Paper Info
Title
Patterns of interactive media use among contemporary youth
Abstract
The intensive use of interactive media has led to assertions about the effect of these media on youth. Rather than following the assumption of a distinct Net generation, this study investigates diversity in interactive media use among youth. Results from a pilot study show that contemporary youth can be divided into clusters based on the use of interactive media. These results call for a better understanding of these clusters and the characteristics of their members. The research question for this paper was: Can patterns be found in the interactive media activities and opinions of young people? We answer this question by a survey among 2138 Dutch students aged 9 to 23 in education levels ranging from primary to higher professional education. Four categories of interactive media activities were discerned using confirmatory factor analysis: interacting, performing, interchanging, and authoring. Four clusters of interactive media users, namely Traditionalists, Gamers, Networkers, and Producers were identified using cluster analysis. Behind these straightforward categories, complex patterns of user activities and opinions can be found. The implication is that education should be cautious in applying these media as learning tools, because contemporary students show diversity in the kinds of interactive media they prefer using.
Year
DOI
Venue
2011
10.1111/j.1365-2729.2010.00384.x
JOURNAL OF COMPUTER ASSISTED LEARNING
Keywords
Field
DocType
cluster analysis,factor analysis,games,interactive media,survey,user patterns
Social psychology,Research question,Confirmatory factor analysis,Psychology,Professional development,Net generation,Computer-mediated communication,Mathematics education,Pedagogy,Interactive media,The Internet
Journal
Volume
Issue
ISSN
27
2
0266-4909
Citations 
PageRank 
References 
3
0.47
3
Authors
3
Name
Order
Citations
PageRank
Antoine Van den Beemt1132.50
Sanne Akkerman21769.56
P. Robert-Jan Simons3806.46