Zsuzsanna Lampl: cultural needs of the slovak youth

From which do people consume more: bread or culture? There is no word onbread in the writing, although there is on culture, because the youth researchtitled Mozaik 2001 introduces data in connection with cultural consumption.The „bag” labelled cultural consumption contains reading, visits of differentcultural institutions, places (cinema, theatre, concert, exhibition, library, bookstore, etc), but alsó media-consumption that includes TV watching, radio listening, newspaper reading and receiving other média, e.g. billboards and internet usage, as well. From this list it is evident that those members of developed societies that have no problem with obtaining everyday bread, evidentlyconsume more from culture. Therefore the introducing question is to be modified as follows: from which fields of culture does the Hungárián and the Slovak youth living in South Slovakia consume in a big and from which in a smallextent?

In connection with the inner structure of cultural consumption the examination has not brought new results, although confirmed the known trend: theabsolute determining element of the youth’s cultural consumption is mediaconsumption, and more precisely, TV watching and mainly commercial – andcomparing with the Slovak youth, the Hungárián youth’s consumption rate isevén higher.

Radio is alsó significantly present in the everyday life of the youth. Deducing from the reported channels this média plays mainly the role of musicalbackground with cotton-wool lyrics.

Reading the press and the other activities – reading books, visiting culturalplaces – is present in the life of the youth in a much more less extent. And ifwe consider visiting a theatre, concerts, exhibitions as a sign of interesttoward art, then we can state that in „art consumption” mainly the Hungáriányouth shows a lower extent. Obviously, the youth does not represent a singlehomogenous group. The writing indicates that due to the difference of theyouth’s life situations, youth does not relate to the examined cultural phenomena equally. Although, television determines their lives, since they are allregular watchers regardless of sex, age group, nationality, education and territory and 41% of Hungarians daily dates with their personal colour screen.