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How young people spend their free time

In our latest episode of Schampar digital, we talk to Céline Külling-Knecht about young people’s leisure activities. The JAMES Study 2024 shows how their media use is changing. While new trends such as TikTok and AI tools are becoming increasingly important, the basic needs of young people remain largely constant. Socializing with friends, sports activities and music are still central, even if the media and platforms used are evolving.

The smartphone has established itself as an everyday device and is used for various functions and applications. The most popular apps are Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat and WhatsApp. However, despite the strong dominance of smartphones, books continue to hold their own surprisingly well. A quarter of young people read regularly, perhaps inspired by book recommendations shared via social media.

AI tools such as ChatGPT are conquering the everyday lives of young people. Over 70% of young people have already tried these technologies, and a third use them on a weekly basis. Gaming has been growing in popularity for years, while other media activities are showing signs of saturation.

As previous surveys have shown a worrying increase in cyberbullying and sexual harassment online, the phenomena were examined in more detail in 2024. Boys are significantly more likely to be both perpetrators and victims of cyberbullying, while almost every second girl has been sexually harassed online.

Our hosts Frank Richter and Jessica Reust talk to Céline Külling-Knecht. She is a research assistant in the Media Psychology department at the ZHAW and part of the JAMES study research team.

🎧 Listen to the latest episode of our podcast now to find out more about how young people’s leisure activities and media use are changing.

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Hosts: Frank Richter and Jessica Reust
Sound: Jessica Reust
Sound: Daniel Hug

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