MEGATRENDS AND MEDIA

TRANSFORMATION OF THE MEDIA GARDEN
Table 5
Do your parents ask you about what you have seen on the TV, what you do
on the PC, etc.?
Always 4.7
Often 26.0
Sometimes 38.9
Seldom 21.1
Never 8.8
No answer 0.4
Source: own processing
%
Mothers turned out to be the main initiators of the discussions (51.6%
of cases). This was conirmed by parents´ data. Children initiated
discussions less often (18.9%) and fathers did that very rarely (9.9%).
Further, there were various combinations of participants in the family
discussions (me and my mom, me and my dad, parents together, etc.). In
addition, children and parents view the extent to which they talk about
the content of TV programs differently. Children mainly feel the absence
of discussions about the TV content; nearly 30% of children reported that
their parents seldom or never talk to them about this matter. Particularly
striking is the difference from the mothers´ view; mothers are convinced
that they frequently discuss the TV content with their children. This,
again, can be due to mothers´ desire to be seen as a “good mother” or it
can be caused by children not paying attention when parents try to talk
to them about these matters.
Table 6
Does a parent ever talk to the child about the TV content?
Mothers Fathers Children
Always 4.6 3.7 4.7
Often 47.5 27.1 26.0
Sometimes 40.7 51.0 38.9
Seldom 6.0 15.6 21.1
Never 1.0 2.3 8.8
Source: own processing
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