Abstract:

The paper offers a current view on the media use by children aged 6 - 15 during the coronavirus pandemic in the Czech Republic in 2020. The analysis is based on the data from questionnaires distributed to Czech families during 2020. There were two types of questionnaires, for parents and children. This paper includes answers from children and focuses on the types of media availability among children and the ways children used them during this period. Moreover, there are analysed and discussed media monitoring practices, as well as attitudes of parents, and communication about media in families from childrens´ point of view. It is important to point out, that most of the data were collected soon after the first lockdown, which brought a new situation for families and their lives. Children and their parents stayed together in their homes, being dependent more on media tools than before. Therefore, the text also tries to compare these results with data collected in 2012 and to point out ongoing trends and shifts. In this respect, we have found a higher media saturation among Czech children, changes in the area of family communication about the media, as well as higher involvement of fathers in the field of media monitoring.

Keywords:

Children, media use, parental monitoring, pandemic situation.