The spiritual component of children's lives: the role of media

Drawn from a larger study of Canadian children's sense of self and media habits, this study explores the role of religiosity and/or spirituality within 535 children's (281 girls, 254 boys; 5-13 years of age) self-reported media preferences and habits over a three-year period. Results indicate that the theme of spirituality and/or religiosity emerged most frequently within the context of after-school activities, music listening habits and the reading habits of participants' mothers. Aside from children in Grade 1 (five-six years), girls were more likely than boys to mention issues of spirituality and religiosity, particularly during preadolescence (10-13 years). Younger children reported more issues of spirituality than older children. Results are discussed in terms of educational implications for critical media literacy.