Media Cultures of Young Turkish Migrants and German Resettlers in Germany

Abstract

This article contributes to the understanding of young people’s media cultures by addressing the question whether and to what extent young people with different cultural backgrounds differ in their exposure to and usage of traditional mass media and new digital media as well as in their engagement in various online activities. It presents empirical data of a German survey about the social environment, media use and Internet behaviour among 605 German resettlers and people with a Turkish migration background aged between 12 and 29 years living in North Rhine-Westphalia and compares the results of the 12- to 19-year old youth with data of the same age group within the German general population. To further assess how cultural and social factors might explain the variation within the youth and young adults with migration background, similarities and differences in their media use patterns are traced with respect to their cultural contexts as well as the factors education, age and gender. The findings are discussed in the context of societal integration of young people with migration background, the homogeneity of mediatised youth cultures and the thesis of the digital divide.