Contenu du sommaire : Young People and the screen

Summary: This study concerns the consumption of superhero comics in the USA and in France. Drawing on a series of interviews and letters published in magazines over the past three decades, the article shows that, for a considerable part of its readership, this medium represents more than the transmission of a traditional masculinity; it is a means of learning a new and complex identity. The author concludes that the learning of gender identities cannot be seen as a univocal process of inculcation of predetermined roles.

Summary :This article presents the results, for France, of a European survey on children's and teenagers' ways of communicating. The authors analyse the relationship between social inequalities and the use of screens, with a particular focus on disparities, in the media sphere, in terms of age and gender. They explore the new dynamics of sociability induced by the new media, and highlight the versatility of media use and the synergies that are woven between digital screens and printed matter.

Summary: With the current proliferation of personal media in the home and particularly in children's bedrooms, analogies between early television and today's new screen-based media are taken as a basis for applying to the personal computer lessons learned from television. A parallel can be drawn in terms of usage and effects on domestic time and space, on social and family relations and on lifestyles, for young people are generally at the cutting edge of these developments. The two main tendencies of our societies, towards 'privatization' and individualization, constitute the historical backdrop to these processes. Apart from social and cultural changes and the proliferation of currently available media, it is relevant to study the cycle of usage - from the elite to the general public to specialists - of these media seem as their status evolves from 'new' to 'familiar'.

Summary: Discourse on cultural practices does not always correspond to the reality revealed by surveys. The difference between this reality and the image some people have is partly due to generation gaps. The author supports her argument with a synthesis of empirical studies conducted in Denmark on children's and adolescents' uses of various media. Among other differences, she notes the widening gap between young boys and girls.