Psychosocial Functions of Shared Media use Among German Adolescents

Abstract

During adolescence, teenagers intensify their media use as a peer group activity. It is a commonly shared assumption that social contexts influence selection and perception of media content; however, the specific characteristics of adolescents' shared media use have yet to be systematically analyzed. Based on qualitative data, I show that shared media use reflects adolescents' growing autonomy and disassociation from family structures. Shared media use serves as a situational frame for enacting adult social roles. Peer groups define socially desirable media content and utilize plot elements to negotiate the appropriateness of specific behaviors. These distinct characteristics of shared media use show that selection and perception of media content can only be fully understood as part of everyday social practices.

Exposure to Alcohol Content in Movies and Initiation of Early Drinking Milestones

“…Our finding that alcohol use was associated with exposure to alcohol content in films viewed with peers but not with parents suggests that there may be value in designing intervention strategies that incorporate a peer component into media literacy programs (Gordon et al, 2015). Social contexts influence the way media content is perceived (Weber, 2013), and this might be true at both the distal level (one’s broader peer group) and the proximal level (e.g., a small group of friends viewing a movie together). The notion of jointly targeting the media and peers is supported by a study showing that adolescents considered pro-smoking messages in the mass media to be highly persuasive to their peers (Gunther et al, 2006).…”

When meaning matters more: Media preferences across the adult life span.

“…A complementary view, put forward by Riediger, Schmiedek, Wagner and Lindenberger (2009), is that adolescents and young adults sometimes want to experience negative affect as well as positive affect, and that negative emotions, such as anger or dejection, may serve important developmental functions as youths seek to establish their own identity. Similarly Arnett (1995) argued that media choices give teens autonomy for self-socialization, providing not only entertainment and arousal, but also tools for identity formation, in part via exploration of dark, intense affect (see also Weber, 2013). For convenience, we call this account Identity Exploration.…”