| Beschreibung: |
Today, childhood has the form of a media childhood and is closely intertwined with consumer society. In the 21st century, childhood presents itself as “mediatized” (Tillmann and Hugger, 2014) and as “commercialized” (Paus-Hasebrink and Kulterer, 2014). Media consumption worlds are a phenomenon that unites both aspects of the current world of children. What is meant by this? Initially, these are media composite products, according to which a script is available in at least three different media (Hengst, 1994, 240). They also include the aspect of cross-media. Different media channels (e.g. TV, online games, print magazines, smartphone apps) are used to spread a narrative. The narrations can also take on forms of “transmedia storytelling”, which Henry Jenkins described as story-telling “across multiple media platforms, with each new text making a distinctive and valuable contribution to the whole” (Jenkins, 2006, 98). So-called story worlds emerge, which frame and hold together all characters, narrative fragments and media forms of representation (Ryan, 2013, 90). They not only convey a story but also make it tangible using interactive media (web applications, computer games), everyday merchandising products and toys. As far as the aspect of consumption is concerned, media consumption worlds correspond to the approach of brand worlds in the advertising industry (Diehl and Terlutter, 2021). This advertising strategy aims to strengthen the emotional bond between consumers and the brand using different techniques. The paper presents results from our own study on the role of media consumer experiences in the everyday life of primary school children and their media pedagogical implications. The study is based on a research design based on the principle of “mixed methods” (Klassen et al., 2012) and includes media analyses, qualitative interviews with children of primary school age (five to eleven years) and their parents, as well as a standardized online survey. The results show that media consumption worlds contain potential for child identity work and for cognitive and social learning processes. However, they must be critically reflected on, especially with regard to the imperative of consumption. As with other media usage phenomena, the well-known educational and competence gap comes into play. The parents' educational background influences how the children interact with the media. Children of parents with less formal education spend significantly more time in front of screens than children of parents with more formal education. Parents with academic degrees also rate media consumer experiences significantly more critically than other parents. In order to promote equal opportunities for children, it is, therefore, necessary to promote them more in educational institutions (whether kindergarten or school) with regard to their media skills and critical consumer skills. The aim is not to demonize media consumer experiences as a threat but to integrate them constructively into participatory media work. |