Kids’ Digital lives in Corona times (KiDiCoTi) – spring 2020 – National Report Switzerland

Author(s) Lilian Suter, MSc, Gregor Waller, MSc, Céline Külling, MA, Nina Zollinger, BSc
Institution(s) ZHAW Zurich University of Applied Sciences School of Applied Psychology
Contact

Gregor Waller

ZHAW School of Applied Psychology

Media Psychology

Pfingstweidstrasse 96

8005 Zürich

+41 (0) 58 934 84 57

gregor.waller@zhaw.ch

Maybe further partner(s)

Joint Research Centre of the European Commission

https://ec.europa.eu/jrc/en/science-update/kidicoti-kids-digital-lives-covid-19-times

in Germany: Claudia Lampert, Leibniz-Institut für Medienforschung | Hans-Bredow-Institut Hamburg (DE)

https://leibniz-hbi.de/de/projekte/kids-digital-lives-in-corona-times

in Austria: Christine Trültzsch-Wijnen & Sascha Trültsch-Wijnen, University of Salzburg (AT)

https://kowi.uni-salzburg.at/covid19familien/

Theoretical framework/approach Descriptive study/approach Risks and opportunities of media use
Research questions

Among others:

  • How do children and young people aged 10-18 years engage with digital technologies during the lockdown in Spring 2020 (including remote schooling)?
  • How did the lockdown disrupt or change the childrens’ and family’s behaviour and activities related to technologies?
  • What are the children and parent’s attitudes towards digital technology use and online activities during the lockdown?
  • How did the lockdown disrupt or change the childrens’ and family’s attitudes towards digital technology and online activities?
  • How do parents perceive the associated risks and opportunities?
  • What are impacts for the future? (lessons learned)
Themes / topics

Media use in corona times, remote schooling, lockdown,

Main findings of study / highlights

As part of the Europe-wide study „Kids‘ Digital lives in Corona times (KiDiCoTi),“ around 500 parents living in Switzerland and their 11- to 18-year-old children were surveyed in early summer 2020. The study focused on the question of how children and young people, as well as their parents, dealt with digital media during the Corona times.

 

The results show, among other things:

  • What variety of digital devices were available in the families‘ homes and how this had changed during lockdown.
  • What the families‘ digital media use looked like during lockdown.
  • How parents perceived digital media during lockdown (advantages & disadvantages).
  • How parents shaped media education during lockdown.
  • To what extent there was an increase in the parents‘ and children’s competence in using digital devices during lockdown.
  • Which online risks parents were concerned about during lockdown.
  • What online risks children encountered during lockdown.

All results also show the extent to which there were differences in terms of various socio-demographic characteristics such as age (parents and children), gender (parents and children), educational background (parents) and many others.

Methods Quantitative study design (in some countries the project also involved a qualitative part)
Analytic Appraoch Descriptive approach
Desig of data collection
Quantitative online survey using the VALICON online panel (survey in several European countries) 
Time(s) of data collection 21.07.2020 – 11.08.2020
Kind of sampling, kind and number of sample
Switzerland: N= 502 / netto =484 (one parent and a child between the age of 10 and 18)
Geographical area Switzerland (respondents are mainly form German-speaking and French-speaking parts of Switzerland)
Publication(s)

Publication planned in Spring 2021, presumably in German with this title (maybe also a French and Italian translation, but not English):

Suter, L., Waller, G., Külling, C. (2021). Digitales Leben von Kindern und Jugendlichen in Zeiten von Corona (Frühling 2020) – Nationaler Bericht Schweiz. Zürich: Zürcher Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaften.

Project website

https://www.zhaw.ch/en/psychology/research/media-psychology/media-use/digitale-mediennutzung-in-corona-zeiten-kidicoti/

Further information

Several reports from the international KiDiCoTi project have been published.

Report about remote schooling including several European countries: How families handled emergency remote schooling during the Covid-19 lockdown in spring 2020
https://ec.europa.eu/jrc/en/publication/eur-scientific-and-technical-research-reports/how-families-handled-emergency-remote-schooling-during-covid-19-lockdown-spring-2020

Report about online risks including several European countries: How children (10-18) experienced online risks during the Covid-19 lockdown – Spring 2020
https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC124034

Reports from the KiDiCoTi project in Germany:
https://leibniz-hbi.de/de/projekte/kids-digital-lives-in-corona-times

Reports from the KiDiCoTi project in Austria:
https://kowi.uni-salzburg.at/covid19familien/

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