Why Study Teens?

After the success of Middletown Media Studies I and II, researchers at the CMD began to explore how their observational method could be adapted and applied towards studying specific demographics within the overall consumer environment. Recognizing the importance of teenage media consumers to many in the media community and responding to inquiries about our intentions to replicate our research among this group, the CMD decided to pilot a project that would establish the viability of the observational method when applied to a sample of teenagers.

A study of this nature also serves as a test for the MMS method. It can be assumed that specific challenges arise with shadowing a population of minors who spend a significant amount of time in school, participating in extra-curricular activities and who might use media in innovative ways. With these factors in mind, CMD researchers initiated a teen pilot study in the Fall of 2006. The principal investigators for the pilot study were Robert Papper, Michael Holmes and James Nyce.

What We Did

The pilot study included 15 middle and high school-aged students from a local K-12 school. In keeping with the observational method, participants were each shadowed by a trained observer throughout their day for average total recorded day of 15.5 hours.

Observers recorded participants' media activities, their locations and life activities throughout the day on "smart keyboards" equipped with proprietary software which captured observer-logged data in ten-second increments.    While the sample is small and non-gneralizable, the pilot study results raise a number of interesting questions and  suggest overarching patterns and distinctive media habits to explore in further research.

Though the MMS method has proved valuable in past studies, the nature of this pilot study was an exploration of its feasibility with a younger age group. As this was the CMD's first attempt at teen-oriented observational research, the process and expectations are now more clearly defined and outlined for future studies and concretely proves studies like this one are deliverable to industry and academia.  The CMD's Insight and Research unit is currently drafting plans for an expanded teen study and will be seeking sponsorship and input from interested third parties.

The CMD is moving forward with plans to tackle a more comprehensive look into teenagers' cross-media consumption, regardless of location, throughout their days.

To Learn More

Download the FREE report: High School Media Too 

Be sure to look for more about teen media behaviors, including references to the CMD teens pilot, in this month's issue of Media magazine.