Locating commercial media in children’s everyday lives: A comparative study of freetime activity preferences in the UK and USA

This article presents a comparative study about the presence of commercial media in the free-time activity preferences of nine- to eleven-year-old children in the UK (Wales) and the USA (Montana). Using a creative approach to data-gathering, the children were asked to draw what they liked to do in their ‘free-time after school’. Of the six ‘activity’ themes that emerged, commercial media were both explicitly mentioned and subtly embedded, and were generally taken-for-granted. The children’s drawings revealed the use of specific media products in their lives, brand awareness, involvement in commercial/consumer activities, and broader (non-specific) forms of media engagement.