1997 Volume 21 Issue 2 Pages 83-92
The purpose of this study is to throw light on the actuality of media equipment use capacity in Japanese children by investigating as well as examining measures to improve this capacity. Subjects were 502 fifth graders and 507 eighth graders in Tokyo. The investigation was carried out during school hours by class teachers and the items for investigation were : usage rate of media equipment, a comprehensive faculty test on media equipment, and investigation of media use capacity. First, investigation items for media use capacity were examined from the points of response rate, discriminate power and internal consistency. Forty items composing a criteria of media use capacity were developed in the end. With these criteria, the requirement to always try improving the family environment in which children are able to take interests in media equipment and increase their media use capacity was indicated. As examples for this, increasing the amount of media equipment in the home or parental instruction on the use of personal computers to children were adopted.
