This is an exploratory study of the exposure and attitudes to the media of young people. It is based on data assembled from a self-administered questionnaire completed by 991 students in 20 schools throughout Ireland. An analysis of the data revealed that ownership of the media in homes is high and there is little control of media usage by parents. The media appear to be little used in schools. Books are bought often by more than 50% and 48% are members of a library while 39% read a newspaper every day. Pirate radio stations are popular. Girls listen to radio more than boys, but boys listen to records more often. Half of them spent 23 hours per week watching television. Students differentiated between fantasy and realism. Violence on television was upsetting for 18%, mainly girls. Most visit the cinema occasionally. Although 24% own video recorders 56% watch videos regularly. Horror videos were the most popular. Most did not like ads, but had favourites which tended to be for products not marketed to young people such as alcoholic drinks. The media are the main source of information for young people and television enjoys high credibility. Gender was found to be an important variable.