The interweaving functions of entertainment media: A cross-media study of Norwegian teens

Media entertainment today extends beyond conventional formats like TV shows, music, films, video games, and books to include social media content. This article explores how teens integrate conventional and social media entertainment into their media repertoires, and how they reflect on the interrelations of different media in the context of their daily lives. Using Q-methodology and qualitative interviews, three entertainment repertoires are identified: legacy-oriented, gaming-oriented, and social media entertainment-oriented. Findings reveal that while teens across these repertoires have similar experiences of conventional media entertainment and social media entertainment, they differ in how they portray the value of these. The analysis further demonstrates the complementary nature of various forms of media entertainment. The interweaving functions of entertainment media relate to how content flows between different forms of media, and to how different media are entangled into daily life.