Abstract
Media use has changed considerably during the past five yearsand earlier research has produced contradictory results on howmedia use links to children's psychosocial factors. This studycharts the access to and use of several media technologies among825 Norwegian schoolchildren between 10 and 12 years of age.The questionnaire contained items concerning children's self-concept,parental monitoring and social competence. It found that childrenengage with different kind of media activities and some of theseare significantly related to psychosocial factors, however,these correlations were in general quite small. Entertainmentusage was associated with low scholastic competence. Both utilityusage and heavy advanced usage of new media were related toself-perceptions of athletic competence. Low social acceptancewas linked to Gameboy usage and advanced usage of media. Finally,there was a relationship between experienced parental monitoringand utility usage of media technology. The possible implicationsfor these empirical relations are discussed.
