Media in childhood

Pilot project on intervention in media use among ten-year-olds

 

Project period

2005 – 2007

Project staff

Prof. Dr. Christian Pfeiffer

Prof. Dr. Michael Windzio

Dr. Dirk Baier

Matthias Kleimann

Funding

Landespräventionsrat Niedersachsen

Own funds

Cooperation partner

Stadt Oldenburg, Landkreis Soltau-Fallingbostel

Project description

In response to concerns about the use of media by children, especially when viewed in a gender-differentiated perspective, the project piloted early intervention in children’s media consumption using a classroom approach combined with events for parents. The aim was to raise awareness about the negative effects of media use and steer children towards other leisure activities. To this end, fourth graders were targeted in an intervention programme implemented in the classroom and at parents’ evenings at schools in the city of Oldenburg and the district of Soltau-Fallingbostel. The programme was carried out by teachers. A quasi-experimental study design with random assignment to intervention and control groups and before-and-after measurements (with three measurement time points) made it possible to evaluate the efficacy of the programme.