AI tools are conquering the everyday lives of young people in Switzerland

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.