Media Use and the Relationships of Children and Teenagers with their Peer Groups

Abstract

This article reports first results from a comparative analysis of interview data from Finland, Spain and Switzerland. Within the framework of a developmental perspective on the role of media in everyday life, we focus on cross-cultural similarities and differences in how media use is related to children's and teenagers' relationships with their peers. The data revealed main ways in which media are part of young people's everyday lives: using media together with peers; as a source for common topics in play and talk; as a means of facilitating identification with groups and their values; and for the development of an individual identity. The comparison between the three countries showed that these forms of media use are central to different age groups in the three countries, influenced by different concepts of children's autonomy from adult supervision, systems of organizing leisure time activities and the structure of the school day.