Norberto González Gaitano
The “bedroom culture” refers to the phenomenon where the use of the media
by children and young people “is associated with the forming of their own
identity and definition of private space, even within the family”. It
generally develops when their bedrooms are equipped with an abundance of
media (computer, TV, cell phone, etc.).
The report “
Media, communication and information technologies in the European
family
” summarizes the findings of the ongoing research about the means of
communication used in the family in all 27 countries of Europe. It is
funded by the European Union, directed by Sonia Livingstone and published
by the London School of Economics. To view the report: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/29788
.
The media changes in the environment depend not only on technology or
the market, but on social changes in the family
The report is built on and examines the hypothesis that there are changes
in the “media sphere”- the media environment that permeates society- which
are closely linked to social changes that have modified the structure of
the family. However, these aren’t only changes in the market or technology
that drive the consumption of new products.
These changes in the European family in recent decades can be observed on
three levels: the demographic, the socio-economic, and the relational
level. The demographic trends show a decreased fertility, an aging
population, and an increased immigration. The social trends indicate shifts
in employment patterns, where more people are looking for two family
incomes and less stable jobs; and young people are shown to remain at home
for longer periods of time. Regarding the structure of relationships within
the family, the emergence of new household units and family compositions
were identified. For example, there are more single mothers and adults
living alone.
All of these factors influence the trends for media product consumption.
Communication businesses are adapting their production according to the new
trends in the market. As a consequence, for example, an extended youth
leads to the invention of a private space separate within one’s own home,
distinct from the space of a child or an adolescent. Fear of insecure
public places drives parents to equip their children with more media
technologies so that they stay at home. Their bedrooms are “media-rich”.
This is the case since they are already “special” children, being that
families are having fewer children in each generation (1 or 2 children per
family on average).
Trends in communication and the media industry, and their possible
effects on the family
1. The bone of contention continues to be the enduring
academic debate about the negative effects of media on children and
youth
. The report from the London School of Economics argues that there
is still no conclusive evidence about a cause-effect relationship between
media exposure and negative behaviors (violence, precocious sexuality, and
obesity, for example). The empirical results show that the audience is more
active than passive, and the cultural and family context for interpretation
of the content significantly alters their influence. In short, “media
effects depend heavily on many other factors and, often, the cultural
context is crucial.” Nevertheless, Millwood Hargrave and Livingstone’s
recent literature review of research concluded that, for television, there
is a sizeable body of evidence that suggests that televised portrayals of
aggression can, under certain circumstances, have a moderate but fairly
consistent negative influence on the attitudes and behaviors of children,
especially boys.
2. New media, new risks. Already in 2007, a majority of
European households had Internet access (54%). The creation of the European
Commission “Digital Agenda” in 2010 attests to the importance of domestic,
educational and commercial use of digital technologies for the economy and
society in Europe. At the family level specifically, this poses new
opportunities and new risks, as evidenced by the 2010 EU Kids Online Survey of 9-16 year olds across Europe: “29%
of them communicate with strangers, although rarely is this risk associated
with any concrete harm”. Moreover, children are not only possible victims
of abuse or distress through the network, but also protagonists: “19% of
European 9 to 16 year olds have been bullied at least once, and 12% have bullied others in the past year.” In short, the alleged
“digital natives” need education on the use of new media, but not simply on
how to be digitally savvy.
3. There is an observable tension between the tendency to fragmentation and sharing.
Within this tension, it seems clear that the new digital technologies lead
to an exacerbated individualism, while the “old” media fostered commonality
within the family, which led toward sharing space and common values.
“Television, most notably, shapes a cultural space of commonality and
shared experience/conversation for diasporic families and communication
across the generations”. In this alternative fragmentation-participation,
trends vary by country and level of education or wealth: households in the
Nordic countries and the Netherlands are pioneers in introducing digital
technologies into children’s bedrooms, while Spain, for example, maintains
a greater family use of television, keeping with their tradition.
Households with lower incomes are more likely to have a television and
video games in the bedrooms, while parents with higher education provide
their children with books and computers.”
4. Parental mediation is essential. The mediation of the
father and mother in the use of the media is still considered necessary,
whatever the form of mediation it may be: co-use-“where the parent is
present, sharing the activity”; restrictions on use through technical means
(filters, for example) or through rules; monitoring and active guidance
through criticism or discussion about the content. The fact that parents
and children have differing perspectives about the degree and the method of
mediation used indicates the need for more attention by parents and
educators in exercising their mediation. For example, half are in
disagreement that the parents have monitored which websites their children
have visited and 15% of parents think they have monitored the sites while
their children say that they have not. “One reason parents should take more
responsibility for children’s internet use especially is that, although
only a minority of children encounters risks online parents significantly
underestimate this: 41% of parents whose child has seen sexual images
online say that their child has not seen this; 56% of parents whose child
has received nasty or hurtful messages online say that their child has not;
52% of parents whose child has received sexual messages say that their
child has not; 61% of parents whose child has met offline with an online
contact say that their child has not”.
5. It is premature to affirm that the use of digital
technologies (ICT) is beneficial for education. While it is true that there
have been a multiplication of government efforts and investments in new
technologies as tools to improve results in education, there are no
indications that show any improved results. This is due to many reasons,
among which is the inertia in the current educational system.
6. It has yet to be demonstrated if the incorporation of the new
technologies actually promotes a greater civic participation, especially among young people
who are more and more apathetic and disinterested in politics.
Report Evaluation
The report
Media, communication and information technologies in the European
family
is extremely useful for synthetically gaining knowledge about social trends
in the relationship between the media and the family for the European
context, and probably for all developed countries. Starting with a careful
selection of sources- academic research, official data, studies and
surveys- they are able to identify the essential elements for how the
family and technology have evolved, and consequences for the family
institution. The dominant value of the report, in my opinion, is that it
brings to light how social changes do not occur in isolation and are not
the result of a single factor, in this case technology.
The project director, Sonia Livingstone, director also of the Department of
Communication at the London School of Economics, is a veteran in
the study of television audiences and the effects of the media on children.
She currently directs the Program for Internet Security in the European
Union. In 2009, she published
Children and the Internet: Great Expectations, Challenging Realities
. Cambridge: Polity.
Nonetheless, it should be noted that the report is overly neutral,
lacking in constructive criticism. Certainly, one shouldn’t fall into a
simplistic moralism when describing the social trends and the media
effects. Beckett, director of the Polis, a think tank in the
Department of Media and Communications in the London School of Economics, affirmed in the presentation of the
report: “The over-arching question is not whether we can, for example,
persuade teenagers to consume more news or to watch less pornography,
though both things might be good in themselves. The key question is whether
digital technologies are building social capital in families or fragmenting
and destroying the relationships that can produce happier individuals and
stronger communities”.
In my opinion, the question lies in the weight and the expectations we
place on technology itself. The title of the report certainly does not
betray this aspect. Perhaps we go overboard in relying on digital
technologies to improve the quality of education, or to overcome apathy and
disinterest of young people to drive their participation in public affairs
and encourage active citizenship. As Alessandro D’Avenia, author of White like Milk, Red like Blood, a best-selling novel among young
people in Italy the past two years, stated: “he who pays the consequences
of the dictatorship of relativism are those who by nature are made for the
truth: the youth. Their sad passions are the reflection of our lack of
interior life and lack of time, of our attachment to things more than
persons, our reluctancy to give, our intoxication of consumerism and our
desire for success (of the adults).” It is not by chance that Becket, in
presenting the report, appears content that Vodafone has made the
publication of the report coincide with the launch of its latest initiative
to promote “digital parents.” The technology mainly has to do with the
market.
