Media Consumption in the Home Environment and Media Consumption in other Contexts - Essay Example

Media use and media consumption in the home environment are essentially no different from media use and consumption in other contexts. Discuss. The application of mass media in our life has made media consumers out of us all. There is hardly anyone who has not been exposed to the phenomenon of mass media and its subsequent impact. Media consumption patterns differ across varying age groups. People consume mass media for a variety of purposes such as entertainment, studying and work. There are certain media that are a basic component of any individual’s routine life. Television and the internet are two such media that are consumed on a regular basis, at home and out of home. The primary contention is that media consumption at home is higher than in other contexts. Various studies carried out over the years suggest the greater impact of media consumption in the home environment. This is because home is seen as a place where individuals, more or less, strip off their social niceties and take up the appearance of what they really are and want to be. Home is seen as a relaxing environment as compared to the office or school. This “relaxing” environment in itself comes with certain advantages and disadvantages when it comes to media consumption. Home is the primary location for most of the media consumption in today’s technologically advanced world. As mentioned earlier, the two forms of media that have the most use are television and the internet. Out of these, according to a recent study, television is still the dominant media of consumption. (Crum, 2009) However, there has been a marked increase in the use of internet over the past few years. Media plays an extremely important role in our day-to-day life. It becomes a part of our routine without us even realizing it. It would not be wrong to say that we are tangled in a web of mass media, with no return. From television to internet to cell phones and radio, our life cannot seem to function without the use of media. The patterns of media consumption illustrate certain interesting aspects. Media viewing is seen as being determined by factors such as gender, leisure time and family orientation among others. Morley has talked about the ‘overall context of family leisure activity’ and how it affects media consumption. With regard to gender and patterns of media consumption, the most interesting case study was put forward by Bausinger. Whatever work that has been carried out in the field of gender politics with relation to media consumption is evidence of the societal norms and conditioning that human beings go through. The expectations of the society with a gender are taken at face value and followed for the rest of our lives, mostly. This is why even with regard to media consumption there is a distinct difference between gender attitudes towards media in a home environment. (Silverstone, 1990) The second most important factor is age; every age group has diverse interests and incorporates media into their daily life in slightly different ways. When discussing gender; it is noticeable that power politics set in. In a home environment this is more obvious since the family dynamics are at work in a more prominent way. Men are seen as the head of the family and would be in more control of how media is consumed at home. (Walker, 1996) In many families men have the authority to control the remote when watching television, dictating terms and conditions of using the internet, adjusting the volume of a particular television channel/program, and the use of cell phones in home. In single parent family structures the restrictions may be different, but they are more or less the same for most families. With gender, the question of genre also arises. Studies show both genders prefer different genres. Women are seen as being “frivolous” and are stereotyped; consequently they enjoy soap operas more. Whereas men - seen as being “serious-minded” - prefer informational programs (Craig, 1992) When looking at these studies, care has to be taken to keep the socio-cultural context in mind. Social conditioning allows much of our “normal” behavior to remain unquestioned even if it pertains to something that is related to media consumption. The age factor also plays an important role when discussing media consumption at home. Teenagers are more prone to using media in out of home contexts, especially if they are hesitant of displaying their activities in front of their family. (Seiter, 1989) Most teenagers at home are involved with new media such as cell phones, digital television, internet and DVD and music players. With males, there are even wider trends such as online gaming and gaming arcades. As children group up their choices undergo rapid change and so does their consumption of media (Drotner, 2001) Since males are socially conditioned to participate in daily activities outside home the chance of them consuming media in other contexts is greater than females. Since home environment is seen as being relaxing and leisurely, case studies that focus on determining gender differences with regard to media consumption and viewership also take into account certain other factors. One of these factors is the aspect of leisure itself. The television is also referred to as the “idiot box”; this is to say that many people turn on the television for mindless viewership or as a means of escape from the harsh realities of life. (Gittins, 2002) Even when television is not on, there seems to be a discussion about the latest music shows and their results or the most recent episode of a soap opera. In a way, human mind has become restricted to the discussion of mass media. If you are not discussing it, you may as well be not a part of the new world, where life is extremely fast paced. Also, since home is a place of leisure, features of masculinity and femininity appear more prominently. There is also a difference with regard to watching television alone and as part of a group. Similarly, using the internet to access the virtual environment in a group or play online multi-player games is seen as a rising tendency amongst males. (Gitlin, 2008) Feminist studies focus on the stereotypical images that most case studies present. (Geraghty, 1996) Women are seen as “emotional” and hence more interested in frivolous television programs. These studies fail to take into account the trend of mass media consumption outside the spheres of home such as the theater. (Ang, 1985) The theater is of more appeal to women as compared to men. These generalizations can be seen to cement the stereotypical image of what is woman wants and likes. The obsession of the western culture to be prim and appear intellectually superior is seen as typecasting the role of women to a lesser degree. The internet is also seen as a vibrant form of mass media and many people believe that it will take over the role of the television in a few tears time. This seems to be true already since now all the mass media is collectively available on the internet. Not only can people surf for information and check their emails to remain in touch with relatives and business contacts but also watch streaming videos, listen to the latest music hits, play online virtual reality games in a group, and read eBooks. These same activities, arguably, cannot be performed in an outside environment according to certain researchers. (Seymour-Ure, 1989) Others, however, are of the opinion that with the invention of new technologies you can carry a digital world of mass media with you at all times. Laptops allow you to carry your work with you; eBook readers allow you the liberty to read your favourite books on the tube station; iPods and mp3 players let you listen to your favourite music whenever you want to and camera phones let you take pictures of your memorable moments as well as be in touch with friends and family. So, for these researchers, there really isn’t much difference in how we consume mass media at home and outside home. In fact, they believe that individuals consume mass media the same way but through different mediums in an out-of-home context. However, they agree that the feeling of leisure is most appropriately defined by the home environment. (Gray, 1999) Mass media has been able to affect almost every portion of our lives. We live an age of information overload, whereby one just cannot escape from whatever is happening around the globe. The concept of the global village in itself is sufficient to prove that mass media is of immense importance in our lives; the global village could only be setup with the exchange of ideas and information through media. Media consumption in the home environment is essentially different and greater as compared to other contexts. The viability of this comment has been discussed earlier; the consumption of mass media is patterned differently across various age groups, genders and lifestyles. Bibliography Ang, I. (1985). Watching Dallas: Soap Opera and the Melodramatic Imagination. London: Methuen. Craig, S. (1992). Men, Masculinity and the Media. Newbury Park, CA: Sage. Crum, C. (2009, 4 3). TV Still Dominates Media Consumption. Retrieved 3 19, 2010, from Web Pro News: http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2009/04/03/tv-still-dominates-media-consumption Drotner, K. (2001). Global Media Through Youthful Eyes. In M. B. Livingstone, Children and their Changing Media Environment: A European Comparative Study (p. 291). New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum and Associated. Geraghty, C. (1996). Feminism and Media Consumption . In J. Curran, Cultural Studies and Communications (p. 87). Arnold. Gitlin, J. M. (2008, February 4). Video games, the male brain, and addiction. Retrieved March 19, 2010, from Ars Technica: http://arstechnica.com/science/news/2008/02/video-games-the-male-brain-and-addiction.ars Gittins, R. (2002, 11 20). Beware, Its Not Called the Idiot Box for Nothing. Retrieved 3 19, 2010, from The Age: http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2002/11/19/1037697661438.html Gray, A. (1999). Audience and Reception Research in Retrospect: the Trouble with Audiences. In P. Alasuutari, Rethinking the Media Audience (p. 65). London: Sage. Seiter, E. (1989). Dont Treat Us Like Were So Stupid and Naïve . In E. Seiter, Remote Control: Television, Audiences and Cultural Power (p. 56). London: Routledge. Seymour-Ure, C. (1989). Mass media: Accountable to whom? . Contemporary British History , 12-14. Silverstone, R. (1990). Television and Everyday Life: Towards an Anthropology of the Television Audience. In M. Ferguson, Public Communication: The New Imperatives (pp. 173-205). Routledge. Walker, A. J. (1996). Couples watching television: gender, power and the remote control. Journal of Marriage and the Family , 24-25. Read More