earticle

영어

This study explored the experiences of adolescents participating in media activities at G Youth Center in Gyeonggi-do, to understand the impact of these activities on their lives and growth. To this end, in-depth interviews were conducted with 5 adolescents participating in media activities and the data were analyzed using Colaizzi's phenomenological research method. The analysis revealed 35 themes, 11 clusters of themes, and 4 categories of youth's experiences with media activities. Specifically, in the category of ‘Interaction with Support Systems’ they experienced institutional support and parental/teacher support in a safe and free space, and in the category of ‘Personal Psychological Growth Experiences’ they experienced emotional engagement, self-efficacy, expanded awareness, value change, and proactive behavior change. In the ‘Relational Growth Experience’ category, they experienced expanded relationships and improved interaction skills, and in the ‘Career Experience and Aptitude Discovery’ category, they experienced growth-oriented learning and aptitude/career discovery. These 4 categories were integrated into the core category of ‘Media Activities as a Growth Tool’. The significance of this study is that it empirically confirmed the positive effects of youth media activities and suggested the need to strengthen policy and practical support for youth cultural activities.