The starting point of the present study is to investigate which environmental factors play a role in the media behavior of ethnic minority youth. To what extent do socio-demographic characteristics influence ownership and use of the media? We also address the role of religion, cultural origin and the cultural distance between ethnic minority youth and indigenous Dutch youth. Three numerically important groups of ethnic minority youth are discussed: Turks, Moroccans and Surinamese. In a survey conducted among Turkish, Moroccan and Surinamese (...) youth aged between 12 and 19, residing in the Netherlands, we investigated which environmental factors play a role in the media behavior of ethnic minority youth. A control group of indigenous Dutch youth was established and likewise exposed to the variables under study. (shrink)

This article, which looks at exposure to and the use of host and home media by Turkish diaspora in Belgium, illustrates that media use is determined by cultural as well as socio-demographic features. By means of a quantitative survey among four hundred respondents of Turkish origin between the ages of eighteen and sixty, the use of host and home media in general and news contents in particular were analyzed in relation to culture-specific features such as ethnic cultural position, religion, and (...) command of language, alongside with socio-demographic features such as age, gender, education, years of residence and socio-economic status. Our investigation showed religion, ethnic-cultural position and command of the Turkish language to be the strongest determinants for home language news media use, while host language news media use was strongly determined by command of the Dutch or French language, length of residence and educational level. These findings, especially those pertaining to news use, bring nuance to a certain number of earlier findings with Turkish youngsters in the Netherlands and Flanders, whose media use was predominantly related to socio-demographics. (shrink)

This article looks into the way in which public-service as well as commercial TV stations in the Netherlands assume their social responsibility towards a pluralist society. After all, television channels are expected to be ‘mirrors of society’; the key question is then how successful their programs are in conveying a well-balanced representation of all groups in society. By means of a quantitative analysis, the Diversity Monitor charts the presentation of different groups, with a particular focus on gender, age, and ethnicity. (...) Apart from diversity, and as a subcomponent of the Quality Card, the Monitor also reviews innovation as an indicator of program quality. The results reveal a wide diversity of TV programs in the Netherlands, but diversity as such is no guarantee of a balanced presentation of society at large. Due to selection mechanisms on the side of the broadcaster and the public, what the viewer eventually gets is at the most a mirror of his or her own group. (shrink)

This article reports on a survey of youth in Brussels and their ownership and use of digital technologies, focusing specifically on the social and cultural diversity within this group. Socio-cultural diversity includes differences regarding ethnicity and gender, language and educational attainment, as well as social and economic status. The relationship of these socio-cultural differences with the digital divide in terms of ownership and use is investigated. The data show a persistent ownership divide between socially weaker versus stronger groups accompanied by (...) an emerging socially compensatory function of instrumentally oriented user profiles among the socially weaker groups. (shrink)

The internet offers adolescents a huge window of opportunities, but these opportunities are not always exempt from risks. Indeed, many young people are nowadays confronted with spam, gruesome or violent images and content including pornography, drugs, racism, and even suicide. We surveyed 815 Flemish 15- to 19-year-olds about the online risks they have been confronted with and on how they cope with these risks. We controlled for digital literacy levels, socio-demographics and personality traits. Interestingly, our research shows that not only (...) adolescents with a high level of internet literacy but also those with lower internet literacy levels, such as youths enrolled in vocational education, tend to be more frequently exposed to online risks. Also worthwhile noting is the fact that a high level of self-confidence positively correlates with exposure to risky online content. In general, adolescents do not consult anybody when it comes to coping with risks and negative experiences online. However, a good parent-child relationship pays off as kids with a good parental relationship encounter aggressive, sexual or value-based content less frequently. (shrink)

Across the countries of Europe and within the European Union, there seems to be no end to discussions of policies related to migrants – from the labor migrants who came to Europe more than 40 years ago to the continued requests from prospective migrants who want to immigrate for asylum and family formation. The discussions on what those policies should be, range from multiculturalism to integration and assimilation. Shifts in policies have occurred because of the slow economic and educational progress (...) made by some migrants; by the post-9/11 changes in attitudes and behavior among some Muslim migrants, and by concerns over the increased size of the migrant population. (shrink)