Media Audiences|Changing Patterns of Media Use across Cultures: A Challenge for Longitudinal Research

Abstract

This article places the 2013 European audience survey in the wider historical context of the ongoing societal appropriation of digital media. To better understand longitudinal changes in the patterns of media use, the article compares the technological, industrial, and cultural factors that, together, shape the observable patterns of media use. Because Internet diffusion does not occur at exactly the same time in all countries, comparisons of audiences across the nine countries of the survey can be interpreted in terms of changes over time. The article, further, reports longitudinal evidence from Belgium, Denmark, and Germany, which sheds additional light on current changes at the country level. Building on these findings, the article finally addresses key challenges for future longitudinal research on media use across cultures.