This document provides analysis of the findings from the second year of Ofcom’s Children’s
Media Lives study. This was begun in 2014 to provide a small-scale, rich and detailed
qualitative complement to Ofcom’s quantitative surveys of media literacy. The project follows
18 children, aged 8-15 at the beginning of the study, over three years, interviewing them on
camera each year about their media habits and attitudes.
The study provides evidence about the motivations and the context of media use, and how
media are part of daily life and domestic circumstances. It also provides rich detail on how
media habits and attitudes change over time, particularly in relation to children’s emotional
and cognitive development.
Ofcom has a statutory duty to promote, and to carry out research into, media literacy. This
report contributes to Ofcom’s work in this area.
