Mediated risks through rose-tinted glasses? Exploring barriers and boosters to critical deconstructions of mediated risk behavior by Dutch adolescents

Anne Sadza*, Serena Daalmans, Esther Rozendaal, Moniek Buijzen

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

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Abstract

Given the potential for media portrayals to affect adolescents' cognitions regarding risk behaviors and the importance of message interpretation processes, this study investigates how adolescents give meaning to media portrayals of risk behavior (e.g., alcohol, smoking, drugs, sex, and reckless behavior) and which factors play a role within this process through 7 focus groups followed by 50 individual interviews with adolescents. Findings indicate adolescents are far from passive consumers of media portrayals of risk behavior. Participants expressed awareness of the ubiquity and symbolism with which risk behaviors are portrayed in popular media and were mostly adept at deconstructing the images portrayed. However, this did not always translate to critical responses. An interplay of real-life experiences and message characteristics informed judgments about media portrayals of risk behavior. Contributing factors to critical and media-literate deconstructions are distilled in the form of barriers and boosters, and suggestions for media literacy interventions are formulated.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)374-386
Number of pages13
JournalJournal of Communication
Volume74
Issue number5
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Oct 2024

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 The Author(s).

Research programs

  • ESSB PSY

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