ACMA this week published a major study into media and communications in Australian family homes. While most of the study focused on tv and the internet, there were some insights into young people’s use of radio. Teenage radio listening, as measured in the research study, is slightly down on the last comparable survey, with 13 minutes of radio listening per day reported this year, compared with 1995, when listening was 15 minutes per day.

Most young people (83 per cent) reported listening to the radio at some point over their three-day period, even though only 28 per cent actually logged it as an activity in their diary.

Radio listening was more frequently reported by girls (86 per cent) than boys (77 per cent), and is more common among children aged 13–17 (88 per cent) than 8–12 (79 per cent).

A small proportion of young people (four per cent) reported listening to the radio through the internet.

Other findings relevant to radio include:

PORTABLE MP3/MP4 PLAYERS

Portable MP3/MP4 players are found in 76 per cent of family households and are used by 62 per cent of children and young people.

Households tend to have MP3 players only (59 per cent of households, 56 per cent of children), rather than MP4 players which have video capabilities (17 per cent of households, 6 per cent of children).
The average family household in 2007 has two portable MP3/MP4 players.

MUSIC LISTENING BY CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE

Children and young people spend an average 21 minutes per day listening to recorded music, higher than in 1995 (13 minutes). Similar levels of radio listening are reported in 2007 (average 13 minutes) compared with 1995 (15 minutes).

Listening to recorded music is a more common activity for girls (45 per cent) than boys (35 per cent). On average, girls spend 26 minutes a day listening to recorded music, compared with 18 minutes for boys.

The gender distinction is also evident with radio, although it is less marked. Music and radio listening becomes more popular with age; listening to recorded music is twice as common for 15–17 year olds as 8–11 year olds.

Music and radio

Listening to recorded music is a more common activity for girls (45 per cent) than boys (35 per cent). On average, girls spend 26 minutes a day listening to recorded music, compared with 18 minutes for boys. The gender distinction is also evident with radio, although it is less marked.

Age is also a major factor in music and radio listening. Twice as many 15–17 year olds listen to recorded music (59 per cent) compared with 8–11 year olds (25 per cent), and radio listening is also more common (37 per cent of 15–17 year olds, 24 per cent of 8–11 year olds). Also, listening time for recorded music is more than five times longer for 15–17 year olds (46 minutes, compared with eight minutes for 8–11 year olds); radio listening is double (20 minutes for 15–17 year olds, nine minutes for 8–11 year olds).

TIME OF DAY TRENDS FOR MUSIC AND RADIO

Listening to recorded music most commonly occurs between 3.00 pm and 9.00 pm on weekdays, but is also common between 6.00 am and 9.00 am and after 9.00 pm. Radio listening times tend to fall into two distinct slots—6.00–9.00 am and 3.00–9.00 pm (both on weekdays). Listening to music and the radio during weekends is generally less common than on weekdays.

MP3/MP4 PLAYERS

Just under half (46 per cent) of the young people who returned a diary reported using an MP3/MP4 player over the three-day study period. This is more than the 40 per cent who reported listening to recorded music in the diary, possibly because these devices are used for other purposes besides listening to music.

Use was more often reported by girls (52 per cent) than boys (41 per cent). Use also increases with age, from 16 per cent among eight year olds up to 79 per cent among 15 year olds; and begins to decline slightly above 15 years of age—for example, 61 per cent for 17 year olds.

The most common use of MP3/MP4 players is to listen to music (42 per cent of total young people reported using a player for this purpose) either downloaded from the internet (32 per cent) and/or copied from CD (30 per cent). Around one in eight young people use an MP3/MP4 player to listen to the radio, while five per cent use it to watch video content.

The report is an in-depth study of children’s use of electronic media and the way parents mediate that use. The research considered a range of children’s leisure activities and investigated how the internet, free-to-air and subscription television, radio, mobile phones, radio, mp3 players and games fit into the lives of Australian young people and families.

The report includes analysis of:

• detailed information from over 1000 children (aged eight to 17 years) about the time they spend on leisure activities, including electronic media

• an inventory of media equipment in 750 homes and

• a questionnaire to 750 parents/guardians examining the attitudes and behaviours that families adopt to mediate the use of electronic media by children.

The project has two components: a national community research study on media use in Australian families (the subject of this report); and academic input to review the current state of evidence about long-term media impacts (reported separately). The community research component was undertaken by a team of social researchers from Urbis, in conjunction with the field company Unity4.

To read the full report, click below.