Teen Usage of New and Old Media: Formation & Family

Noberto González Gaitano

• Publisher: EDUSC
• Year: 2018
• eBook ISBN: 9788883337345
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Media Studies
• Index: Social Sciences

Questa ricerca vuol essere uno spunto di riflessione sul tema del rapporto tra tecnologia e adolescenza in particolare per gli insegnati, gli educatori, i genitori, gli operatori sociali, tutte le associazioni e le istituzioni che si occupano di ricerca e formazione giovanile. Il nostro suggerimento è di andare oltre i dati numerici, certamente utili e indicativi, per coglierne l'essenza e lo spirito. Non pensate ad una ricerca che offra tabelle, grafici, statistiche e percentuali. Immaginatevi, piuttosto, dei ragazzi in carne ed ossa che, con spontaneità ed entusiasmo, vi raccontano qualcosa di loro e del proprio modo di vedere la vita. Lo scopo? Pensare e ispirare programmi educativi che nascano proprio dal confronto con questi giovani.Il progetto di ricerca Famiglia e media è un'iniziativa internazionale portata avanti dai diversi dipartimenti delle Università: Pontificia della Santa Croce (Roma), Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (Milano), della Svizzera italiana (Lugano), Austral (Buenos Aires), CEU San Pablo (Madrid e Valencia), Cattolica de Argentina (Buenos Aires), Sacra Concezione (Concepción, Cile).Norberto González Gaitano (Alcaraz, Spagna). Professore Ordinario di Opinione Pubblica e docente di Etica della Comunicazione presso la Pontificia Università della Santa Croce. Autore di Famiglia e Media. Relazioni familiari, le loro rappresentazioni sui mezzi di comunicazione e relazioni virtuali (2015), Famiglia e media. Associazioni familiari e comunicazione (2011), Public Opinion and the Catholic Church (2010), Famiglia e media. Il detto e il non detto (2008), Comunicazione e luoghi della fede (2000), La interpretación y la narración periodísticas (1997) e El deber de respeto a la intimidad (1990). Già professore di Etica della comunicazione presso l'Università della Laguna (Spagna, 1990-1996) e docente di Etica giornalistica presso l'Università di Navarra (Spagna, 1981-1990); Visiting Research Scholar di The University of Chicago (2008-2009) e di The Catholic University of America (Washington, 1995). Direttore del progetto di ricerca Famiglia e media (www.familyandmedia.eu), esperto del AVEPRO (Agenzia della Santa Sede per la Valutazione e la Promozione della Qualità delle Università e Facoltà Ecclesiastiche) e Consultore del Pontificio Consiglio delle comunicazioni sociali.

Capitolo 1- Teen Usage of New and Old Media: Formation & Family

Norberto González Gaitano

1. INTRODUCTION

The aim of this chapter is twofold: offering to English readership a summary of the

original research carried out by two researchers of the Family and Media team on

various focus groups among Italian teenagers (14-19) involved in parish Oratories or

youth centers associated with parishes and putting the research itself into a broader

framework.

Seventy-two teenagers distributed in nine interactive focus groups from Oratories and

Parishes, chosen from six Italian cities, were subjected to a game-playing media

experiment to identify patterns of media usage and consumption and to look for the

presence or absence of human virtues involved, particularly temperance, loyalty,

sincerity and modesty.

The interactive focus groups were carried out in a “natural” environment. The young

people were unaware they were being observed while engaged in the selected media

activities. The activities were designed as games so as to facilitate spontaneous

behavior and frank answers to the questions posed to them throughout the game-

playing or upon their completion (in the context of a discussion about the game). The

field researchers, who were close in age and mindset to the young people involved,

acted as facilitators and leaders in the experiment: they were active participants to

ensure the games were played correctly, as well as observing the teens and collecting

additional data not included in the questioning.

Three types of media content were used in the game-playing to study the attitudes and

behavior of the participants: a popular TV series targeted to teenagers (Red Bracelets),

a shooter video game and a game (Privacy Traders) including four counterfeit social

networks.

Apart from the information elicited regarding their attitudes and behavior in the use of

media, the experiment proved also to be successful in its twofold secondary purpose: 1)

testing its ability to obtain find answers not induced by an adult mindset or perspective,

and 2) getting realistic indicators for educators (animators of oratories and parishes,

parents, teachers) to function as “mediators of integration” for a critical and responsible

use of media in their formative functions.

As stated in the Italian Introduction of this book, I had the opportunity of presenting the

results of this research at The Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues of The University

of Birmingham on April 5, 2017 in a Seminar of Professors¹. The encouraging welcome to

the paper and the appraisal about the originality of our research, lead me to present it in

English so as to let it be known to a larger public than the Italian speaking public. Some

of the colleagues wisely advised completing the research by adding the scholarly

framework or related studies, which I gladly do in this chapter before presenting first

the research itself.

¹ http://jubileecentre.ac.uk/1617/papers/seminar-papers.

2. THE RESEARCH IN CONTEXT

To set in context where this experimental research should be situated, it has to be

noticed first that the experiment deals with three kinds of activities: playing

videogames, using social networks and “receiving” a TV series. The overarching

rationale with which we look at these activities is an educational purpose: what can we

learn from th...

Table of contents

• Indice
• PREFAZIONE
• Capitolo 1- Teen Usage of New and Old Media: Formation & Family
• Capitolo 2 - Videogiochi e adolescenti: istigazione alla violenza o educazione?
• Capitolo 3 - Fruizione giovanile delle reti sociali
• Capitolo 4- Discutere su amore e amicizia con i ragazzi a partire di una fiction giovanile, Braccialetti rossi