The media habits of young people in Sweden: The use of fictional texts in a school and a recreational context

This article is based on a questionnaire study of the media habits of Swedish youth aged 17–18. It examines the time they spend on using fictional texts through various media forms as well as in relation to mode (production/consumption), context (spare time/school), and gender (male/female). It further analyses these media habits and, using media ecology theory, discusses their effects on the learning process. The study shows that the participants spend more time using fictional texts, predominantly through audio-visual media forms, in their leisure time than in school, that they consume more fictional texts than they produce, and that the female participants spend more time producing fictional texts than the male participants – a result that is coloured by the amount of time they spend blogging, tweeting and writing diaries. The effects of such life-writings on teaching and learning processes, as well as on school performances are also discussed