Media audiences and media use
People's use of various media is central to both the users themselves and to the media and the development of society. This applies to both traditional news media and digital media and apps. Different media and genres fulfill various needs and functions for users, while media are in turn dependent on users for their impact and economic viability. Media use is also important for the development of society, as media of various kinds constitute a central source of information and platforms for discussion.
Based partly on the development of the media landscape and partly on individuals' choices to engage in and with media in different ways, research at JMG deals with, among other things, how and to what extent people use media and media content to fulfill different types of needs and functions. We also investigate which factors influence the use of different media and media content, as well as how people interpret and interact with content via different types of media. A central question is what consequences media habits and engagement have at the individual and societal levels.
Research at JMG is closely linked to the annual surveys conducted by the SOM Institute and Nordicom.
Central themes
- How people's media habits are established and change over time. News consumption in various media has been measured since the late 1970s.
- News consumption and how differences between individuals and groups look in relation to people's social, cultural, and economic resources, and what consequences may follow from differences in news habits.
- The importance of media use for people's perceptions of various social issues and how people's selective media use affects these perceptions.
- The role and importance of media in everyday life, including how people interact with media and media content and how this can contribute to identity creation and identification.
- How people interpret and reinterpret various types of media content and what can explain different interpretations of mediated content.
- The importance of various factors for people's evaluation of media and media content, not least news media and their reporting.
- People's trust in the media, how it changes over time, and how it can be explained.
- How democratic processes are affected by how and to what extent different groups of people use different types of media and media content.
