AI tools are conquering the everyday lives of young people at record speed. According to the study, around 71% have already had experience with ChatGPT and co. A third of all young people already use AI tools at least once a week, even though this technology only came to the attention of the masses at the end of 2022.

"Never before has a medium been integrated into everyday life as quickly as AI tools have. This means that critically questioning information will become even more important in the future," says ZHAW researcher and co-head of the study Gregor Waller. Young people need to be made aware of the issue and taught how to check information for accuracy.

Social media: Big Four consolidates

Instagram, TikTok, WhatsApp and Snapchat remain the most popular social networks and messengers among young people in Switzerland. These "big four" of digital communication are an integral part of their everyday lives - regardless of age, gender and socio-demographic background. Young people mainly consume content on social networks without commenting on it, sharing it or regularly uploading posts themselves.

Together with other social networks, messengers and video portals, the Big Four are regularly used both to obtain information and for entertainment purposes, with the latter predominating.

Saturation trends in media use

A tendency towards saturation can be seen in young people's media use. Many media activities such as listening to music, using social networks or watching videos on the internet are now so deeply integrated into everyday life that a further increase in usage hardly seems possible. In view of school, teaching, non-media leisure activities or social activities, a kind of natural maximum seems to have been reached. "The stable results could indicate that the digital routines and habits of young people have become firmly established in everyday life," concludes ZHAW researcher and co-author Céline Külling-Knecht.

There was a decline in the use of traditional media. While a quarter of the young people surveyed still regularly used magazine and newspaper portals for information purposes in 2018, this figure is now only 10%. At the same time, more than half of the young people surveyed use social networks as a source of information (57%). Even if traditional news providers are also present on social networks, anyone can in principle disseminate information unfiltered on these platforms. According to the study, this increases the risk of fake news and potentially exposes young people to more manipulation and misinformation.

"Dark patterns" as hidden risks in gaming

Eight out of ten young people game at least once in a while. Among boys, who are around twice as likely to game regularly as girls, gaming is by far the most popular leisure activity. Free-to-play games, such as the mobile game "Brawl Stars", are particularly popular, followed by "Fortnite" and "Minecraft".

The fascination with these games is partly due to so-called "dark patterns", manipulative design strategies that are intended to influence player behavior. These include, for example, loot boxes (random rewards that encourage players to continue playing and buying) or complex in-game currencies (which make it difficult to keep track of actual costs). The "dark patterns" of video games also include time-limited rewards and the resulting feeling of missing out ("Fear of Missing Out" FOMO), social obligations within the game (both increase the pressure to play regularly) and loss aversion (mechanisms where players can lose what they have already achieved).

These games are monetized through microtransactions (payment model in which users can purchase virtual goods in the game). Around half of all young people surveyed have already made such a purchase. "In light of these mechanisms, parents in particular have a duty to get to grips with different games and be open to their children's gaming behavior," says Michael In Albon, Youth Media Protection Officer at Swisscom. Authorities should also keep an eye on the developments surrounding "dark patterns" and intervene with regulation if necessary, as has already happened in some countries such as the Netherlands and the UK.

Prevention of problematic media use

36 percent of the young people surveyed stated that they had been asked about the appearance of their body at least once in the last two years, while around a third had experienced strangers in the digital space wanting to talk to them about sex or approaching them with unwanted sexual intentions.

The differences between girls and boys are significant: girls have experienced various forms of sexual harassment much more frequently. Almost one in two young people have already experienced one form or another of sexually motivated contact on the internet. The frequency of such experiences also increases significantly with age. "It is unacceptable that children are harassed in this way. Platforms such as Instagram or TikTok must be held more accountable here so that young people are better protected", Michael In Albon makes his position on this issue clear.

Gender also plays a role in cyberbullying: at 28%, almost twice as many boys as girls report that they have been abused or insulted online at least once. At the same time, boys are also far more likely to play an active, bullying role themselves. There is hardly any difference in the frequency of active cyberbullying or being affected by cyberbullying. One possibility is that many young people both actively bully and are bullied. "As there is hardly any increase in cyberbullying with age, it makes sense to start prevention on this topic at primary school level," says Céline Külling-Knecht, ZHAW researcher and co-author.

Sport remains the most important leisure activity

When young people spend their free time alone, sporting activities, audiovisual media and music are at the top of the list. Sport in particular has become more important compared to the 2022 James Study and is now the most popular leisure activity.

While gaming and sporting activities clearly dominate for boys, girls focus on other cultural (reading and music) and creative (baking, drawing) activities. As in 2022, the most important leisure activities for young people with friends are sports activities, spending time outdoors in nature and doing things together. Having conversations with friends is also very important to young people.

Young people like to read, and this has been a constant in media use for many years. In addition, more and more book-related content can be found on various platforms such as TikTok, Instagram and YouTube. The content is so widespread that separate names such as "BookTok", "Bookstagram" or "BookTube" have become established for these subcultures. For the first time since 2016, young people's favorite books were therefore surveyed again in 2024. In first place is the Harry Potter series, which has topped the rankings since 2012. Also popular in 2024 are "Greg's Diary", "The Three???" and "One Piece". Since 2012, the most popular books have always been those that have also been made into films. It is striking that reading behavior differs particularly between the sexes. Girls generally read more than boys and also tend to describe it as one of their favorite leisure activities.

For the James Study, around 1,000 young people aged 12 to 19 are surveyed every two years.

Castegnaro succeeds Anastasia Li-Treyer, who is retiring after 18 years at the helm of the association. The new Managing Director brings with her extensive experience in marketing and sales, it was reported.

Most recently, Castegnaro worked at Miele for eight years, including as Senior Vice President Marketing & Brand with international brand responsibility. She previously worked for companies such as Wander, Lindt & Sprüngli and Moët Hennessy. (SDA)

49-year-old Cyrill Treptow will take over as Head of Business Development & Digital for CH Media's Entertainment division at the beginning of 2025. In this position, he will be responsible for the strategic and technical development of the digital products of the national TV and streaming business, the regional TV and radio stations and the news portal Watson. He succeeds Paul Fournier, who is moving to TV streaming provider Zattoo at his own request (Markt-kom.com reported). In his future position, Treptow will report directly to Wolfgang Elsässer, Head of TV National at CH Media and CEO of CH Media TV AG, as well as to Florian Wanner, Head of Regional Electronic Media at CH Media.

Treptow has many years of experience in the strategic development and management of digital products and platforms. Most recently, as Head of Digital at Blue Entertainment, he was responsible for the technical product development of the news platform Blue News, the cinema chain Blue Cinema and the streaming offerings of Blue+.

The tablet for an unbeatable 89.90 francs, the jacket at half price or the last available rowing machine for the living room with a 20 percent discount. When we see offers like these, our minds go blank. We often only realize that the tablet is not compatible with our cell phone's operating system, that we already have ten jackets in our wardrobe and that we never do any sport.

Red signs with the word "discount" or crossed-out prices trigger a kind of hunting instinct in us. "We have the feeling of 'winning' something and being able to seize an opportunity that will 'never come again'," explains Professor Anna Knutti, who conducts research into marketing and consumer behavior at Bern University of Applied Sciences.

Time pressure and scarcity

The stores take advantage of this. Black Friday, which only takes place once a year, opens up a narrow window of opportunity. Even if it is extended to a whole week - known as Black Week. "It is communicated that the offers are only available then. This creates a certain urgency that you should definitely grab them," says Knutti.

In addition to the time limit, suppliers also create artificial scarcity by limiting the supply. "They like to display how many products of the desired item are still in stock. This is also an effective way of creating time pressure and suggesting scarcity so that we make a quick decision," says Knutti.

Research has also shown that people are less likely to postpone purchases or reconsider whether they actually need something when they are under time pressure, according to the expert.

Shopping behavior begins in childhood

Neuromarketing expert Philipp Zutt explains this mechanism by saying that our brain has a so-called loss aversion, meaning that we want to avoid losses as much as possible. In other words, if something is no longer available at the same low price tomorrow, we want it today.

So is it not our fault that we become bargain hunters on Black Friday? According to Zutt, only to a limited extent: "We are strongly emotion-driven. Around 80 percent of every decision we make is emotional." And we don't differentiate between different goods. Our decisions are just as emotionally driven when it comes to a luxury food such as chocolate as they are when buying a supposedly very rational house.

However, according to Zutt, not everyone is equally susceptible to the tricks of the trade. "It also depends on whether we learned to wait for things when we were children," says Zutt.

As an example, he cites the famous marshmallow experiment, a test of impulse control in children. A group of four to six-year-olds were given a marshmallow with the promise that they would get a second marshmallow if they didn't touch the first one for 20 minutes. Some children held out, while others ate the sweet treat as soon as the time limit began.

Another factor is the habit of being attracted by such offers. Because some people simply won't get involved in the discount battle.

Making and monitoring lists

Even if a lot of things are controlled on an emotional level, Anna Knutti says you can protect yourself from making the wrong purchases. For example, you can make lists in advance of what you really need and set yourself a budget.

"It's also worth getting to grips with buying psychology. If you know the patterns, you can deal with them better and defend yourself effectively against them," says the expert. After all, adults are responsible people and should shop wisely. (Tabea von Ow/AWP)

As VP Strategy & Projects, Fournier will support the management team in defining and steering the strategic direction of Zattoo, the streaming provider writes in a press release. This should ensure that the "ambitious growth targets" are met. Fournier's tasks include identifying market opportunities and developing and implementing strategic initiatives - all in close cooperation with the management team. In addition, he will take over the management of Zattoo's IT team, which includes the areas of IT infrastructure and administration.

Paul Fournier brings 15 years of experience in strategic consulting and project management in telecommunications and media companies. Before joining Zattoo, he was Head of Digital & Business Development at CH Media, where he was responsible for the media company's digital products; he will be succeeded by Cyrill Treptow at the beginning of 2025 (Markt-kom.com reported). The streaming platform Oneplus was launched under his leadership. Prior to this, he was Vice President Strategy at RTL Group for several years until 2019, where he led strategic initiatives to realign the core business and drove the expansion of digital activities in Europe and the USA. Fournier holds a Master of Science in Economics from the University Panthéon-Assas in Paris

From the outside, the 16 computer units of the American graphics chip giant look like a high-end version of a server block: where normally small lights blink, Nvidia has fitted a square stainless steel cover, as a tour of a Swisscom data center shows.

Nvidia's 16 computer units take up relatively little space. Over three quarters of the space in the "blue giant's" data center is still empty.

However, each of Nvidia's modules weighs 130 kilograms and had to be lifted into the server rack using a small crane, said the head of the data center during a tour. The power requirement is also enormous and the capacity per server room is therefore limited.

With the 16 computer units from Nvidia, Swisscom has put half a SuperPod from the US company into operation. This means that Switzerland is half as well equipped as Italy. The Milan-based Swisscom subsidiary Fastweb already has an entire SuperPod in operation, consisting of 32 modules.

Computing power for AI data volumes

Swisscom is using the brand new IT power for its Swiss AI platform for companies, which was officially launched on Thursday. Thanks to the SuperPod's high computing power, corporate customers can process large volumes of data - for example to train, fine-tune and operate AI models.

The new platform guarantees that the data will be processed and stored in Switzerland. Companies can decide for themselves which data they want to transfer to the platform, Head of Business Customers Urs Lehner told the media. In principle, data could only be accessed in Switzerland, whereby companies could share their data with their international units. Nvidia itself also has no access to the data of corporate customers.

In addition to access to Nvidia supercomputers, Swisscom's Swiss AI platform offers customers generative AI services, a work hub for the development of AI solutions and a generative AI studio.

Swisscom is testing the first applications on the AI platform: together with Thurgauer Kantonalbank, it is testing a chatbot. This will allow bank employees to query internal directives instead of having to laboriously search for them from PDFs. The telecoms group is also working with Thurgauer KB on a solution for automated responses to online inquiries from customers.

Swisscom is also testing the automatic transcription of calls to emergency organizations. It transcribes the calls in standard German, saving the employees at the emergency centers a lot of documentation work. Swisscom is also working on its own automated response to inquiries from corporate customers.

Swisscom satisfied with demand

Executive Board member Lehner was satisfied with the interest shown by companies in the AI platform. Swisscom is in very advanced talks with over 50 companies and organizations and is already implementing test projects. Demand is particularly strong from the financial sector and the public sector. (SDA/swi)

In November 2024, it was announced that CH Media was discontinuing the Today portals with immediate effect (Markt-kom.com reported). Nau editor-in-chief Angelika Meier is delighted with the new addition to the team: "Bettina stands out with her outstanding achievements in news journalism. With her experience, she has exactly the profile we were looking for and will help us move forward."

Zanni will start her position as a reporter on March 1, 2025. She will work in the Zurich office for Nau Media. Her focus is on national stories with a regional aspect.

The Federal Office of Police Fedpol completed a request for international legal assistance submitted by Italy, as a spokesperson for the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland told the Keystone-SDA news agency. The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland is not currently conducting its own criminal proceedings in this connection.

In addition to the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland and Fedpol, law enforcement authorities in Italy, Croatia, the Netherlands, Romania, Sweden and the UK were also involved in the shutdown of the streaming service, as Eurojust, the European Agency for Judicial Cooperation in Criminal Matters based in The Hague, announced on Wednesday.

Damage of 10 billion euros

22 million people worldwide had used the illegal service. On Tuesday, the servers hosting the illegal streaming services were confiscated and shut down, it was reported.

In addition to films and series, over 2500 television channels, including sports channels, were also illegally copied. The alleged perpetrators made a monthly profit of around 232.9 million Swiss francs. Eurojust estimated the economic damage to copyright holders at around CHF 9.3 billion.

More than 100 searches were carried out on 102 suspects in a large-scale operation. Eleven suspects were arrested in Croatia, it was reported. The perpetrators had communicated in encrypted form and used false identities to obtain services such as telephone and television subscriptions and credit cards.

According to the communiqué, the authorities involved worked together on the investigation at the Eurojust headquarters. Europol, the European Police Office, supported the operations. (SDA/swi)

The 4,000 square meter stand along the main SBB Zurich-Berne line near Rothrist was impossible to miss. The location reportedly offers a frequency of well over 50,000 train passengers per day. And despite maximum naturalness, the field advertising achieves a high level of accessibility and advertising impact.

GreenWorks, a company active in field advertising, was entrusted with the implementation. The lettering and shapes were created in nature with centimetre precision using a special English ryegrass mixture and straw and were regularly cut and maintained over the entire period from mid-May to mid-August. This meant that the 150-metre-long motif was always showing a different side.

Responsible at Hiestand Switzerland: Andreas Koller, Cornel Zimmermann. Responsible at IP-Suisse: Marina Bernhard, Sandro Rechsteiner. Responsible at GreenWorks: Thomas Stutz, Markus Wolfisberg.

An analysis of tweets revealed that almost seven out of ten tweets spread negative opinions about overweight and obesity. These are the findings of a study published on Wednesday by the Geneva University Hospitals HUG and the University of Geneva Unige,

The study was conducted in collaboration with researchers from the University of Liverpool and the NHS Greater Manchester Mental Health Foundation. It examined the feelings of the general public, politicians, celebrities and organizations on the subject of obesity based on 53,414 tweets. These were published in English between April 2019 and December 2022, in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The analysis showed that they were predominantly negative (69 percent) and increasing, while neutral (21 percent) and positive (10 percent) tweets remained stable. Tweets related to obesity were also very frequently associated with racism, other life choices and social phenomena such as the use of illegal substances and alcohol.

The study shows that the negative portrayal of obesity by politicians and celebrities contributes to negative public feelings and the perpetuation of stereotypes and prejudices against overweight and obese people. This stigmatization can have consequences for the mental health and well-being of these people, but also negative effects on public health, the HUG announced on Wednesday.

The role of celebrities

The spikes in criticism correlated with political events and comments from celebrities in the US and UK. For example, many negative messages were spread when overweight celebrities were hospitalized due to Covid-19, when the US president announced his intention to lose weight, or when the UK government launched a campaign against obesity.

When well-known people post negative comments or opinions about obesity, subscribers are more likely to engage in similar conversations, perpetuating the negativity. These results could be useful in the development of health policies, prevention strategies and treatment approaches, the HUG wrote.

The science team used an artificial intelligence-based platform to refine text classification of around 198 million tweets for various applications, including analyzing sentiment in eight different languages. The work was published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research published. (SDA/swi)

For its furniture, Raïna uses Swiss stone pine wood from 200-year-old trees that grow at 2000 meters above sea level. The company is one of a few selected producers that have access to Swiss stone pine wood from Val Müstair.

The Normal campaign focuses on these trees. In it, fragrant Swiss stone pines are embraced by two Swiss stone pine huggers who talk openly about their love for the trees. The message: thanks to Raïna, the two can also enjoy their Swiss stone pines at home - in the form of modern designer furniture.

Czar and director Mitsch Bekk are responsible for the film production. Together with Normal, the film production team traveled to Val Müstair to embrace the Swiss stone pines in their natural environment.

The films can now be seen in cinemas and on social media in various formats and lengths.

Responsible at Raina.ch: Ralph Steiner (Managing Director), responsible at Normal: Martin Arnold (Script/CD), Sven Loskill (Digital Director). Responsible at Czar Film (production): Mitch Bekk (Director), Sven Wedekind (DOP), Florian Nussbaumer (Executive Producer), Sandy Blum (Producer), Nadia Staehelin (Production Assistant), Anna Bühlmann (Sound Engineer) Stefanie Alder, Mario Fux (Cast) unsere Farben, Jürgen Kupka (Color Grading), DubDub Studios, Gregor Rosenberger, Sandro Palomba (Sound Studio).

Online offers Event. at Ticketcorner.ch/magazine and under "News" in the Ticketcorner app, current editorial articles on upcoming events, tours and concerts in the fields of music, shows, comedy, culture and sport.

The move to the digital world opens up Event. "new possibilities", according to a press release from Ticketcorner. In addition to much faster reporting, multimedia content can now also be integrated. The Ticketcorner store is also directly integrated. According to the press release, the new digital version of Event. is already receiving four-digit access figures every day.

Since its foundation in 2009, the print version of Event. has established itself as an entertaining source for interviews, artist portraits and backstage reports. Over the past 15 years, a total of 126 print editions have been published, first as a special of the Swiss Illustrated and from 2016 as a supplement to the SonntagsBlick. The print edition was published for the last time last Sunday.

Christoph Soltmannowski, who was already involved in the conception of the Ticketcorner magazine in 2009 and has been editor-in-chief since 2011, will continue to be responsible for Event. be active.