Digital media and the Jewish future
OpenDor Media a Jerusalem-based global media company helps today’s generation connect with their identity and heritage has completed a study exploring the role of Jewish media and its potential impact on young Jews.
Jacob Schwartz— host of our Israel History Series on our Youth brand’s YouTube channel, Unpacked
A spokesperson for Opendor said: “It’s clear that online content is a mode of engagement that makes a large-scale generational impact. But how much impact? Especially when it comes to complex, dense matters like Israel? ”
The research initiative surveyed over 1000 respondents after they consumed Israel videos and resources from ODM sub-brands, Unpacked and Unpacked for Educators.
The study, “A Critical Space for the Jewish Future: Digital Media, Millennials and Gen Z,” developed in partnership with Rosov Consulting, is comprised of two populations: Jewish students from the ODM pilot partner school program* and a general sampling of viewers from the Unpacked YouTube channel.
The study has eight key findings:
YouTube is a go-to resource: Half of the respondents report that to learn about Israel, they go on YouTube.
Unbiased content: The majority of respondents find the videos neither left- nor right-leaning politically.
Understanding complexities: 82% of respondents feel that they better understand the complexity of Israel.
Gaining confidence: 75% of respondents feel more confident to discuss Israel topics.
Taking action: Over half of the respondents want to read a news story or talk with others about Israel.
Immediate impact: The general population was highly impacted with just a single video.
The cumulative effect: A higher impact is found for those watching multiple videos than for those watching one video.
Compounding effect: Respondents with a stronger Israel background** report a 12% greater attitudinal and behavioral outcome.
“We’ve had good reason to suspect our videos were moving the needle on awareness and connection to Israel, but having the data to back it up is very important for us and for digital media and education globally,” said OpenDor Media CEO. “Media is a powerful, ubiquitous force in the education and identity formation of adolescents and young adults and we are proud to lead the Jewish community in this important space”.
OpenDor Media concludes the study with a pledge to continue and expand on this work. Dina Rabhan asserts, “This study is just the first step of a long-term commitment and vision for ongoing research and design to find the most powerful media levers for change.”
The full report is live and available as of 9am EDT today (September 15th, 2020) at https://opendormedia.org/impact2020/.
*The pilot partner school program was launched in 2019 with the purpose of partnering with OpenDor Media in this impact study. The fourteen participating schools had guided and unfettered access to ODM’s library of premium videos, feature films, programming and resources in addition to expert training and support.
