News Habits Among Adolescents: The Influence of Family Communication on Adolescents’ News Media Use—Evidence From a Three-Wave Panel Study
Publication details
| Year: | 2016 |
| DOI: | 10.1080/15205436.2016.1199705 |
| Issued: | 2016 |
| Language: | English |
| Volume: | 19 |
| Issue: | 6 |
| Start Page: | 758 |
| End Page: | 781 |
| Editors: | |
| Authors: | Shehata A. |
| Type: | Journal article |
| Journal: | Mass Communication and Society |
| Publisher: | Informa UK Limited |
| Topics: | Social mediation; Internet usage, practices and engagement |
| Sample: | Panel survey data among adolescents and their parents in Sweden. (Actual article text N/A.) |
| Implications For Parents About: | Parental practices / parental mediation |
| Implications For Educators About: | Digital citizenship; Other |
| Implications For Policy Makers About: | Other |
| Other PolicyMaker Implication: | Adolescents' news media use |
| Implications For Stakeholders About: | Researchers; Industry |
Abstract
Keeping up with what’s going on in the world of politics and current affairs through various news media is commonly seen as important for civic engagement and informed citizenship. Today, however, citizens face more opportunities than ever to select media content according to their personal preferences and interests—leading to what previous research has identified as a polarization between news-seekers and news-avoiders. Given heightened concerns regarding growing shares of news-avoiders in particular, this study analyzes the development, stability, and family influences on Swedish adolescents’ news habits over time. The findings, based on panel survey data among adolescents and their parents, show that (a) news habits are fairly stable at the individual level, (b) parents’ own news consumption is the most consistent predictor of adolescents’ development of news habits, and (c) these family effects are distinct from adolescents’ personal motivations for seeking out news.
Outcome
"(a) news habits are fairly stable at the individual level, (b) parents’ own news consumption is the most consistent predictor of adolescents’ development of news habits, and (c) these family effects are distinct from adolescents’ personal motivations for seeking out news." (Author, in Abstract)