The Media Lives study was originally set up in early 2005 to provide a small-scale, detailed, qualitative complement to Ofcom’s quantitative Media Literacy Tracker1. Whereas the Tracker seeks to quantify in a statistically robust way how many and what kind of people have different levels of access, awareness, skills and understanding, Media Lives aims to provide a human face to the data. It examines how digital media fits into people’s lives, what issues and concerns they have regarding digital media, what motivates them to adopt new technology and learn new skills, and what the barriers are to them getting the most out of such technology.
