Media preferences of children’s target audience in the era of digitalization

Abstract

The article deals with the dynamics of changes in the media behavior of children’s audience at the present stage of structural and typological transformation and digitalization of the Belarusian media sphere. The results of the study of the dynamics of transformation of media preferences of digital generation audience at the present stage of structural and typological transformation of the media market for children are reflected. In the theoretical part of the study the author substantiates the relevance of the study due to the formation of new conditions for the functioning of children media on a background of the dynamic processes occurring under the influence of various exogenous and endogenous factors in the media space of the Republic of Belarus and the media sphere for children. It is identified the ontological causes of the changes of media production of child content associated with the structural definition of the priorities of the national children’s media in the context of refocusing on children’s information interests, the changes of moral and socio-cultural reference points of digital generation of media consumers. It is also analyzed the influence of digitalization on the formation of media behavior of children’s audience. The features and trends of media preferences of modern children’s audience are established taking into account specific technological and socio-cultural factors that influence the education of the growing media consumer. There are the reorientation of information interests of consumers of children’s media, changes in media resource interests of generation Z, the formation of a new media audience of Belarusian children, which is characterized with involvement in the environment of multimedia online resources, concentration on leisure media activities and search for appropriate sources of multimedia content in the digital environment. It is made the forecast of development of domestic children’s media sphere in modern conditions of education of new media consumer. The author of the article connects the priorities of modernization of the system of national children’s media with the production of diversified content by domestic media intended for children’s audience, in accordance with the main type-forming characteristics and reader’s address. The scientific novelty of the article consists in development of new scientific, methodological and theoretical aspects of the study of children’s media. It is also disclosed the narrow professional perspective, which takes a significant place in the development of the theory of Belarusian journalism.