Who Are the Young Adults in Portugal? Daily Usage of Social Media and Mobile Phones, in a No-Kids and No-Independent Housing Context—Results from a Representative Online Survey
Better theories and practices are constructed through a deep understanding of the subjects involved. In Portugal, young adults aged 18 to 30 are a group sometimes left out because the Portuguese official statistical data does not treat this as an age category by itself, dividing it either into young...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-09-01
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| Series: | Youth |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2673-995X/3/4/70 |
| _version_ | 1797378992872882176 |
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| author | Eduardo Antunes Inês Amaral Rita Basílio Simões Ana Marta M. Flores |
| author_facet | Eduardo Antunes Inês Amaral Rita Basílio Simões Ana Marta M. Flores |
| author_sort | Eduardo Antunes |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Better theories and practices are constructed through a deep understanding of the subjects involved. In Portugal, young adults aged 18 to 30 are a group sometimes left out because the Portuguese official statistical data does not treat this as an age category by itself, dividing it either into young people or the general idea of adults. Through a social constructivist quantitative approach, this article seeks to construct a profile of young adulthood in Portugal, both in socio-demographic terms and in terms of their relationship with media. An online survey was conducted on a representative sample of young Portuguese adults (18–30 years), guaranteeing a margin of error of ±2.53% at the 95% confidence level. Results reveal that 83.5% of young adults identify themselves as heterosexual, and 83.5% do not have children. The average age of respondents with children is 26 years old. Most young adults (63.5%) live with their parents or other adult relatives, and the vast majority (82.2%) of these parents or relatives with whom they live are employed and have primary or secondary education. Mobile phones (92.8%), laptop computers (84.1%), and TV with a box (78.5%) are the primary media to which the young people in the sample have access. The mobile phone stands out in particular, as 90.2% of those inquired revealed that they use it every day. Social media are identified as the most frequently consumed type of media content (81.1% every day). These findings strengthen the idea of the centrality of the mobile phone in daily lives, especially among young adults, as well as social media platforms. This research helps to understand that the young adult profile in Portugal presents themselves as heterosexual, has no children, lives with parents or other adult relatives, and uses a mobile phone daily, despite having other media available for its use. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T20:15:44Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-10b58342c2464877a2d18c79ed6ddab9 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2673-995X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T20:15:44Z |
| publishDate | 2023-09-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Youth |
| spelling | doaj.art-10b58342c2464877a2d18c79ed6ddab92023-12-22T14:50:18ZengMDPI AGYouth2673-995X2023-09-01341101112010.3390/youth3040070Who Are the Young Adults in Portugal? Daily Usage of Social Media and Mobile Phones, in a No-Kids and No-Independent Housing Context—Results from a Representative Online SurveyEduardo Antunes0Inês Amaral1Rita Basílio Simões2Ana Marta M. Flores3Faculty of Arts and Humanities, University of Coimbra, 3004-530 Coimbra, PortugalFaculty of Arts and Humanities, University of Coimbra, 3004-530 Coimbra, PortugalFaculty of Arts and Humanities, University of Coimbra, 3004-530 Coimbra, PortugalFaculty of Arts and Humanities, University of Coimbra, 3004-530 Coimbra, PortugalBetter theories and practices are constructed through a deep understanding of the subjects involved. In Portugal, young adults aged 18 to 30 are a group sometimes left out because the Portuguese official statistical data does not treat this as an age category by itself, dividing it either into young people or the general idea of adults. Through a social constructivist quantitative approach, this article seeks to construct a profile of young adulthood in Portugal, both in socio-demographic terms and in terms of their relationship with media. An online survey was conducted on a representative sample of young Portuguese adults (18–30 years), guaranteeing a margin of error of ±2.53% at the 95% confidence level. Results reveal that 83.5% of young adults identify themselves as heterosexual, and 83.5% do not have children. The average age of respondents with children is 26 years old. Most young adults (63.5%) live with their parents or other adult relatives, and the vast majority (82.2%) of these parents or relatives with whom they live are employed and have primary or secondary education. Mobile phones (92.8%), laptop computers (84.1%), and TV with a box (78.5%) are the primary media to which the young people in the sample have access. The mobile phone stands out in particular, as 90.2% of those inquired revealed that they use it every day. Social media are identified as the most frequently consumed type of media content (81.1% every day). These findings strengthen the idea of the centrality of the mobile phone in daily lives, especially among young adults, as well as social media platforms. This research helps to understand that the young adult profile in Portugal presents themselves as heterosexual, has no children, lives with parents or other adult relatives, and uses a mobile phone daily, despite having other media available for its use.https://www.mdpi.com/2673-995X/3/4/70young adultsautonomymedia consumptionmobile phonesocial media |
| spellingShingle | Eduardo Antunes Inês Amaral Rita Basílio Simões Ana Marta M. Flores Who Are the Young Adults in Portugal? Daily Usage of Social Media and Mobile Phones, in a No-Kids and No-Independent Housing Context—Results from a Representative Online Survey Youth young adults autonomy media consumption mobile phone social media |
| title | Who Are the Young Adults in Portugal? Daily Usage of Social Media and Mobile Phones, in a No-Kids and No-Independent Housing Context—Results from a Representative Online Survey |
| title_full | Who Are the Young Adults in Portugal? Daily Usage of Social Media and Mobile Phones, in a No-Kids and No-Independent Housing Context—Results from a Representative Online Survey |
| title_fullStr | Who Are the Young Adults in Portugal? Daily Usage of Social Media and Mobile Phones, in a No-Kids and No-Independent Housing Context—Results from a Representative Online Survey |
| title_full_unstemmed | Who Are the Young Adults in Portugal? Daily Usage of Social Media and Mobile Phones, in a No-Kids and No-Independent Housing Context—Results from a Representative Online Survey |
| title_short | Who Are the Young Adults in Portugal? Daily Usage of Social Media and Mobile Phones, in a No-Kids and No-Independent Housing Context—Results from a Representative Online Survey |
| title_sort | who are the young adults in portugal daily usage of social media and mobile phones in a no kids and no independent housing context results from a representative online survey |
| topic | young adults autonomy media consumption mobile phone social media |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2673-995X/3/4/70 |
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