The aim of this Master’s thesis is to examine how the lifestyle of youth between the ages of 15-17 is influenced by electronic media and also what view and opinions youth has regarding electronic media and lifestyle. We intend to examine how and when the youth use electronic media in their everyday lives, what purpose the electronic media has in the life of the youth, and finally what views and opinions regarding electronic media and questions regarding lifestyle the youth express. We as librarians and adults need more knowledge on how youth use electronic media and also what thoughts they have regarding media and lifestyle. We would like to bring some knowledge to the discussion in this area with our study to librarians as well as parents. The method we have used is group interviews with youth in the ages 15-17 from different cities, backgrounds and gender. The findings are related to five different themes: modernity, self-identification, lifestyle, the future and the role of the body. The material has been analyzed and interpreted from these theories and earlier research. Major findings in the study is that the use of electronic media plays an important part in the life of youth and especially the Internet and cell phones are important in the social and cultural networks of youth. We also find that the youth do not find themselves affected by the media in their lifestyle; however our study shows that they are unconsciously affected by the images shown in different media. / Uppsatsnivå: D

This thesis studies how readers of the electronic book (the e-book) use and perceive the electronic medium as a carrier of fiction. In this study it is assumed that fiction is mostly read in printed format. Therefore it is interesting to ask why some readers choose to read on screen. As there are all too few studies conducted on how readers perceive and use the e-book as a medium, this study aims to enrich an undeveloped research area. The study is based upon a qualitative questionnaire. It focuses on the e-book as a carrier of written text, which means that e-books such as mp3-books are not taken into account. The media theory Uses and Gratifications is used as a perspective from which the results are analysed. The theory also provides the reader of the study with a cognitive framework and a context in which the study is placed. The results are analysed using themes constructed from the answers of the respondents. Among the diverse result, the major conclusion is that there are two different reading situations, which decide how the respondents experience and use the e-book. The first reading situation is limited, because of the use of desktop computer or laptop when reading, in which the respondents are emotionally attached to the paper book. The other situation is flexible because of the use of palm computer or mobile phone, which makes flexible reading possible for the respondents who appreciate the e-book and the paper book as two separate media. / Uppsatsnivå: D