Descriptions of Schrøder's worthwhileness categories
| Category | Description |
|---|---|
| Time spent | A medium must be worth the time spent, and the news media that are experienced as more important are more worthwhile; others are used temporarily at a convenient time (e.g., mobile moments). |
| Public connection | This helps maintain relations to one's networks and the wider society. Schrøder divides public connection into “democratic worthwhileness” (content that caters to one's identity) and “everyday worthwhileness” (content that links one with their personal networks). |
| Normative pressures | Usage or non-usage of a medium depends on how significant others find the medium. |
| Participatory potential | Participation through (inter)activity, sharing, liking, and creating content can be meaningful for some people. |
| Price | The news medium must be affordable and worth the price. |
| Technological appeal | The technological features and technical quality potential of the device or medium. |
| Situational fit | The suitability of the time and place for using the medium. |
YouTubers’ techniques used in the focus group videos
| Video | Genre, format, and affordances | Audio/visual codes | Textual and linguistic expressions |
|---|---|---|---|
| DEAL or NO DEAL: Brits and EU divorcing the marriage (explains Brexit from the aspect of possible personal impact to the young viewer) | Genre: news + original performance | Sound effects, background music | Explaining to the camera |
| THE FUTURE IS NOW: robots writing business news | Genre: original performance + news | Modest sound effects, ambient background music | News interview |
| ONLY IN 5 MINUTES: stock market explained in kitchen | Genre: original performance + how-to | Modest sound effects, background music | Explaining to the camera |
| BE AWARE: how you can prevent the financial crisis from happening? | Genre: news + original performance | Sound effects to emphasise the facts or jokes, ambient background music | Explaining to the camera using short sentences, jokes, punch lines |
Overview of focus groups
| Group | Duration (min.) | Number of participants | Age | Female | Male |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 65 | 6 | 16–17 | 4 | 2 |
| 2 | 70 | 7 | 17–18 | 0 | 7 |
| 3 | 45 | 5 | 15–16 | 5 | 0 |
| 4 | 68 | 7 | 16–17 | 5 | 2 |
| 5 | 75 | 12 | 16–18 | 10 | 2 |