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Do TV Watching and Gaming Affect Adolescents’ Social Acceptance Among Classmates?

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Social acceptance among peers is an important predictor of adolescents’ academic and social outcomes. This study investigates how social acceptance depends on adolescents’ engagement in watching TV and gaming. Based on Contact Theory, we expected that TV watching and gaming are linked to digital contact with peers, which in turn predicts acceptance among classmates. Data were drawn from a longitudinal study with two measurement points among 826 7th graders (M = 13.32 years; 47.6% girls). Multilevel analyses revealed that more TV watching and gaming were related to higher social acceptance cross-sectionally. This effect was mediated by greater digital contact with peers. However, no associations were found between contact via media and changes in acceptance over time. These results suggest that media use and related peer contact may be more relevant in short-term interactions when explaining adolescents’ acceptance among classmates. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.

Source: Youth

DOI: 10.3390/youth5040132

Authors: Verena Hofmann, Ryan O. Kellems, Donato Lucek, Christoph M. Müller

Institutions: University of Fribourg, Brigham Young University

Language: English

Topic: Impact of Technology on Adolescents

Subfield: Sociology and Political Science

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $1,207

Funder: Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung