The Use and Experience of the New Video Media Among Children and Young Adolescents

The media habits and experiences of 483 subjects whose ages ranged from 9 to 15 years were studied via the Experience Sampling Method. Respondents carried electronic paging devices and reported on their activities and subjective experiences when signaled. General descriptive findings on the use and experience of three forms of new video entertainment, music videos, video games, and videocassettes, are reported. For boys, these new video media were associated with higher reports of arousal and more positive affective states than was the case for the activities of television viewing, reading, and listening to popular music. Relative to boys, girls reported lower affect and arousal, especially during video games and music videos.