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The article examines media consumption and compliance with health-protective measures during the COVID-19 pandemic. Two-wave, longitudinal surveys were conducted in Finland and the United States in April 2020 and October 2020, with a total of 1,380 participants (N = 1,380). The variables analyzed included daily consumption of different media channels (broadcast, print, and social media), health-protective behavior, and COVID-19 self-efficacy. The results indicated that individuals who consumed more than one media channel on a daily basis exhibited increased health-protective behavior and COVID-19 self-efficacy in both countries. One-sided and social media-based media consumption showed a negative association with health-protective behavior and COVID-19 self-efficacy in both countries. Finally, COVID-19 self-efficacy was found to mediate the relationship between media consumption and health-protective behavior in both countries, with a stronger effect observed in the United States. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last 10–15 years, Western societies have faced two interrelated social changes: the digitalization of media and the increase in socio-political polarization. While their relationship is causally reciprocal, population-level empirical studies focusing on over-time change remain scarce. We adopt the temporal perspective on the socio-political stratification of media usage in the context of Finland, one of the so-called Nordic media welfare states. We ask whether the ways in which media usage is socially stratified has changed from 2007 to 2018 and whether there is political polarization of media consumption. We draw on two nationally representative comparative surveys, collected in 2007 (N = 1388) and 2018 (N = 1425), and show that the main media usage patterns—the wide, the narrow, and the Internet-focused media repertoires—differ both in terms of their sociodemographic and political profiles and that the opposition between the wide and the narrow repertoires becomes increasingly polarized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Nordic countries and beyond, there exists a lack of longitudinal, population-level research focused on sociopolitical polarisation and the proliferation of new online activities in the context of changing media usage. In this article, we examine media usage in Finland in 2007 and 2018. We use two nationally representative surveys (N = 1,388 in 2007 and N = 1,425 in 2018) to make comparisons over time and include a wide set of media usage indicators. Applying multiple correspondence analysis, we assess the impact of the proliferation of online activities on the structure of the space of media usage and examine whether the association between media usage and sociopolitical divisions has become more sharply pronounced. The results suggest stability of the structure of media use rather than dramatic change. We discuss these results by reflecting on the relatively strong persistence of "traditional" models of stratification in digital cultural consumption and media practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional media are being surpassed by Internet media content, which can be accessed by multiple Internet-enabled devices, when and where ever, often even during night-time. The constant availability and widespread use of these streaming media or video-on-demand services have led to changes in media consumption and usage patterns and video viewing behaviour. This study explores the temporal media consumption patterns of different video-on-demand services in Finland by analysing search engine queries, with the aim to investigate when prime-time for these services occurs. The data for this study were obtained from Google Trends, between 30 September and 1 December 2017. Results show that there are clear and recurring temporal patterns for video-on-demand service interest and media consumption in Finland. Popularity in Google searches for the different video-on-demand services start to rise in the evening and peak during night-time and clear troughs are visible during the morning hours and during the day. These strong diurnal characteristics point to a strong media behaviour and makes it easy to predict trends. It is evident that peaks in primetime for streaming media services are visible at night-time and have replaced the television set prime-time. These findings on behavioural patterns and habits might have new and disruptive implications in the post-television era, both on an individual and societal level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this research is to discern the different roles of media in the identity projects of the young. Building on the idea of social identification, the analysis is focused on defining the different ways and criteria in which their own media consumption is accounted for by the young when making sense of themselves and others. Empirical data for the study included 53 Finnish university students’ essays on their relationships with different media vehicles and contents. The findings indicate that media consumption attaches to the identity projects of the young by relating to their taste preferences, everyday concerns, lifestyles and life themes, thereby addressing the basic states of human existence, namely having, doing and being. The findings demonstrate that media consumption connects with five different identity projects: (a) being a global citizen, (b) being a student, (c) being young, (d) being a devotee and (e) being healthy. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]