The cell phone is never left behind : a user study of the influence of electronic media on the lifestyle of youth

The aim of this Master’s thesis is to examine how the lifestyle of youth between the ages of 15-17 is influenced by electronic media and also what view and opinions youth has regarding electronic media and lifestyle. We intend to examine how and when the youth use electronic media in their everyday lives, what purpose the electronic media has in the life of the youth, and finally what views and opinions regarding electronic media and questions regarding lifestyle the youth express. We as librarians and adults need more knowledge on how youth use electronic media and also what thoughts they have regarding media and lifestyle. We would like to bring some knowledge to the discussion in this area with our study to librarians as well as parents. The method we have used is group interviews with youth in the ages 15-17 from different cities, backgrounds and gender. The findings are related to five different themes: modernity, self-identification, lifestyle, the future and the role of the body. The material has been analyzed and interpreted from these theories and earlier research. Major findings in the study is that the use of electronic media plays an important part in the life of youth and especially the Internet and cell phones are important in the social and cultural networks of youth. We also find that the youth do not find themselves affected by the media in their lifestyle; however our study shows that they are unconsciously affected by the images shown in different media.Uppsatsnivå: