The new JAMESFocus report shows that a large proportion of young people in Switzerland experience their parents as supportive and feel well integrated among their peers. There are correlations with media use: young people who experience a lot of parental support spend less time on the internet and are less likely to be confronted with sexting or sexual harassment.

The most popular influencers among young people in Switzerland are male, between 25 and 30 years old, and have more than one million followers. Young people follow many different influencers - the most popular are Squeezie, Mastu and Kylie Jenner. Two-thirds are mega-influencers, i.e. they have more than one million followers and are active on Instagram, YouTube and TikTok. When it comes to selection, girls and boys tend to favor same-sex idols. The most popular among both genders is French gamer and YouTuber Squeezie. Girls additionally most frequently follow Kylie Jenner and Léna Situations, while boys favor MontanaBlack and Cristiano Ronaldo.

The most frequently named influencers are exclusively people-focused accounts; there are no topic-focused accounts in the top eleven. In terms of the variety of topics within the accounts, only two influencers can be described as topic-specific: MontanaBlack focuses on gaming, while Cristiano Ronaldo (CR7) is all about the life of the soccer player. The other accounts cover a wide range of topics. In addition, the most popular influencers are all mega-influencers with more than one million followers.

The Swiss media landscape and usage behavior have changed significantly over the last decade. For this JAMESfocus report, we have analyzed all available data from the last ten years in depth. On the one hand, this allows us to document general trends over time. On the other hand, for the first time we have also examined the time trends separately across subgroups, for example socioeconomic status, gender or migration background. The analyses provide a condensed insight into the subject matter, enabling us to gain new insights.

Young people are frequently confronted with hate speech on the Internet

Swiss young people frequently encounter the phenomenon of hate speech during their online activities. The JAMESfocus report shows large differences between girls and boys in the perception and evaluation of hate comments. According to the young people surveyed, people are most often discriminated against on the Internet because of their appearance.

During the first lockdown in spring 2020 due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, young people were troubled in particular by the social constraints. Many also experienced distance learning as stressful.

The measures surrounding the first lockdown had far-reaching effects on the lives of the 12- to 19-year-old young people. Sixty-six percent were burdened by the lack of contact with friends. Not being able to pursue hobbies and being restricted in their leisure activities was also perceived as difficult. This is revealed by the JAMESfocus report on the psychological well-being and information behaviour of Swiss young people during the first COVID-19 measures in 2020.

Most young people in Switzerland feel healthy. However, many experience health complaints, such as headaches and back pain, fatigue, or difficulty concentrating. This is a finding of the JAMESfocus 2020 report by ZHAW and Swisscom. The researchers suspect that there is a connection between certain forms of media use and aspects of health.

The majority of Swiss teachers see digitization as an opportunity, as the current JAMESfocus report shows. They see the versatility of digital media and the promotion of media skills as the greatest advantage. They would like support in technical matters and in didactic questions.

Nearly 40 per cent of adolescents in Switzerland have already been confronted with fake news. The most recent JAMESfocus report shows that although they trust the traditional media, Swiss adolescents are increasingly getting news and information from social media. Social media consumption facilitates the spread of fake news and confronts young people with manipulation and false information.