Young Adults (15-24) in Sierra Leone seem to enjoy more socio-economic advantages and this gives them more access to media and communications technologies

Very few respondents in our Sierra Leone survey said they had a secondary education, but younger respondents were more likely to say they have obtained this level.

Chart 1

Besides access to education and higher socio-economic standards, an additional language barrier also exists for older people in Sierra Leone (chart 1B). With many vernacular languages spread across the various provinces, knowledge of English (the official language, used in government, schools, but regular use limited to literate minority) and Kreole (English-based Creole, spoken in the Freetown area, a lingua franca and a first language for 10% of the population but understood by 95%) are important to know for social mobility. Both English and Kreole have the ability to unite the different ethnic groups, especially in their trade and interaction with each other. Youth and are more likely than older age groups to be able to speak and read English and Kreole (Chart 1 B).

Radio Access and Use

Lack of economic development and access to education and income in turn limits access and use of media and communication technologies for all age groups. Indeed, computer and internet access remains rare and even television ownership and viewership is a luxury. In this scenario, radio is the most accessible and used medium for all Sierra Leoneans.

Chart 2

• Close to 70 percent of all respondents across all age groups have household access to radios. Almost all of these devices run on batteries rather than electricity (see chart 2). In terms of listening methods and frequencies heard, age does not seem to play a dividing factor
• Most Sierra Leoneans who have access to radios at home said they listen to it at least once a week (chart 3). In addition, the largest proportion of respondents chose radio as their most important source of information among other sources (chart 3) such as TV, newspapers, friends, billboards, mobile phones, etc. in addition to radio; youth are also likely to access information through their friends and word of mouth. Sierra Leoneans above 45 are most likely to rely as well on community and traditional leaders for information.

Chart 3

• For health information sources as well, the highest proportion of respondents across all ages chose radio as their most important source. However, respondents above 45 trusted radio more than their younger counterparts.
• Health centers, doctors and/or clinics were next in importance for health information, with close to 30 percent of respondents across all ages relying on them for health information.

Chart 4

• As mentioned earlier, a language barrier exists for older respondents, which in turn also affects their listening habits. Those who said they listen to radio in English decreases with age. This might not be a serious impediment, as some radio stations broadcast in a variety of languages, but the inability to comprehend some languages probably limits their choice.
• In terms of programming preferences on radio, younger respondents expressed the most interest in education than any other age group. Older respondents were more likely to cite religion as a subject of interest on radio.

Children Listening to Radio

This survey did not cover children under the age of 15, mainly because of professional ethical rules about interviewing minors. And yet children form a large proportion of populations in countries like Sierra Leone and are also an important part of the potential and actual audience for the media, including the radio. We asked parents what their children listen to, watch or read. Parents are not always a reliable source of such information; but in most Sierra Leonean households, children do not have independent access to radio. And so, asking their parents what they listen to can be useful and informative. In this survey we asked three questions designed to elicit information about children’s radio listening behavior.

All with children at home were asked:

Do your children listen to the radio?
What radio station do they like to listen to most?
What programs do they like to listen to?

Ninety five percent of respondents had children under 15 living in the sampled household. Thirty six percent of the total sample said that their children listened to the radio at some time. This means that in 38% of homes with children at home, the children listen at least some of the time to the radio. “Entertainment”, “Stories” and “news” were the three most important types of radio programming mentioned that parents thought their children liked listening to. The most listened to radio stations by children are the UN Radio Network, SKY FM, Culture Radio and Radio Citizen.

• The most popular listening times for children and adults of all ages to listen to radio are between 0600 and 0900 in the morning and 1800 and 2100 in the evening.

Access to and Use of other Media and ICTs:

Chart 5

• Chart 6 shows the results of asking respondents if they have ever used various media and ICTs. Note that younger Sierra Leoneans did not lead in the percentage of each age group who had used the internet, which runs counter to the generally held perception that younger people lead the way as far as web use.

Chart 6