Browsing by Author "Tilles, Roosa"

The study examined children`s use of audiovisual media at home. The children who took part in the study were under three years old. I also wanted to know more about parents' views on children's media use. Previous studies have shown that children are using audiovisual media increasingly. Children under the age of three are also relatively active media users. Parents' attitudes towards media affects the amount children are allowed to use audiovisual media. Parents also have different meanings why their children use or don`t use audiovisual media. The research material was collected using a questionnaire. The questionnaire was intended for parents of children under three years of age. I shared the form on Facebook in parenting groups. Questionnaire collected 190 answers. Two answers had to be disqualified because children was too old to participate in the research. The qualitative parts of the material were analyzed by content analysis and quantitative sections by statistical means. Children under the age of three used the media daily between zero to two hours. The age of the children was related to the amount of media usage meaning that older children used the media more than younger. In this study, the gender of the child or the educational background of the parents was not related to the media use. The biggest reason for the use of media by parents was its role as a facilitator of everyday life. According to the parents, the biggest side effects of the media were the addictiveness and scary content. Children under the age of three use the media quite regularly and therefore the media also have an increasing impact on children.