RICERCA ITALIANA     

Research program

Media and Generations in Italian Society

University Co-ordinator

Università degli Studi di ROMA "La Sapienza" - SOCIOLOGIA E COMUNICAZIONE - ()

Research Unit Leader

Michele Sorice

Description

The aim of the research is to explore the issue of the relationship between media and generations from both the speculative and empirical viewpoints, through a non-standard investigation over Rome’s metropolitan area. In particular, two dimensions are to be probed:

- The relationship between generational belonging and media (old and new), both in terms of each generation’s own media experiences - with respect to the single medium and the media diet’s internal equilibriums – as well as the representations each generation provides of the media themselves (their role, importance in society and life, and so on);
- The relationship between generational belonging and media items, both in terms of specific objects fruition and genre and theme articulations.

The integration between the two dimensions of the inquiry should lead to an higher understanding of the complex “social construction of generations”, intended as a process of genesis and self-recognizing of cohorts in which biographical and historical data, social discourse and self-reflexivity continually intersect. The research shall thus hold as objective the delineation of different consumption's choices, in order to build a taxonomy of the many forms of relationship they can establish with media and media supply.

Given the research goal, non-standard sociological research tools appear more appropriate, insofar as they can probe the generations’ identitary experience in relation to the media system.
In particular, the non-structured and non-directive interview is to be employed both for groups and individuals. With respect to group interviews, subjects belonging to natural groups are to be targeted considering both their location in different generational cohorts (those born between 1940 and 1952, currently between 65 and 53 years of age; the so-called baby boomers, born between 1953 and 1965, currently between 52 and 40; those born between 1966 and 1978, currently between 39 and 27 years of age; those between 1979 and 1985, currently 26 and 20 years of age) and the territorial variable (as anticipated, Rome’s metropolitan area).
In particular, generational belonging shall be developed from the ingroup sharing of landmark events defining a peculiar intertwining between individual and collective biographies.
This unit - different than unit I - will use in less intensive way the individuals interview tool, focusing its work utilizzerà in the group's interview. It will be dedicated a great attention to link these activities with those of the other units.

Operatively, the work shall be broken down in the following phases:

1. Theoretical probing of the national and international scientific debate and the interpretation of the second step data about consumption;
2. Inter-unit sharing of point 1 and comparison with other local units’ theoretical approaches, holding into consideration previous research experiences on the subjects proposed by the different research units, with the aim of building a common theoretical and analytic framework;
3. On the ground of the first elaborations emerging from the confronting of research units, an international workshop shall be designed and organized, in order to focus research issues. It will be charged by Unit I;
4. Joint development of research tools and of the field inquiry target with units I and II;
5. First test phase of the developed tools;
6. Testing and discussion of testing results with units I and II;
7. Research phase on 12 natural groups (3 for each generational cohort) in metropitan area of Rome;
8. Sharing and comparison of the findings with units I and II;
9. Research units shall then gather to outline individual interviews on the ground of the corpus of texts analyzed by units III and IV; by the way in the area of Rome these interviews will be realized by Unit I;
10. Methodology presentation and diffusion of the results through an international symposium, which the unit I, as central unit, shall be responsible of in terms of promotion and organization.

Results spreading shall be further guaranteed by the online accessibility, during the research operative phase, of both the project and in-progresses through a web link located on the webpage of the research centre related to every units (as well as on the webpages of Unit I and Unit II).

With respect of the inter-unit coordination, in addition to meetings and workshops, internet-based voice-over-ip conference calls and videoconferences are to be employed, thus reducing transportation costs but ensuring uninterrupted cooperation between researchers.