Exam question 3

The topic at hand has a great impact on the television which is shown from my research, children are more likely to use newer media devices instead of old devices such as Television or radio. This has increased the likeliness of them owning a media device, most commonly a tablet or smartphone. The fact that children’s access to these devices have increased for children between the ages 5-15 they are using the devices to access media such as YouTube and Netflix and social media. According to my primary research I had asked parents questions about their children’s media uses and how they prefer to use their devices. One of my questions were ‘Does your child prefer YouTube or Television’ and the statistics from parents who answered showed that 76% of children chose YouTube over television and means that children aren’t watching television as much as previous years. YouTube allows the viewer to view any content they desire at any time, unlike television which has a set schedule of shows. This is slowly becoming the television for the younger generation because they are watching others and uploading their own content and it is becoming the common platform for entertainment for children, which is losing viewers and money for the television sector, the evidence for this is from the BARB website which shows viewers have been decreasing over the last three years.

In addition to the problem affecting television is that TV shows are being watched on illegal streaming sites and they are also available on YouTube and there is no regulations on YouTube to prevent children watching content which is not suitable for their age. This is proven to be affecting the Television sector, according to my research on the BARB website it shows that since 2015 the audience viewing percentage has been decreasing, even in the months which would most commonly be the period that children would watch it most. In may the viewing has decreased by a total of 1.17%, in august they have dropped 1.4% and in January by 0.69%. From conducting a focus group, I had concluded the primary reasons why children prefer YouTube over Television, they can be split into to two categories accessibility and entertainment.  The children which preferred it for accessibility reasons said they can access it in their rooms or can watch it anytime and do not need to wait for a scheduled show. From looking at the most recent 


The Ofcom 2016 article suggest that the YouTube has become popular with children of all ages, mainly older child. 37% of 3-4 year olds and 87% 12-15 year olds using the YouTube website or application, this could suggest the causation of television becoming less popular for children. Parents from my survey say that they prefer YouTube over Television, this could also be the reason for parents concerns for online safety to increase, because within YouTube there are no regulations to protect the child unlike television which has the watershed. If the child is seeing innaproriate content and violence they could assume the world is full of negative and bad people, this is linked to cultivation theory which is also called bad world syndrome.

Ofcom Alternartive

Childhood 2016 Major shift in UK children’s behaviour as time online overtakes time watching TV for first time ever, reveals new report. This year has seen a major shift in UK children’s media use with time spent online overtaking TV viewing for the first time ever1, according to the latest 2016 CHILDWISE Monitor Report.

Tablet ownership also soared this year – up by 50% from last year. Just six years after the UK release of the iPad, tablets have swept into children’s lives, with two in three (67%) now having their own device.

The new data shows that YouTube has taken centre stage in children’s lives this year to become the place they turn to for entertainment, music, games, TV programmes, instruction and advice. Half use the site every day, almost all do so on occasion.

The majority of children who use YouTube visit the site to access music videos (58%). Around half of users keep themselves entertained with funny content on YouTube (52%). Around a third watch gaming content, vlogs/blogs, TV programmes or ‘how to’ videos.

 Children are also going online more in their bedrooms. Three in four children (73%) can now access the internet in their room, up from two in three (63%) last year.

The 2016 CHILDWISE Monitor is a comprehensive annual report looking at five to 16-year-olds media consumption, purchasing and social habits as well as key behaviour. More than 2000 children in schools across the United Kingdom completed in-depth online surveys for the report.

“Growing access to the internet at any time and in any place, and a blurring of television content across channels and devices, brings a landmark change in behaviour this year. TV viewing has been redefined,” says Simon Leggett, Research Director from CHILDWISE. “

Children are now seeking out the content of their choice. They still find traditional TV programmes engaging but are increasingly watching them online and on-demand or binge watching box sets.”

This year, for the first time, tablet devices have overtaken laptops/PCs/netbooks as the main type of computer that children have in their homes. Four in five children (79%) now live in a house with a tablet device in it. This is a significant rise from just three in five (61%) last year.

A new mental health section in CHILDWISE Monitor 2016 reveals most children are happy but there is a small number for whom this is not the case. By age 11-16 one in 10 boys and one in six girls are not happy and feel life is worse than it was a year ago.

 • Zoella was the top vlogger, especially among girls with 15% naming her as their favourite. Her appeal is highest among 11-12 year olds. Minecraft vlogger TheDiamondMinecart, younger brother of Zoella Joe Sugg, gaming vlogger KSI and further Minecraft vlogger Stampy were the next most popular.

• Little Mix top the chart this year as the most popular artist, with 5% choosing them up from 1% last year. One Direction fall to third most popular after three years of being children’s top pick. • 63% of children own their own mobile phone with an average monthly spend of £12.

• A further fall in book reading for pleasure with the majority (53%) reading for half an hour or less per day. 8% of children read magazines every day compared to 11% last year.

• Children’s total spending power in the UK is £7.5 million per year. Regular pocket money continues to fall and children are increasingly likely to receive ad hoc handouts

Research Catalogue

Research Catalogue

Source 1: BBC November 2017

This is a website article created by a technology reporter which allowed me to link together with my primary research. This is a useful source because it showed me how much time the children spend online; this can be linked with parental concerns with children’s media use.

Source 2: The Guardian November 2017

This is one of my most relevant and useful information because it relates with all of my research and gives me a building points for a hypothesis.

Source 3: BARB November 2017

The website BARB also known as Broadcasting Audience Research Board, they are responsible with gathering statistics about audience consumption patterns. This is useful because my chosen sector is television and this shows the audiences viewing patterns and what they enjoy it also shows multiple time points.

Source 4: Child wise December 2017

This was a report created by child wise who are a reliable source of information because their job is to find statistics about children and how they spend their time. This is a useful alternative for Ofcom 2016 report because it has relevant information that can be linked with my primary and other secondary.

Source 5: Focus Group November 2017

My first primary research method was useful because it was an extension from my survey and asked children directly about their uses, but not only were they asked what devices they use they were also asked why to get the qualitative information.

Source 6: Survey November 2017

This is my final primary research method, this was a survey asked to parents of children aged 5-15, this showed what children prefer and what media devices they watch television. It also allowed me to make links with my secondary to create a hypothesis.