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In the borderland between family orientation and peer culture: the use of communication technologies among Norwegian tweens

University of Oslo, Norway, b.h.kaare{at}media.uio.no

Petter Bae Brandtzæg

SINTEF ICT, Oslo, Norway

Jan Heim

SINTEF ICT, Oslo, Norway

Tor Endestad

University of Oslo, Norway

This article explores the use of mediated communication among Norwegian children aged between 10 and 12 years. The analysis is based on a survey and 88 qualitative interviews with 130 children about their use of different types of communication technologies. This allowed a sketch of connections between the nature of the childrens' social relationships, mediated content and various means of communication employed. Six main content categories of mediated communication were identified. The study points out that new media technologies offer the children new ways of communicating content and meaning which were not easily communicated by children before; both aggressive and emotionally positive content are exchanged more easily through digital technologies than face-to-face. Above all, the children use communication technologies to build and strengthen relationships for the benefit of their schoolmates and friends. Whether the use of new communication technologies, Short Message Service (SMS) in particular, is accelerating the ongoing process of individualization of the family, is discussed.

Key Words: children and young people • communication technologies • content categories • family orientation • individualization • mediated communication • mediated content • peer culture • social relationships • tweens

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New Media & Society, Vol. 9, No. 4, 603-624 (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/1461444807080328


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