Media Exposure and Romantic Relationship Quality: A Slippery Slope?

Abstract

This study examines whether media consumption predicted relationship quality among 188 college students who were involved in romantic relationships. The respondents assessed their commitment to the relationship, their satisfaction from the relationship, and their tendency to engage in conflicts within the relationship. Media consumption was measured by assessing the time dedicated to television viewing in general, watching specific genres, Internet use, and newspaper reading. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that total TV viewing time statistically predicted lower commitment to the relationship, while viewing of programming focusing on romantic relationships predicted lower satisfaction and stronger tendency to engage in conflicts. Consumption of media other than television and the control factors did not predict any indicator of relationship quality. The pattern of negative associations between TV viewing and relationship quality is discussed with reference to cultivation theory and mood management theory.

Television and Movie Viewing Predict Adults’ Romantic Ideals and Relationship Satisfaction

“…Although Lippmann et al 2014found that marriage reality show viewing was positively associated with endorsement of romantic ideals, relationshipfocused sitcom viewing was negatively associated with endorsement. Furthermore, the association between viewing television, both in general and relationship-focused genres such as reality TV, and relationship satisfaction is consistently negative Reizer & Hetsroni, 2014). Thus, generally speaking whereas television viewing is linked with negative relationship outcomes, romantic movie viewing is linked with positive relationship outcomes.…”

“…There is some prior research regarding media use and viewers' relationship satisfaction Reizer & Hetstoni, 2014;Shapiro & Kroeger, 1991). Two such studies found that college students' television exposure, assessed overall ) and as "relationship genres" (reality TV, family dramas, and sitcoms) (Reizer & Hetsroni, 2014), was associated with lower relationship satisfaction. In contrast, in an experimental study, college students currently in a relationship experienced increased satisfaction after exposure to a romantic comedy movie .…”

“…Given that prior research often examined the associations between relationship outcomes and a single genre (e.g., Hefner & Wilson, 2013) or a small subset of genres (e.g., Lippman et al, 2014) and sometimes collapsed several genres into one group for analysis (e.g., Reizer & Hetsroni, 2014), another goal of this study was to create a somewhat larger picture of how television and movie viewing are related to romantic ideals and relationship satisfaction. Thus, the present study also aimed to address these questions:…”

Influence Of Joint Television Viewing On Romantic Satisfaction And Family Commitment: A Study Of Spouses In Delta State Secretariat Complex Asaba

“…He remarks that excessive media consumption and especially heavy television viewing are related to overly optimistic romantic expectations. Reizer and Hetsroni (2014) submit that, indeed, there is abundant evidence that heavy television viewing correlates with idealistic, unrealistic and sometimes even old fashioned beliefs concerning romance that are typical of popular programming.…”

“…To Sternberg and Hojjat (1997) relationship satisfaction is the overall subjective evaluation of the romantic relationship. Kelly and Thibaut, cited in Reizer and Hetsroni (2014) aver that romantic satisfaction is a result of the fulfillment of positive expectations, assuming that people are satisfied if they evaluate the relationship as meeting or exceeding a set of internal standards of a "good" relationship and do not perceive any other relationship as meeting those standards better. Evidence from researches indicate that those who see their partners as closely matching their ideal standards report higher quality relationships (Simpson, Fletcher and Campbell, 2001).…”