Excessive digital practices in the late youth (Exis)

• Applicant: Professorin Dr. Michaela Kramer
• Subject Area: Educational Research on Socialization, Welfare and Professionalism ; General Education and History of Education
• Term: since 2024
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 542995399

Excessive media use has been increasingly discussed in recent years under the headings of media addiction, internet addiction, pathological media use, internet gaming disorder, social media disorder or smartphone addiction. It has been analysed primarily through studies in the fields of medicine and psychology. In many cases, however, excessive media use is not a mental disorder or addiction, but rather an educational and developmental problem that can be overcome with educational measures and educational services. So far, however, there have only been a few educational science perspectives that analyse the corresponding support needs. The Exis study aims to identify these educational specifics and needs. The study thus builds on own research, which has already emphasised the central role of media education and family relationships in the problem of excessive media use. However, it goes beyond this by now looking at the life phase of late adolescence, in which the influence of the family diminishes and new social relationships and living conditions become relevant. The study utilises a media biographical research approach. Subsequently, four focal points are set, to which the following questions are linked: 1) How are excessive practices and episodes embedded in the everyday structuring of individuals? (2) How did the excessiveness of digital-media practice influence the course of life? (3) What role does the generational relationship play in the development and attribution of excessive media practices? (4) How is agency distributed between medium and human? The study participants will be recruited from the sample of the longitudinal study 'Trajectories of Excessive Internet Use in Families (VEIF)', in which questionnaire surveys on the relevant topic were conducted over ten years (2015 to 2025). A total of 25 to 30 people aged 19 to 22 will be recruited according to the criterion of whether they scored above the cut-off value on at least one of the three scales for diagnosing internet-related disorders: Problematic Internet Use, Internet Gaming Disorder or Social Media Disorder. Even though the project is based on an understanding of excessive digital practices that does not primarily regard them as a diagnosed addiction, the chosen recruitment approach provides suitable access to potentially informative cases for answering the research questions. In a sequential research design, quantitative secondary analyses of the available VEIF data are first carried out, followed by the collection of media diaries and biographical interviews, which are analysed using the documentary method. Finally, the different data and findings will be triangulated and a typology formed.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants