Lecture 1: Intro, Youth Culture in a Digital World
De ni on culture, “A group’s dis nc ve way of life, including its beliefs and values, its customs, and its art a
technologies” (Arne & Hughes)
- Geographical, Social and Temporal
Youth culture, refers to:
- shared beliefs, behaviors, prac ces, and values of young people within a par cular society or subculture.
- the ways in which young individuals express themselves, interact with one another, and dis nguish
themselves from older genera ons.
- is dynamic and can vary signi cantly across me and place, re ec ng the cultural, social, and historical
context in which it emerges.
Key aspects are: fashion and style, music, language, social ac vi es, values and ideals, media and
technology.
Digital Media, is a Binary, Way to spread informa on (Van Dale, 2022)
Social Media, is sharing, following, and collabora ng
Has digital media disrupted or enriched the tradi onal communica on?:
- Social Presence Theory = the ‘Sense of being together” is lower in digital media.
- Social Informa on processing Theory (SIP) = How people process and react to social informa on, to sum
SIP up: social media is not just disrup ng or enriching our lives it depends on the receiver and how they
process informa on.
- Channel Expansion Theory = users with experience will strive to develop necessary skills (using wrong
emojis).
How you use It?: replacement or addi on and passively or ac vely
Why you use it?: uses & gra ca ons theory; “what purposes or func ons does media o er for ac ve
receivers?”
Uses & Gra ca ons Theory (Lasswell, 1948): four main reasons to use media
1. Surveillance of the environment
2. A ec ve need
3. Cultural transmission
4. Entertainment
Self-promo on, maintain exis ng, rela onships, need for crea vity, escapism, expressing opinions (Sheldon et al.,
2017)
Adolescence:
• early adolescence (10-13)
• middle adolescence (14-17)
• late adolescence (18-24)
Youth development
Developmental Tasks Approach: Erikson’s developmental stages (1958)
Developmental tasks/challenges need to be ful lled. Hierarchic list
of tasks, met through biological or social development.
Key development tasks of Adolescence (13-18 years);
• Learning to build in mate and commi ed friendships/
rela onships
• Adjustment to pubertal changes
• Transi on to secondary schooling
• Developing strong and coherent personal iden ty
Media e ect: e ects depend on the age and the user
Scary media content and trauma:
- Perceptual stage (2-7), looking scary
fffitititi ff titifi tifftiti titt titifi
fititi ti titititt
ti ti tifi titi ti titifl ti titi ti ti ff ti ti ti
, - Conceptual stage (7+), being real
Adolescents and celebri es:
- Parents are examples (<12)
- In uencers are examples (+12)
Risk and Resilience Approach:
Di eren al life experiences among children. Risk and protec ve
factors explain di erences between people -> cumula ve risk model
(snowball e ect and turn around models).
Bronnfenbrenner, Development Ecological model (2005)
Micro
How do parents monitor and regulate their children’s
media use (tracking screen me, keeping media
outside of the bedroom)?
Exo
Is the school o ering classes on online safety and
social media policies such as banning the smartphone
from the classroom?
Macro
What do we believe and value regarding social media.
Is it entertainment, or dangerous?
Iden ty development
Basic idea: “An iden ty is, al least in part, an explicit theory of oneself as a person” (Moshman, 2005, p. 89)
- Iden ty dimensions:
• Personal
• Social: gender, ethnic, na onal
• Online iden ty
Self Image -> How young people perceive themselves
Self-esteem -> The ability to appreciate this self-image
Iden ty: Should be constructed during adolescence through
explora on online and o ine
“Virtual iden ty” or “online iden ty” vs Actual iden ty
Interconnected, but not iden cal Figure 1. Illustration of Goffman's model of self-
Anonymity presentation adapted to social media applications.
Di erent, more extreme forms of behavior e.g., cyberbullying
Crea vity
Playing around, discovering who you are
Asynchrony
Communica on at your convenience, breaking me and space
constraints
Controllability
The ability to decide what informa on to share
flff ti titi ff
tititi ff ff ti tiffl
ti titi ti ti ti ti ti ti
, Lecture 2: Media E ects
Media use (Valkenburg & Oliver, 2019): “… the intended or incidental use of media channels (e.g.,
telephone, email), devices (e.g. smartphone, game, console), content/messages (e.g. games, narra ves,
adver sing, news), or all types of pla orms, tools, or apps (e.g. Facebook, Instagram, Uber).
Media e ects: “Media e ects are the deliberate and non-deliberate short- and long-term individual or
collec ve changes in cogni ons, emo ons, a tudes, and behavior that result from media use”
Media e ects meline; History of media-e ects
1920s, Movies
1938, War of the Worlds
1940s, People’s Choice Study
1945, Decatur Study
Payne fund studies
1. Content: what are children exposed to?
2. Emo onal impact?
3. Behavioral impact?
-> Legacy of fear
The War of the Worlds
Magic-bullet models or Hypodermic Needle Perspec ve
- Direct in uence
- Uniform, persuasive e ects
The People’s Choice
• Conversion
• Reinforcement
-> Limited E ects Perspec ve (models):
- 2-step Flow
- Reinforcement/Selec ve Exposure
The Decatur Study
Two step ow of communica on
Return to the concept of powerful media
e ects:
- Spiral of Silence
- Cul va on
Construc on of reality:
- Agenda-se ng
- Priming
- Framing
Preference-based e ects models:
- Tailored persuasion
- Preference based reinforcement
ff titititifffltiflttiff ti
fftifffffftiti ti tfti fftti ti ti
De ni on culture, “A group’s dis nc ve way of life, including its beliefs and values, its customs, and its art a
technologies” (Arne & Hughes)
- Geographical, Social and Temporal
Youth culture, refers to:
- shared beliefs, behaviors, prac ces, and values of young people within a par cular society or subculture.
- the ways in which young individuals express themselves, interact with one another, and dis nguish
themselves from older genera ons.
- is dynamic and can vary signi cantly across me and place, re ec ng the cultural, social, and historical
context in which it emerges.
Key aspects are: fashion and style, music, language, social ac vi es, values and ideals, media and
technology.
Digital Media, is a Binary, Way to spread informa on (Van Dale, 2022)
Social Media, is sharing, following, and collabora ng
Has digital media disrupted or enriched the tradi onal communica on?:
- Social Presence Theory = the ‘Sense of being together” is lower in digital media.
- Social Informa on processing Theory (SIP) = How people process and react to social informa on, to sum
SIP up: social media is not just disrup ng or enriching our lives it depends on the receiver and how they
process informa on.
- Channel Expansion Theory = users with experience will strive to develop necessary skills (using wrong
emojis).
How you use It?: replacement or addi on and passively or ac vely
Why you use it?: uses & gra ca ons theory; “what purposes or func ons does media o er for ac ve
receivers?”
Uses & Gra ca ons Theory (Lasswell, 1948): four main reasons to use media
1. Surveillance of the environment
2. A ec ve need
3. Cultural transmission
4. Entertainment
Self-promo on, maintain exis ng, rela onships, need for crea vity, escapism, expressing opinions (Sheldon et al.,
2017)
Adolescence:
• early adolescence (10-13)
• middle adolescence (14-17)
• late adolescence (18-24)
Youth development
Developmental Tasks Approach: Erikson’s developmental stages (1958)
Developmental tasks/challenges need to be ful lled. Hierarchic list
of tasks, met through biological or social development.
Key development tasks of Adolescence (13-18 years);
• Learning to build in mate and commi ed friendships/
rela onships
• Adjustment to pubertal changes
• Transi on to secondary schooling
• Developing strong and coherent personal iden ty
Media e ect: e ects depend on the age and the user
Scary media content and trauma:
- Perceptual stage (2-7), looking scary
fffitititi ff titifi tifftiti titt titifi
fititi ti titititt
ti ti tifi titi ti titifl ti titi ti ti ff ti ti ti
, - Conceptual stage (7+), being real
Adolescents and celebri es:
- Parents are examples (<12)
- In uencers are examples (+12)
Risk and Resilience Approach:
Di eren al life experiences among children. Risk and protec ve
factors explain di erences between people -> cumula ve risk model
(snowball e ect and turn around models).
Bronnfenbrenner, Development Ecological model (2005)
Micro
How do parents monitor and regulate their children’s
media use (tracking screen me, keeping media
outside of the bedroom)?
Exo
Is the school o ering classes on online safety and
social media policies such as banning the smartphone
from the classroom?
Macro
What do we believe and value regarding social media.
Is it entertainment, or dangerous?
Iden ty development
Basic idea: “An iden ty is, al least in part, an explicit theory of oneself as a person” (Moshman, 2005, p. 89)
- Iden ty dimensions:
• Personal
• Social: gender, ethnic, na onal
• Online iden ty
Self Image -> How young people perceive themselves
Self-esteem -> The ability to appreciate this self-image
Iden ty: Should be constructed during adolescence through
explora on online and o ine
“Virtual iden ty” or “online iden ty” vs Actual iden ty
Interconnected, but not iden cal Figure 1. Illustration of Goffman's model of self-
Anonymity presentation adapted to social media applications.
Di erent, more extreme forms of behavior e.g., cyberbullying
Crea vity
Playing around, discovering who you are
Asynchrony
Communica on at your convenience, breaking me and space
constraints
Controllability
The ability to decide what informa on to share
flff ti titi ff
tititi ff ff ti tiffl
ti titi ti ti ti ti ti ti
, Lecture 2: Media E ects
Media use (Valkenburg & Oliver, 2019): “… the intended or incidental use of media channels (e.g.,
telephone, email), devices (e.g. smartphone, game, console), content/messages (e.g. games, narra ves,
adver sing, news), or all types of pla orms, tools, or apps (e.g. Facebook, Instagram, Uber).
Media e ects: “Media e ects are the deliberate and non-deliberate short- and long-term individual or
collec ve changes in cogni ons, emo ons, a tudes, and behavior that result from media use”
Media e ects meline; History of media-e ects
1920s, Movies
1938, War of the Worlds
1940s, People’s Choice Study
1945, Decatur Study
Payne fund studies
1. Content: what are children exposed to?
2. Emo onal impact?
3. Behavioral impact?
-> Legacy of fear
The War of the Worlds
Magic-bullet models or Hypodermic Needle Perspec ve
- Direct in uence
- Uniform, persuasive e ects
The People’s Choice
• Conversion
• Reinforcement
-> Limited E ects Perspec ve (models):
- 2-step Flow
- Reinforcement/Selec ve Exposure
The Decatur Study
Two step ow of communica on
Return to the concept of powerful media
e ects:
- Spiral of Silence
- Cul va on
Construc on of reality:
- Agenda-se ng
- Priming
- Framing
Preference-based e ects models:
- Tailored persuasion
- Preference based reinforcement
ff titititifffltiflttiff ti
fftifffffftiti ti tfti fftti ti ti
