Namibian youths’ preference in the hybrid, alternative and mainstream media ecosystem

The study involved a nationally representative sample of Namibian youths (N = 3516) using multistage cluster sampling to determine their preference between hybrid, alternative and mainstream media. The study hypothesis - there exists a correlation between demographic variables of Namibian youths and their media choices was not supported. The youths were however polygamous in their media consumption habits by alternating between cable, hybrid, alternative and mainstream media. Based on this specific finding, the study proposes an expansion of Media Richness Theory from its narrow emphasis on affordances to achieve clarity and understanding to embrace this alternating behaviour as the youths are clearly gaining otherwise, they would not enact this behaviour. This is also in line with a finding of alternating between traditional and online messaging for effective communication in organizational settings. In addition, Namibian youths preferred streaming for soap operas and series due to the convenience of watching at their convenience. This advances time shifting that used to be a feature of recording devices in earlier times to the present.