In new reports, published from June to September, three Swedish government agencies provide insights about media usage trends from different angles.
The Swedish Media Council analyses children and young people's media use, while the Swedish Press and Broadcasting Authority and the Swedish Agency for Cultural Policy Analysis, respectively, highlight media and news habits and cultural habits throughout the Swedish population. The results are based on a number of recurring national surveys.
Children and the Media 2021
In the report Ungar och medier [Children and the media], the Swedish Media Council highlights media use and attitudes towards the media among children and adolescents, 9–18 years. A significant increase in mobile and social media among youth is one result, but many are self-critical about how much time they devote to these activities. As for news about the pandemic, the young trusted traditional news media such as SVT, TV4 and SR the most. Fewer trusted news and information from social media and influencers, despite being avid users of the services.
Children and the Media is Sweden's largest survey of children and young people's media habits and has been conducted every two years since 2005. The current survey includes questions concerning the pandemic, for example, more detailed questions about news consumption, whether children followed advice from influencers, and online exposure.
Media Consumption 2021
During the pandemic, the need for news and entertainment increased, contributing to the average daily media time increasing by one hour in 2020 compared with 2019. More Swedes consumed news, especially via TV and online newspapers, and the number of subscriptions to streaming services increased. These are some trends reported in the annual media consumption report from the Swedish Press and Broadcasting Authority. Data come from Nordicom's annual Media Barometer survey, MMS’s TV viewing measurements and Kantar Sifo's radio listening measurements
Cultural Habits in Sweden 2020
In 2020, the pandemic affected the otherwise rather stable cultural habits among the Swedish population, writes the Swedish Agency for Cultural Policy Analysis in its annual report on cultural habits. Not unexpectedly, activities such as visits to the cinema or concerts decreased.
As for activities people perform themselves, the share of population playing computer, mobile and video games increased considerably. At the same time, the share of population watching films, reading books, listening to audio books or listening to music remained the same in 2020 as in 2019.
The most common cultural activities were listening to music (which 97% did during 2020), watching films (92%) and reading books (81%). The report is based on data from the SOM Institute's annual surveys, covering 16–85-year-olds.
The agencies and their assignments
The three agencies are assigned by the Swedish government to follow developments in the media and cultural field in various ways.
The Swedish Media Council’s primary task is to promote the empowering of minors as conscious media users and to protect them from harmful media influences. The agency is a knowledge centre about children's and young people's media use, and media and information literacy.
The Swedish Press and Broadcasting Authority is assigned to monitor and analyse the media development from the perspectives of media policy, usage, economy and diversity.
The Swedish Agency for Cultural Policy Analysis is assigned to conduct cultural policy evaluations and analyses. Its report series includes analysis of cultural habits of both adults and children.
Find data in English
As the reports above are mainly presented in Swedish, below are links to some of the statistical sources for which basic data are available in English:
Nordicom-Sweden's Media Barometer is an annual survey covering the penetration and use of a wide range of media among the Swedish population.
Nordicom’s table database provides Nordic media statistics in English, including data on Sweden from Nordicom’s Media Barometer, TV data from MMS, radio data from Kantar Sifo, etc.
- Search for statistics here (choose Nordic and Media Use)
- More reading: Factsheet on TV viewing in the Nordic countries, 2020
The SOM Institute surveys Swedes’ habits, opinions and values regarding society, politics and the media. Reports are mainly in Swedish, but main trends presented in English are available at the Institute's website.
Eva Harrie