European inventory of
societal values of culture

Balling & Kann-Christensen - What is a non-user?

Balling, G., & Kann-Christensen, N. (2013). What is a non-user? An analysis of Danish surveys on cultural habits and participation. Cultural trends, 22(2), 67-76.

The article analyses a number of Danish surveys of cultural participation and discusses how they convey certain concepts of users and culture. It aims to develop a nuanced and contemporary picture of cultural participation and notions of the non-user. In doing that, we show a shift in how the user has been constructed through surveys undertaken from 1964. Furthermore, the article addresses the problem that participatory culture does not necessarily take place within those institutions measured in cultural participation surveys. Therefore, surveys may indicate culturally active and contributing citizens as “non-users”. The article concludes that societal development and mediatisation have created a multi-faceted and complex type of user. This demands a reconsideration of how surveys on cultural habits and participation are undertaken.