institutions, and private persons dealing with children.

The results show that media experiences are part of everyday life for children and that the vast majority grow up in households richly equipped with media. Cell phones/smartphones, computers/laptops, Internet access, and TVs are present in almost all households. Despite the wide range of digital media, playing games is the most common leisure activity. Homework is also part of children's daily routine. The activities of meeting friends, playing sports, and doing something with the family are performed about as frequently as the most common media activities: Listening to music, watching television, and reading books. In the course of elementary school, media usage behavior changes, and the Internet and cell phones, in particular, are used more frequently by older children. Although many children do not yet own a cell phone or do not use one regularly, the cell phone ranks first among the children's favorite media. Children have significantly more positive than negative experiences with both TV and Internet content. In addition to children's media use, the MIKE study looks at numerous aspects of family and media. Parents and children influence each other's media use and often use the same media with similar frequency, except for video games. Parents are most concerned about choice-based and pornographic media content. In addition to global analyses of parents' and children's media and leisure time behavior, the following grouping characteristics are considered: Age, gender, language region, migration background, socioeconomic status (SoS), parents' education, urbanicity level, and family size. The MIKE study provides scientifically reliable and representative data for authorities, institutions, and private persons dealing with children.