Audience Ethnography. Commentary and observations on TV viewing behaviour - Assignment Example

?Audience ethnography Commentary and observations on TV viewing behaviour I observed an Australian family and their TV viewing behaviour. This familyconsisted of 5 members, which included the parents and three children ages 13 (female), 12 (male), and 8 years (male). I observed their viewing behaviour for seven hours a week for three weeks. I established in the course of this observation that the choice TV shows for this family is very much diverse, from the younger members to the oldest members of the family. In general, the adults chose the news channels in the early evenings, often shifting to movies and TV series later in the evening. The younger audiences usually chose video music channels and TV series, as well as entertainment news shows. The youngest child usually chose cartoons or adventure TV shows. Choice TV shows also differed for the males and females, with the males gravitating towards action movies and violent TV shows and the females opting for romantic movies, entertainment shows, and reality shows. The older adults were often observed watching documentaries. Common shows watched in the family included the early evening news. Watching TV news channels is generally considered a social activity for the family because most members of the family watch it even if the younger audiences sometimes may not understand it (Gauntlet and Hill, 1999). When watching the news, the parents often expressed their opinions about the news with their older children. The eight year old boy was usually not paying attention to the news and was often seen doing his homework or playing games on the tablet device. The older children sometimes shared opinions about the news, but in general, they simply agreed with their parents. At times, they expressed their sadness about the news, especially if the news involved accidents or young people like them. The watching of the news also coincided with family dinner times and the family usually watched the news while eating their dinner. After watching the news, the members of the family had different viewing preferences, but as a family, they already acknowledged that there were times when it was someone’s turn to watch something on the TV. After the news on a Monday evening, they knew that their father liked to watch Mythbusters and on a Tuesday evening, the family knew that the older children liked to watch their favourite TV series. On Saturday mornings, the family also allowed the youngest member of the family to watch cartoons. On Saturday afternoons, their father, grandfather, and middle child usually watched the replay of the Rugby match. On Saturdays at 8 pm, the family usually put on a movie from their DVD selection, one which all of them could watch. The TV viewing logs indicate that television means different things to different viewers. Some individuals value it for its entertainment value and others believe that it is an important source of information into the bigger world. As such, it is more than entertaining, and it is also informative and absorbing (Gillespie, 1998, in Gauntlett and Hill, 1998). The family enjoyed the time where they can watch together as a family because it meant that they could interact and socialize with each other and were together even for only an hour or two in a day. They also enjoyed Saturday evenings when they could watch a movie on the DVD player because it also meant that they could share in the TV experience. The rest of the time, they knew that they all had different tastes in films and TV shows and would also be busy with their own personal concerns. Watching DVDs was a way of bringing them all together regardless of their preferences in TV shows and watch a film as a family (Wilson, 2004). It was noted that the DVD player was used regularly by the different members of the family. Some used it to fill in their free time, to entertain themselves, to watch pre-recorded shows, and to simply recall favourite shows and movies (Gauntlett and Hill, 1999). Technology has now allowed for the pre-recording of programs to watch at a later time, making the viewing process more viewer-friendly. Any member of the family could now watch his or her favourite television show even without being available during the actual TV play times and dates. As such, allowing for these pre-recordings in TV shows has made it possible for the members of the family to still watch their favourite shows even if they may not be allowed to watch it at the time they air (Gauntlett and Hill, 1999). This was often seen among the older children who preferred to watch Doctor Who on Mondays 7:30 pm. They were able to record the shows and watch them later. Under these conditions, their father was still able to watch his favourite show and they too were able to watch theirs at a later time. This new feature has allowed for greater TV viewing hours as well as increased TV use for the family (Gauntlett and Hill, 1999). On one Friday of my observation, the paternal grandparents joined the family. They too had different TV viewing preferences. The grandmother liked watching the soap operas in the Friday afternoons. They were also eager TV watchers, as they felt that TV viewing kept them in touch with the world, also allowing them to be mentally active. In a way, these elderly viewers felt mobile and involved in what was happening in the world, even if they were already retired. They also preferred the happier and lighter TV shows, including romantic comedies although they were likely to avoid the raunchy and naughty romantic comedies (Gauntlett and Hill, 1999). One time when they joined one of their grandchildren in watching a violent TV show, they expressed dislike for the bad language and the violence in the show. They also joined the family in watching the news channel and were very much vocal about their opinions about world events, local news, and other current events. When compared to the younger family members. The older children did not have much interest in the soap operas and other daytime TV shows as they found these trivial and not very entertaining. The middle child was a very academic person and sometimes preferred shows which had a lot of dialogue and were very intellectual. He liked to absorb himself in the storylines and sometimes tried to participate in thinking the shows through, especially if these are crime shows or intellectual movies. The oldest child liked the entertainment news shows because it allowed her to be updated about celebrities, fashion, and the trends which she could then discuss with her friends. However, she was also not fond of the daytime soap operas because she found these shows boring, something older people, including mothers and grandmothers watched. In the evenings when the family was usually together, it was often the father or mother who was holding the remote, but when they would change channels, they would sometimes ask the family members if they liked something. This represents power and authority lodged in the parents, however, it did not appear to be an absolute authority as the parents still asked the opinion of other members of the family on what show they could all watch (Gauntlett and Hill, 1999; Lull, 1990). In most households, the father or the males usually held the remote control, and in most instances, women often give in to whatever the men felt like watching. In the family I observed, the authority resided with both parents, mostly the father. However, the authority residing in the person holding the remote was not strictly followed. Within the family, perceptions on the types of shows available on TV were expressed. The older adults felt like there was too much sex, nudity, profanity, and violence on TV. The younger audiences shared such opinion to a certain extent. They felt that some violence, sex, profanity, and nudity were needed for entertainment and story-telling value, but also felt that some shows were gratuitous in their portrayal of sex, violence, profanity, and nudity (Straubhaar, 2007). The viewers also differentiated between fictional and factual violence on TV and this allowed them to understand why some violence may be unavoidably seen on TV. The members of the family were however united in their opinion that the younger viewers, especially children should be shielded from violence, sex, and profanity on TV, especially when the shows claim to be for family entertainment. The viewers do not however agree on the level or type of violence which is acceptable and not acceptable on TV (Wilson, 2004). This commentary established how different viewers can have different viewing preferences (Seiter, 1998). For families, there is some harmony which can be achieved in their viewing habits especially as they learn to make the necessary adjustments to accommodate everyone’s tastes and preferences (Parks and Kumar, 2003). Still, individual qualities and preferences are very much apparent from the very start, especially when the young and older viewers are compared with each other. Gender differences have also been noted within the family, with women’s genre and men’s genre very much apparent. The identity of the family members is impacted by the media in some ways, especially in terms of the younger audience who may find affinity in the shows which their friends also watch, the shows which echo their feelings, their preferences, their sorrow, and their problems (Cohen, 2001). This makes the younger audience more vulnerable to the influence of the media. The older adults are able to make a more mature deduction of the TV shows, and are not as affected by the influence of these shows. The TV viewing behaviour of this family is diverse, but also steep in its togetherness as a family. Individual preferences are allowed to emerge, alongside viewing choices which still bring the family socially together (Gauntlett and Hill, 1999). Day/Date/Time Location/Duration Participant Description (e.g. gender, age, ethnicity, relationship Observations ( e.g. channel, program, activities, participant comments) Monday/October 7/4 pm ABC2 Male, 8 years old, Caucasian/White, youngest son Shaun The Sheep 4:10 pm Hana's Helpline 4:17 pm Play School 4:29 pm -liked the shows because they are very entertaining and also included play activities. Monday/October 7/6 pm ABC News All family members: Father: 40 years old Mother: 38 years old Eldest daughter: 13 years old Middle child: 12 years Youngest son: 8 years old ABC News 6:00 pm Grandstand 6:30 pm -Family liked watching the news together while having dinner. They also liked being informed about current events Tuesday/October 8/5 pm 4ME Middle child: male/12 years old Mxtv 5:00 pm (He liked watching machines and dirt bikes. Found them very exciting machines 5:30 pm Man and Machine (He liked watching technical aspects of machines. Tuesday/October 8/6 pm ABC News All family members: Father: 40 years old Mother: 38 years old Eldest daughter: 13 years old Middle child: 12 years Youngest son: 8 years old ABC News 6:00 pm Grandstand 6:30 pm -Family liked watching the news together while having dinner. They also liked being informed about current events Saturday/October 12/10 am GO! Youngest son/8 years old Adventure Time 10:00 am Ben 10: Ultimate Alien 10:30 am (cartoon shows are very colourful and entertaining) Friday/October 11/4:30 pm Ten (10) Grandmother/73 years old/Caucasian The Bold and the Beautiful (Grandmother was very much engaged in the storyline and did not want to miss how the story was unfolding in the series. Tuesday/October 15/8 pm 7 Central Eldest daughter/13 years old Dancing with the Stars (one of her favourite celebrities was competing in the show) Tuesday/October 15/9pm 7 Central Eldest daughter/13 years old and mother/38 years old Dancing with the Stars (mother joined her daughter because she was entertained by the dances in the show. Mother used to be a ballet dancer) Wednesday/October 16/8:30-9:30 ABC 2 Middle child/male/12 years old Doctor Who (he loves the stories, the mystery involved, and the depth of the stories) Saturday/October 19/8:30 DVD All family members Captain America: The First Avenger (the family agreed to watch the show because it was a very entertaining movie for everyone Saturday/October 19/3:30 pm 7Mate Grandfather: 75 years old/Father 40 years old/middle son: 12 years old Rugby replay (Rugby was popular among the male members of the family) Thursday/October 24/4 pm ABC2 Male, 8 years old, Caucasian/White, youngest son Shaun The Sheep 4:10 pm Hana's Helpline 4:17 pm Play School 4:29 pm Thursday/October 24/ 6 pm ABC News All family members: Father: 40 years old Mother: 38 years old Eldest daughter: 13 years old Middle child: 12 years Youngest son: 8 years old ABC News 6:00 pm Grandstand 6:30 pm Saturday/October 26/8-11 DVD All family members The Hobbit (it was a movie they could all watch and be equally entertained) References Cohen J, 2001, Defining identification: A theoretical look at the identification of audiences with media characters. Mass Communication & Society, 4(3), 245-264. Gauntlett D & Hill A, 1999, TV Living: Television, Culture and Everyday Life, Routledge. Sydney Gillespie M, 2002, Television, Ethnicity and Cultural Change, Taylor & Francis, Sydney Lull J, 1990, Inside family viewing: ethnographic research on television's audiences, Routledge, Sydney Parks L & Kumar S, 2003, Planet TV: A Global Television Reader, NYU Press, New York Seiter E, 1998, Television and new media audiences, Clarendon Press House, London. Straubhaar J, 2007. World Television: From Global to Local, London, SAGE. Wilson T, 2004, The Playful Audience: From Talk Show Viewers to Internet Users, Hampton Press, London. Read More