Psychology

Beyond effects: Adolescents as active media users

Jeffrey Jensen Arnett, University of Missouri
Reed Larson, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Daniel Offer, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

Abstract

This is an overview of the special Issue, "Adolescents Uses of Media." The articles in the special issue are described as taking the uses and gratifications approach, which emphasizes that people make choices about the media they consume and that people differ in their interpretations of media content. The common goal of the articles is to integrate this approach with developmental perspectives on adolescence. Common themes include adolescents as active media users, the developmental context of adolescence, the cultural context of media use, and integrative and innovative methodological approaches. © 1995 Plenum Publishing Corporation.