Effects of a Brief School-Based Media Literacy Intervention on Digital Media Use in Adolescents: Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of a four-session school-based media literacy curriculum on adolescent computer gaming and Internet use behavior. The study comprised a cluster randomized controlled trial with three assessments (baseline, posttest, and 12-month follow-up). At baseline, a total of 2,303 sixth and seventh grade adolescents from 27 secondary schools were assessed. Of these, 1,843 (80%) could be reached at all three assessments (M-age = 12.0 years; SD = 0.83). Students of the intervention group received the media literacy program Vernetzte www.Welten ("Connected www.Worlds") implemented by trained teachers during class time. The control group attended regular class. Main outcome measures were adolescents' computer gaming and Internet use: days per month, hours per day, and addictive use patterns. Parental media monitoring and rules at home were assessed as secondary outcomes. Results of multilevel growth-curve models revealed a significant intervention effect in terms of a lower increase in self-reported gaming frequency (beta = -1.10 [95% CI -2.06, -0.13]), gaming time (beta = -0.27 [95% CI -0.40, -0.14]), and proportion of excessive gamers (AOR = 0.21 [95% CI 0.08, 0.57]) in the intervention group. There were also significant group-time interactions for the addictive gaming scale (beta = -0.08 [95% CI -0.12, -0.04]), and the Internet Addiction Scale ( beta = -0.06 [95% CI -0.10, -0.01]). No effect was found for days and hours of Internet use or parental media behavior. The study shows that the program Vernetzte www.Welten can influence adolescents' media use behavior. Future research should address mediating and moderating variables of program effects.