How do we form our opinions? Through what means? The 57,6% form their opinions through the reading newspapers and magazinesfollowed by 47.4% who state that they do this by reflecting independently. More distant are the Internet and social networks (27.7%) and discussions with family members (22.2%). Television (12.6%) and radio (4.5%) do not seem to play a major role in opinion building.
It is a ranking tended to be reversed compared to actual use. Today's news vehicles are certainly TV, social media or radio, but they are not a useful tool for articulating an assessment, an opinion. Because to sediment it takes time, one dedicated and individual learning space…
Conversely, the new communication technologies are structured on the fast and limited exchange and equally quickly perishable. All the more so because of the large quantity that is conveyed. The new information technologies are not just about the rapid exchange of news. Because, on closer inspection, they tend to integrate and connect both the new forms of communication, as well as the more traditional ones. In the tablet we can find social media, radio, television, books and newspapers: the old with the new forms of knowledge transmission.
Opinion formation does not take place in one-dimensional waysbut following multiple channels. By summing up the different preferences expressed, four types of modes of assessment construction emerge. The most widespread is that of the "multitasking"(37.7%): these are those who prefer to mix discussions with family and friends, reading newspapers and magazines with consulting the Internet and social networks to form an opinion. They are generally the younger generation, university graduates, women, but also pensioners. The second group consists of the "reflexive"(32.4%): those who first become active in seeking multiple sources of information (discussions, readings, internet), and then reserve an autonomous space for reflection. In this group, the younger generation (up to 24 years old) and 60-year-olds in particular stand out. The "self-directed"They represent the third group (22.8%): for these, opinion building takes place almost exclusively autonomously, without access to any particular sources of information other than through passive consumption (television, radio). Men, the self-employed and the unemployed and those in the middle age group (35-54) more than others show similar behaviour. Finally, we meet the 'liabilities"(7.1%): this is a marginal, but not insignificant share, with women, housewives, the over-65s and those with a low educational qualification as the predominant component.
