The media revolution is still a long time coming

A media revolution is supposedly just around the corner. But in reality, most German citizens can't even programme a video recorder. And the hope of a new generation of "multi-media kids" will not be realised any time soon: Only just under one in five young people (18%) aged between 14 and 24 use computers in their free time, but twice as many (36%) enjoy reading books. One in eight young people (12%) are enthusiastic about video games, while the proportion of young people who regularly read newspapers or magazines is four times as high (49%). This is the result of a representative survey conducted by the B-A-T Freizeit-Forschungsinstitut, in which 2,600 people aged 14 and over in Germany were asked about their leisure activities.
For more than 30 years, Germans have favoured television, reading newspapers and listening to the radio when it comes to media consumption. This has not changed to this day: Watching television (86%), reading newspapers (68%) and listening to the radio (64%) continue to be the most frequently mentioned leisure activities. "The technologies in the media industry are changing faster than the habits of consumers," says Prof Dr Horst W. Opaschowski, Director of the B-A-T Institute. "The overwhelming majority of the population is sticking to their old habits. Most people lack the technical understanding, the necessary time and also the financial resources for innovations on the media market." Only among the younger generation are there signs of changes and shifts for the future: Video films are already just as important to young people today as books (36% each). And the use of computers and video games also remains a question of age for the time being.
It will be many decades before the majority of the population is able (and "willing") to use PCs, modems and CD-ROMs regularly at school, at work and in their leisure time. Moreover, the multi-media market has so far remained a male domain: Whether CD or computer, video film or video games - men set the tone and the trend in each case. Twice as many men (7%) as women (3%) enjoy video games. And when it comes to using computers as a regular leisure activity, the proportion of men is three times as high (15% - women: 5%). Obviously, the use of electronic media has more of an intrinsic value with a challenging character for men, while for many women technology is just a necessary vehicle on the way to a more enjoyable leisure time.
Professor Opaschowski: "There are psychological limits to the upgrading of leisure time with ever new technologies: without broad consumer acceptance, the multi-media market will not be able to become a billion-dollar market." For the vast majority of the population, the multi-media age will not take place until the second half of the 21st century. Until then, most people would rather go out together after work than stay at home alone online ...