The spatial and social contexts of television-viewing adolescents

Abstract

This paper studies television-viewing adolescents within their spatial and social context, using the Uses and Gratifications approach as a typology of uses. Because previous research suggested the importance of gender-based differences in both the frequency of watching TV and of content preferences, but lacked an examination of the social-and spatial-viewing contexts for boys and girls, respectively, a specific emphasis is placed on gender. Results were obtained by means of both quantitative and qualitative methods. Despite an increased privatization of television access, which is more obvious for boys than for girls, teenagers still prefer to watch TV in the domestic environment of the living room where social interaction and television-centered communication are prevalent. Overall, social interaction about television programs yields more satisfied viewers in terms of four gratification items: exploration, amusement, social inclusion and escapism.

Catalan adolescents’ media uses and leisure preferences related to new media and television

“…In particular, the lack of such media variety in adolescents' personal spaces indicates that the use of some media (i.e. the television set) was still linked to family consumption, as pointed out by previous studies (Adriaens et al 2011;Holloway and Green 2008;Kortii 2011). Despite this, especially in the qualitative phase, we found that they often did not need a television set in their bedroom because they could use the main one almost at any time, or they could access media contents through the computer and the Internet, for instance YouTube videos.…”

“…Besides, even if other home spaces are increasingly dedicated to different forms of screen consumption, and 'despite the availability of multiple television sets, the main television set still has great appeal to everyone in the house as the "first choice" television', precisely because it is the largest or the latest model and is usually positioned in the most comfortable position (Holloway and Green 2008: 50). Moreover, watching television in the living room often offers teenagers the opportunity to share social interaction and television-centred communication with the rest of the family (Adriaens et al 2011).…”

“…Media consumption is just one of the multiple leisure activities that adolescents have access to, since their physical, social and cultural environment is a multimedia and multi-screen one. Current generations of young people usually display multitasking and multimedia consumption patterns, and are increasingly more autonomous and independent from the rest of the family and more and more habituated to a sort of bedroom culture, particularly in relation to their media consumption (Adriaens et al 2011;Brasel and Gips 2011;Drotner 2000;Jordan et al 2007;Livingstone and Bovill 2001;Roberts and Foehr 2008;Vanderwater and Lee 2009). The bedroom culture phenomenon refers to the variety of media equipment young people, especially in western countries, have access to in their private spaces, such as their bedrooms, which are more and more similar to 'multiple-media environments' (Jordan et al 2007) or 'media centers' (Zanker and Lealand 2006).…”

Let's talk about sex: audience research of Flemish teenage television viewers and their view on sexuality

“…Discussions lasted between 60 and 75 minutes, after which participants were given their incentive for contributing. One can criticise the artificial nature of watching and discussing media content in groups, but previous research (Ging 2005, Adriaens et al 2011b) has shown that film and television are often discussed among friends and peers. Moreover, 'TV talk is a crucial forum for experimentation with identities' (Gillespie 1995, p. 25).…”

Consumo y creación audiovisual en euskera de los adolescentes gipuzkoanos: sobrevivir en un contexto digital dominado por lenguas hegemónicas

“…Las diferencias de género se reflejan, también, en las pautas de consumo mediático (Adriaens, Van-Damme & Courtois, 2011;Alcolea, 2014) de chicos y chicas, respectivamente. Se trata, pues, de patrones de consumo opuestos y diferenciados entre sí.…”