Page - 53 - in Media – Migration – Integration - European and North American Perspectives

Heinz Bonfadelli | Media Use of Ethnic Minority Youth 53 3.1 Research Issues The research project referred to above was funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (NRP 52: Childhood, Youth and Intergenerational Relationships) and examined the relationship between culture-specific characteristics (in addition to other socio-demographic factors) and the function and role the media and ICT play in identity-formation processes for children and adolescents living in a multicultural setting. In particular, our study specifically addressed the following questions: - What role do mass media and ICT (access, usage, functions, favourite programmes etc.) play in the lives of Swiss youth in comparison to young people from an immigrant background? - To what extent is media use determined by characteristics of cultural background (country of origin, religion) in comparison to socio- demographic factors (gender, education or social background of family)? - What role do media and ICT play in the formation of identity for the inter-generational setting of immigrant life? 3.2 Methods The project approaches the issue “media, migration and youth” from an interdisciplinary perspective and is divided into two closely linked studies consisting of: - A quantitative study (Heinz Bonfadelli & Priska Bucher, University of Zurich), which analyzes the use of both old and new media, cultural identity and attitudes toward other cultures among immigrant youths by comparing them with a similar sample of indigenous youths (both parents born and raised in Switzerland). Eighty-eight classes in the greater Zurich metropolitan area with a high rate (>25%) of children of immigrant background were visited during the summer of 2004. The sample of 1486 students is composed of 49% female and 51% male students and is also well balanced regarding age (12-16 years). About a third of the students are indigenous Swiss; two thirds are students of immigrant background. - A qualitative study (Heinz Moser & Thomas Hermann & Christa Hanetseder, School of Education, Zurich) was based on different strategies of ethnographic fieldwork and in-depth interviews with members of 8 Turkish/Kurdish families. The methodological approach