Popularity Video on Demand demands well-informed parents and children

Afstandsbediening VOD

P revious research shows that the rise of Video on Demand platforms and portable devices, such as smarpthones and tablets, has made it more difficult for parents to control what their children are watching. NICAM therefore finds it important to get a better grip on the way children watch Video on Demand.

Published on: December 12 2022

What are the consequences of Video on Demand for the use of media by children and adolescents? More choice and easier access makes it even more important for parents, as well as children and teenagers, to get the information they need for making their own media choices.

The 3 most important insights:

  1. The increasing number of online productions on Video on Demand, streaming services and user-generated content platforms like YouTube, as well as the increasing use of devices, has changed media-behaviour drastically. Currently, 75% of Dutch people watch online TV, videos or films. Especially children and adolescents who grew up with it, prefer Video on Demand over linear television: they consume more media than ever.
  2. It is expected that the popularity of Video on Demand, especially among children and adolescents, will increase: international providers like Netflix, Disney and Viacom have indicated that they will keep investing in children- and family-friendly content.
  3. Video on Demand is often watched without adults' supervision, more so than linear television. Navigating the enormous number of available productions, too, is often done by children and adolescents on their own. It is therefore especially important that not just parents, but children and adolescents too, are given the information they need to make good, non-harmful media choices.

What did we use these insights for?

This research contributed to the transformation of Kijkwijzer into a tool: instead of a cautionary role, Kijkwijzer wants to play an informative and participatory role in the lives of children, adolescents and parents.

About this research

Following consumer research carried out by Radboud University and diary research carried out by CHOICE Insight + Strategy, which showed that Video on Demand makes it difficult for parents to control their children's media behaviour, NICAM carried out this research based on scientific and non-scientific sources.

Want to read more?

+ Children's viewing habits differ strongly per device and platform

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