German Net generation study

Finally, an English (abridged) version of Schulmeister's extensive study on the existence of the Net generation (or rather non-existence) is available. Earlier I worked my way through the German extended version.

The most important point Schulmeister makes is that you have to study interactive media use in the context of everyday life. For many social scientists this is obvious, but much Net generation literature focuses solely on the use of interactive media.

Mark Bullen gives an overview of the main conclusions. In regard of my own research these two are most interesting:

The Use of Media: It turns out that the use of media alone is not sufficient for the existence of the net generation but rather that the motives for the use of media are essential in the context of such an analysis.

The Motivation for the Use of Media: The preferences of the young for specific internet activities provide information about the spectrum of their interests; the age distribution of their preferences suggests that the actual interests are influenced by socialization.