They get a lot of news from Facebook
They get a lot of news from Facebook

The impact of social media on parental news modeling in the digital media landscape

Summary/Abstract: The popularization of digital technologies has called into question the role of parent-child behavior modeling in news socialization in the modern media landscape. On these technologies, news coexists with many other types of content, rendering its use externally invisible and thus less available for imitation with potential consequences for younger generations’ future news use and civic orientation. This article reports on the everyday news behaviors of a quota sample of 24 Danes between ages 18 and 25 based on a combined qualitative methodology. An analytical design using laughter as index of face-loss points to sources of embarrassment in interview subjects’ news repertoires, uncovering a young audience that is aware of but uncomfortable with their parents’ news habits. This is in part a result of social media, where parents’ liking, commenting, and sharing behaviors simultaneously make their news practices more available for observation and less available for idealization.

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