New tendencies in media consumption behavior : a quantitative study on the media habits of Egyptian affluent youth

Abstract EN

The advancement of media technology in recent years has produced an enormous shift in the way the youth engage with media.

The mobility of media devices and fusion of interpersonal and mass communication have drastically altered the youth's media habits and the time they spend consuming the media.

Utilizing the recent developments in the uses and gratifications theory (UGT), this research investigates the influence of people's needs and goals on their adoption of new technology and media consumption behavior.

Analyzing the media habits of 161 students, the study reveals many interesting findings.

To mention a few, results indicate that young people log on the internet more than they watch television.

Except for the phones which the youth carry with them at all times, young people have a clear preference for a specific medium (radio, computer, or television) depending on the daypart.

They listen to the radio in the morning, log on their computers in the afternoon, and mostly watch television in the evening.

MBC is the respondents' favorite television network, YouTube is their preferred video-streaming website, and “Sahebat El-Sa3ada is their most cherished television program.

Young people hardly watch news; in fact, they only attend to news if it is presented in satire format or if it is visually stimulating.

Talk-shows are not a popular genre for the youth.

Chatting on WhatsApp and social networking on Facebook are the activities consuming the most time on any day, with three hours on average.

The paper provides useful insight that can serve policy makers, media strategists, advertisers, and sociology scientists.