Only 45% Of Cuban Teens Watch National Television

Only 45% Of Cuban Teens Watch National Television / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Havana, 23 January 2016 — New technology and the consumption
of audiovisual material a la carte are gaining ground among Cuban
teenagers. Only 45% of teenagers claim to watch national television,
according to a study conducted in November 2015, which the official
Press has reported on this week.

Research was conducted through a questionnaire administered to 2,051
individuals and personal or group interviews to another thousand, a
representative sample of the 1,381,135 people that are between the ages
of 10 and 19, roughly 12% of the population, according to the Cuba 2015
Statistical Yearbook.

Keyla Estévez García, a researcher from the Center for Youth Studies who
lead the study, stressed the importance of this study and pointed out
that these adolescents' behavior definitely "resembles the Cuba of
today, transformation, changes; and needs to be understood from this new
context."

Study participants were chosen from two municipalities in each
territory. About 59% are residents in provincial capitals and 13.5% live
in municipalities of Havana, especially from Plaza of the Revolution,
Old Havana, Arroyo Naranjo and Boyeros. Of the study group, 44% are
female and 54% are male.

More than half of the participants want to enroll in University and
obtain a high-level degree, while one-fifth of the study sample will
settle for finishing college preparatory training.

Close to 10% only aspire to finish high school, prepare to work as a
skilled laborer or work as a mid-level technician.

At least 27.6% of participants chose not to respond or was unsure as to
which profession they would like to pursue. Medical science was at the
forefront of professional aspirations, followed by the hard sciences
with the humanities in last place. This scenario may represent a
vocational reorientation implemented in schools.

However, students' opinions about their schools were very negative. Only
a few respondents believe that school is a place where they feel happy,
their rights are respected or where they can defend their beliefs. Only
11% opined that schools taught them what they needed to know.

The official press says that a "not so insignificant" share of these
teenagers sees school as a boring place, where they do not want to be
but are obliged to go. They classify school as a dogmatic, closed and
uncreative place.

As for having fun, they like to listen to music, go to the beach, pool
or rivers, visit family and friends and consume audiovisual products,
but they read little and hardly visit museums. The national television
programs fail to attract more than half of those who prefer other
options like the "weekly packet" (for which there is no data in the
questionnaire), content shared through USB or mobile phones.

The majority of respondents said they had computers, internet access,
music players and mobile phones, in that order. "A high number of
adolescents can access the internet from Wi-Fi zones, which implies
expenditures, generally covered by their family," indicates the official
press.

For these adolescents, the main use of information and communication
technologies is photo exchange, music, videos and games, although they
are also used to study. These technologies generate happiness and many
develop a sense of superiority when they acquire one of these technologies

As far as consumption habits, 12% of adolescents' surveyed smoke and 36%
of them drink alcoholic beverages, while 2% of them admitted to using
toxic substances. The age of onset for these habits is between 14 and 15.

Sexual relations begin early, especially in urban zones. Close to half
of the study sample began having sexual relations between the ages of 14
and 15.

These adolescents' idols have little to do with political figures or
with those associated with the official ideological discourse. In
sports, predilections point to Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, while
in the artistic world preferences are for Jennifer Lopez, Justin Bieber
and Selena Gómez. Among national artists, Reggeaton singers Yomil, el
Chacal or el Príncipe take precedence over other artists.

The absence of questions about political preferences, immigration and
their perception on the rest of the world, in a survey conducted one
year after the reestablishment of relations with the United States, is
striking. Nevertheless, the report did not provide direct access to the
study itself and its complete data.

Translated by Chavely Garcia

Source: Only 45% Of Cuban Teens Watch National Television / 14ymedio –
Translating Cuba -
http://translatingcuba.com/only-45-of-cuban-teens-watch-national-television-14ymedio/