Perceived Role of Entertainment Television in Shaping Social Behaviour of Teenagers
Chapter One
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
- To determine how frequent teenagers watch entertainment TV.
- To ascertain the kind of entertainment programmes teenagers watch on the TV stations.
- To examine the volume of entertainment programmes they watch on TV stations.
- To establish what the teenagers pay attention to in the entertainment programmes they watch.
- To find out how entertainment programmes of TV stations shape teenagers’ world view concerning social behaviour in their enviroment.
- To explore the perception of teenagers on the role of entertainment TV in shaping their social behaviour.
- To generate knowledge for further studies in this area.
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
INTRODUCTION
Televison as an electronic medium has transformed the mass media and its main traditional functions of information, education and entertainment. There is no gainsaying that in the 20th and the 21st centuries, it has become one of the hottest media with its potentials of sight and sound; it has dramatic and demonstrative powers which has made it able to hold its audience spellbound and take them on a ‘roller coaster’ into its world.
Television has become a part of everyday life which was not so between the 1920s when it was invented and the 1960s when it lost its novelty. It became commercial and there is no doubt that the number of TV stations have greatly increased, so also the number of TV sets available in homes. Reliable statistics have it that more than 95 per cent of households in America own at least one televison set and on an average, television is playing about seven hours a day in those households which translates into 2,400 hours per year- the most consuming activity besides sleep (Wilson & Wilson, 2001; Dominick, 2005; Vivian, 2009). The medium has been of tremendous influence whether positive or negative as it has changed the way we socialize with our peers, the way teachers teach, governments govern, and religious leaders preach. It has changed the way we organise the furniture in our homes and our world view about our immediate environment (Baran, 2009). A social critic, Novak, cited in Vivian (2009, p. 211), comments that television is “a moulder of the soul’s geography. It builds up incrementally a psychic structure of expectations. It does so in much the same way that school lessons slowly, over the years, tutor the unformed mind and teach it how to think.” Comstock, a media scholar also cited in Vivian (ibid) corroborates Novak’s view by saying “Television has become an unavoidable and unremitting factor in shaping what we are and what we will become.”
Most American families as reported by A. C. Nielsen company, today own a minimum of two colour television sets. These sets are located in vital living areas such as the living room, family room, bedroom and kitchen. Because they own multiple sets, many families no longer watch television together, and parents often do not know what their children, especially teenagers are viewing. Unsupervised leisure has almost always been considered a major source of trouble and as posing a threat to young people’s moral development (Muncie, 2004).
Therefore, this shows the necessity for the development of entertainment programming on television and in contemporary times, television stations or channels that are dedicated to entertainment round the clock, everyday of the week. This chapter has attempted to examine the emergence of entertainment from its earlier forms into television contents; television and the media effects debate and its role in the socialization process of teenagers. Moreover, some previous researches in this area were reviewed using the social learning theory and cultivation theory as theoretical framework.
EMPIRICAL REVIEW
In this section, some researches that were carried out in areas that are related or connected to entertainment programmes and their potential influences or effects on teenagers were reviewed. The first major research efforts that attempted to study media effects on the audience was a series of 12 studies on the impact of motion pictures on the society sponsored by the Payne Fund, which began in 1929. The studies examined topics such as how motion picture morals compared with American moral standards. It also looked at whether there was a link between films depicting crime and actual crime and deliquency reported in the society, and how motion pictures affected the behaviour of children. Although the studies did not come up with conclusive proof that motion pictures were actually damaging to the American culture, the results however, concluded that teenagers had been greatly influenced by the movies (Wilson & Wilson, 2001).
Following the Payne studies several other researches were carried out in order to examine television and social behaviour of teenagers, but the reports were politically controversial. However, a less controversial research by Schramm, Lyle, and Parker as cited in Wilson & Wilson (2001, p. 439-440) found that violence did affect children but the process was not a simplistic action-reaction activity; rather it was a complex phenomenon that had different reactions created among different groups of children under different and similar situations. The study states thus:
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
INTRODUCTION
In this chapter, we described the research procedure for this study. A research methodology is a research process adopted or employed to systematically and scientifically present the results of a study to the research audience viz. a vis, the study beneficiaries.
RESEARCH DESIGN
Research designs are perceived to be an overall strategy adopted by the researcher whereby different components of the study are integrated in a logical manner to effectively address a research problem. In this study, the researcher employed the survey research design. This is due to the nature of the study whereby the opinion and views of people are sampled. According to Singleton & Straits, (2009), Survey research can use quantitative research strategies (e.g., using questionnaires with numerically rated items), qualitative research strategies (e.g., using open-ended questions), or both strategies (i.e., mixed methods). As it is often used to describe and explore human behaviour, surveys are therefore frequently used in social and psychological research.
POPULATION OF THE STUDY
According to Udoyen (2019), a study population is a group of elements or individuals as the case may be, who share similar characteristics. These similar features can include location, gender, age, sex or specific interest. The emphasis on study population is that it constitutes of individuals or elements that are homogeneous in description.
This study was carried to examine perceived role of entertainment television in shaping social behavior of teenagers. Selected secondary schools in Uyo forms the population of the study.
SAMPLE SIZE DETERMINATION
A study sample is simply a systematic selected part of a population that infers its result on the population. In essence, it is that part of a whole that represents the whole and its members share characteristics in like similitude (Udoyen, 2019). In this study, the researcher adopted the convenient sampling method to determine the sample size.
CHAPTER FOUR
DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS
INTRODUCTION
This chapter presents the analysis of data derived through the questionnaire and key informant interview administered on the respondents in the study area. The analysis and interpretation were derived from the findings of the study. The data analysis depicts the simple frequency and percentage of the respondents as well as interpretation of the information gathered. A total of eighty (80) questionnaires were administered to respondents of which only seventy-seven (77) were returned and validated. This was due to irregular, incomplete and inappropriate responses to some questionnaire. For this study a total of 77 was validated for the analysis.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
Introduction
It is important to ascertain that the objective of this study was to ascertain perceived role of entertainment television in shaping social behavior of teenagers. In the preceding chapter, the relevant data collected for this study were presented, critically analyzed and appropriate interpretation given. In this chapter, certain recommendations made which in the opinion of the researcher will be of benefits in addressing the challenges of perceived role of entertainment television in shaping social behavior of teenagers
Summary
This study was on perceived role of entertainment television in shaping social behavior of teenagers. Three objectives were raised which included: To determine how frequent teenagers watch entertainment TV, to ascertain the kind of entertainment programmes teenagers watch on the TV stations, to examine the volume of entertainment programmes they watch on TV stations, to establish what the teenagers pay attention to in the entertainment programmes they watch, to find out how entertainment programmes of TV stations shape teenagers’ world view concerning social behaviour in their environment, to explore the perception of teenagers on the role of entertainment TV in shaping their social behavior and to generate knowledge for further studies in this area. A total of 77 responses were received and validated from the enrolled participants where all respondents were drawn from selected secondary schools in Uyo. Hypothesis was tested using Chi-Square statistical tool (SPSS).
Conclusion
It is also necessary to point out that it was established in this study that there was heavy exposure to entertainment TV by the teenagers, as they admitted that they spent a minimum of an hour everyday to watch it. During the group discussion some of them stated that they could spend all day watching entertainment TV. Therefore, they learnt some social values from TV such as fashion (this is evident in the way many of them dress), communication, family life, etc.
Recommendation
- This study advocate’s for responsible entertainment in television programming. This is on both the side of the television entertainment programme developers and on the side of the broadcasters. People who drink alcohol cannot be hindered from drinking but the breweries have been asked as part of their social responsibility to emphasize in their adverts that people who drink should do it responsibly. Therefore, young people cannot be hindered from watching these programmes, even though not all the programmes have negative contents, but the entertainment TV stations as part of their social responsibility must ensure that entertainment programmes with demoralising contents are not shown at prime time. This is vital in a situation whereby the station(s) feels that such programmes must go on air for a certain age or social group and will not be suitable for other age or social groups.
- Entertainment programmes with high positive social values should be emphasized, while the negative social values should be de-emphasized. It has been noted that in most of the programmes that the teenagers are exposed to, it is the negative values that are mostly portrayed, while the positive values are at the background. The cultural norms theorists’ are of the view that through selective presentation and emphasis on certain themes in the media especially television, the audience get the impression that such themes are clearly defined as part of the cultural norms of the society e.g. use of alcohol, cigarettes, spray of money, sex appeal, etc in some musical videos. As a result of exposure to such presentations, some impressionable members of the society tend to pattern their behaviours after these presentations (Folarin, 2005).
References
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