Hamburg, 26.11.2025: The media landscape for children and young people has changed significantly in recent years. The ways in which media accompany and influence the process of growing up vary. For instance, a comparison of groups of ten-year-olds in 2018 and 2023 reveals that the first smartphone continues to play a pivotal role. However, how individual media are used and the order in which they are acquired or made available varies. This results in an increasing pluralisation of media ensembles and the creation of individualized media biographies for children.<\/p>\n
This is the central finding of the \u201cConnected Kids \u2013 Socialization in a Changing Media Environment\u201d (ConKids)<\/a> project, in which families in the greater Hamburg and Nuremberg areas were observed and interviewed over a period of six years. The project team, comprising researchers from the Leibniz Institute for Media Research (HBI) and the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg (FAU), examined how children and young people grow up in a mediatised world. The project was funded by the German Research Foundation. The findings of the second funding phase have now been published in open access by Nomos Verlag.<\/p>\n The recently published sub-study focuses on changes in online negotiation processes between children and their social circles, particularly their same-age friends, known as ‘peers’. Smartphones and social media are now essential for participating in peer communication. Although children and young people still communicate face-to-face, much of their interaction now takes place online and is increasingly time-consuming. During early adolescence, peer-related media practices increase, as does social pressure to use social media and online games. These experiences then become part of negotiation processes and identity development.<\/p>\n Although the family remains the central socialisation authority until adolescence, its influence is increasingly relativised by the earlier onset and stronger influence of peers and digital media. While the growing influence of peers with advancing age is not a new phenomenon, this shift is occurring at an earlier stage and with greater intensity in mediatised societies. Digital communication has expanded the influence of online friendships and removed geographical boundaries. Consequently, the number of social influences on children and young people is growing, while the influence of the family is proportionally declining.<\/p>\n Prof. Dr. Rudolf Kammerl (FAU Erlangen-Nuremberg): “Peer relationships today are often maintained through constant online communication, whether via Messenger or WhatsApp for younger users and platforms such as Instagram or TikTok for older ones. When children get their first smartphone, they become part of a complex global communication network, and they have to deal with the expectations of their friends and internet providers around the clock.”<\/em><\/p>\n Dr. Katrin Kreutz (n\u00e9e Potzel) (FAU Erlangen-Nuremberg): “The study design with two cohorts enabled us to track changes in media-related socialization after five years, as well as various changes in the media environment. For example, there was the market launch of ChatGPT and the onset of the pandemic.”<\/em><\/p>\n Dr. Claudia Lampert (HBI) explains the importance of long-term studies: “Studies that allow families to be monitored over a longer period of time are necessary to understand how children’s media repertoires develop as they grow older, how their media use changes in the course of digital transformation and other social events, and what significance media has within the family and peer group. These studies also help us understand how these \u2018media-actor relationships\u2019 shift over the course of their lives.”<\/em><\/p>\n Dr. Claudia Lampert, c.lampert@leibniz-hbi.de<\/a>.<\/p>\n Lampert, C., Potzel, K., & Kammerl, R. (Eds.) (2025): Sozialisation in einer sich wandelnden Medienumgebung. Zur Erweiterung und Ver\u00e4nderung des Beziehungsnetzwerks<\/span> [Socialization in a Changing Media Environment. On the Expansion and Transformation of the Relationship Network]. (Publication Series Medienerziehung | Media Education, Volume 9) Baden-Baden: Nomos. doi.org\/10.5771\/9783748963301<\/a>. E-book available via open access.<\/p>\n Dr. Claudia Lampert, Christina Leppin (HBI), Prof. Dr. Rudolf Kammerl, Dr. Katrin Kreutz (n\u00e9e. Potzel), Saskia Draheim (FAU Erlangen-N\u00fcrnberg)<\/p>\nCommunication and Participation Take Place via Smartphones and Social Media<\/h2>\n
Peers and Digital Media Gain Influence Earlier and More Intensely<\/h2>\n
Press Contact<\/h2>\n
Study Available for Download Open Access<\/h2>\n
Project Team<\/h2>\n
Further Study Findings<\/h2>\n
\n