Elukeskkonna mõju noorte teabevajadusele ja nende rahuldamise võimalused

The purpose of this bachelor’s thesis was to research the connections between the surrounding environment and the information needs and the opportunities to satisfy them. It was done by way of example of young people of three different generations. By the surrounding environment the societal and political situation on the one hand and the narrower living environement and lifestyle (from place of habitation to activities) on the other hand was taken into account. The goals of this study were to find out the main information needs of young people of three generations and the factors influencing these needs, the main information sources and the factors influencing their choice, the role of the information sources as socialisers (mainly as sources of information) and the structure of the young people’s information fields. The most important theoretical sources for this study were the work and theories of J. G. Blumler and E. Katz, M. Lauristin and P. Vihalemm, D. McQuail and K. E. Rosengren. The work about the uses of mass communication edited by Blumler and Katz was an important starting point in the discussion of information needs and the needs satisfied by the media. The theory of mass communication by Lauristin and Vihalemm beared considerably on the topics of information and information sources, media and socialisation, in addition, the theory of information field origins from these authors. McQuail’s theory of mass communication offered theoretical discussions and explanations of concepts primarily on the topics of information and information sources, lifestyle and socialisation. The theories of Rosengren were more or less the base for most of the subject fields (information needs, lifestyle, socialisation, media as a socialiser etc.). The empirical material of this study was constituted by essays written by students of Tartu University and semistructured interviews with students of Tartu University and their family members. The analysis of the empirical material was carried out using a method similar to grounded theory. The main advantage of the method was its flexibility. The results of this study are difficult to bring forth briefly, as they comprised of several questions on the occasion of every generation, but comparing the three generations, it is possible to claim that the young people’s information needs have been growing and diversifying through the years, being clearly related to the society. But irrespective of the society, the most important information for young people has always been information related to their personal life. In addition it can be said that the society has always had more influence on young people’s information needs and the opportunities to satisfy them than the narrower living environment and lifestyle. The amount of information sources has grown in time and the role of some sources has changed, but some other information sources have retained their roles through the generations. Quite clear changes have taken place in the structure of young people’s information fields. The proportion of fundamental information has decreased in time and the proportion of operative information has increased. The picture of knowledge, values and norms is more diversified. Dealing with a similar branch of study in the future, one could pose one central research question to seize a smaller part of the subject-matter. This enables to delve into one question more thoroughly and to achieve more interesting results. Comparing three different generations set remarkable limits to the empirical data. In being restricted to researching the present, it would be possible to research the topic more thoroughly and diversely. In connection with the topic of information needs one of the potential research topics could be media (or some other source of information) as a source for satisfying information needs