Surmising the ViVo Age ViVo research activities included quantitative surveys and qualitative focus group discussions which involved youngsters, youth workers, media experts and practitioners in the five participating countries. The main findings from the survey are summarized in this chapter, while summaries of focus groups are presented in the following one.
Sur-why? Aims, topics and participants in the survey The ViVo survey aimed at providing a broader insight into the use of media by youth and in youth work, including with disadvantaged youngsters. We explored the frequency, ways, purposes and routines of using traditional, online and social media and their linkage to participation and involvement in public life. We were also interested in the ways and motivations for contributing to existing media and the creation of people’s own media productions. The survey was distributed online and promoted among national and international youth networks and in social media. The questionnaire was accessible from March 6 to 29, 2012. A total of 471 individuals participated in the survey and 414 completed it. All countries of the ViVo project were represented and no quota was applied to account for different population sizes. At least 50 participants from each country completed the questionnaire with Greece, Italy and Slovakia reaching the limit, Hungary exceeding it and Spain being overrepresented. The survey was dominated by females, people aged 20 to 35 years and university graduates. More than half of participants were employed or self-employed and one third were still studying. More than half live in a city with more than 100 thousand inhabitants. All interpretations of the collected data must be read in line with the described profi le of participants. In itself it indicates who the most likely respondents are of a survey conducted and promoted only via online channels. As a result, some categories of respondents were not populated enough in our survey: participants below 15 and above 46 years, with completed elementary and vocational education, the unemployed, individuals not working or studying with young people, people working in some areas (health care, trade, politics) and respondents living in municipalities with less than 5 thousand inhabitants. As in any other survey, there are also additional methodological limitations which should be accounted for. Specifically, responses to some questions are based on subjective measurements, e.g. the frequency of different media usage. In addition, even if the research focus was not controversial or highly sensitive, some level of responsiveness (answering in line with what is generally expected or “proper”) might have occurred. This may apply especially to questions dealing with the intensity of youth and social participation. Due to the described limitations, future research should employ quota sampling and also more traditional ways of collecting data besides online distribution to be representative of the given country’s population. However, if the fi ndings of the survey are read carefully they can still provide interesting insights. The following subchapters group them into four areas: 1. the uses of different types of media, 2. the relation be-
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Chapter 1.4 | Surmising the ViVo Age