Longitudinal Insights on the Perception and Negotiation of Challenges in Media Use among Young People

Current debates increasingly portray children’s and adolescents’ media use as problematic or even addictive, often leading to a pathologization of their media practices. However, prevalence studies predominantly show that only a minority of young people meet clinical criteria for media-related disorders, while many more experience challenges. The present study investigates how adolescents and their parents perceive problematic media use, how these perceptions develop over time, and how they are negotiated within families. The study draws on data from a longitudinal study. Using a child-centered and dyadic research design, semi-structured interviews with 13 adolescents and one parent each were analysed across four survey waves between 2018 and 2023. The analysis theoretically builds on the communicative figurations approach and uses qualitative content analysis. Criteria derived from Internet Gaming and Social Media Disorder served as sensitizing concepts for identifying perceived problematic or challenging media-related experiences. The findings show that all adolescents reported various challenges related to their media use across their entire media repertoires. Longitudinal analyses reveal that perceptions of problematic media use are dynamic and develop alongside adolescents’ expanding media practices. Parents often identified problematic patterns earlier, and concepts of problematic media use were continuously negotiated within the family. The results further highlight the relevance of platform affordances in shaping experiences of prolonged engagement. The study argues for a broader understanding of problematic media use as a socially negotiated and developmental phenomenon rather than solely an individual pathology. It concludes by emphasizing the need for more qualitative, longitudinal, and repertoire-oriented educational research.