Feeling lonely…watch more TV

 

Loneliness. We’ve all felt it. That feeling when you feel alone but that’s the last thing you actually want to be. Whether it’s a Friday night with nothing to do, weeks of being busy at work that leave little time to socialize, a new breakup, or moving to a new city, feeling lonely is just plain painful. Loneliness is defined as the disturbing experience that occurs when a person feels that his or her network of social relations does not fulfill the person’s needs in important ways. To me, it feels like something is missing in my life. Our basic needs in life are not only food and shelter, but to feel wanted and to want people in our lives in return.

So what happens when we need to fill the void we call loneliness? Some people turn to the bottle while others turn on their TV. If you’re the type to turn on your television when you feel a little lonely you might find yourself getting connected with certain TV shows. My go to TV shows to beat feeling alone are Lost, True Blood, and Grey’s Anatomy. If you’re like me then you can find yourself literally building relationships with the characters on these shows. We get attached to characters like Jack Shepard, Sookie Stackhouse, and McDreamy. Why is this? Why do we get so attached to TV characters? One possible answer that many scholars have studied is called parasocial interaction. You’re probably thinking…parasocial WHAT? Let’s break this term down. According to the dictionary the term “para” means beside or adjacent to, and distinct from, but analogous to. The term social is defined as needing companionship. So now let’s bring those two terms together and what do we get? Distinct from, and needing companionship. To me this is starting to sound like the relationship I have with McDreamy. To elaborate, scholars define parasocial interaction as a one-sided relationship that we create with media figures, and in particular, TV characters. This relationships gets to a level where we come to know these characters as our friends and we see them filling a particular role in our life. So this explains why we turn on the TV when we are feeling a little down in the dumps. 

Three researchers from large Midwestern universities, Qi Wang, Edward, Fink, and Deborah Cai, wanted to know more about the correlation between feeling lonely and turning on our TV’s. To do this they studied four different types of loneliness and the amounts of parasocial interaction that took place with each. They came up with four types of loneliness; family, romantic, and social. I found this part very interesting because I didn’t know that there could be different types of loneliness. The first type of loneliness is family loneliness. Family loneliness is where people feel like they lack family bonds, Wang Fink and Cai thought that family loneliness would definitely lead to higher levels of parasocial interaction. Romantic loneliness occurs when we do not have a romantic partner in our lives, or when our relationship my be unfulfilled which leaves a void in our lives. The researchers wanted to know if romantic loneliness would even be related to parasocial interaction since romantic relationships are more physical and TV cannot fill that void. The third type of loneliness was social, this is where we feel that there is a “perceived discrepancy between desired and obtained social relationships” (p. 94). The researchers thought that people who felt socially lonely would turn on their TV’s to create parasocial interactions to temper loneliness. The final type of loneliness, chronic loneliness, was also measured. Chronic loneliness is where we feel alone all the time and it is something that we cannot shake. It is also part of being depressed. The researchers looked at people who felt all three types of loneliness to get to chronic loneliness.

To find out if Wand, Fink, and Cai were right about their predictions about loneliness and parasocial interaction they tested both men and women with each type of loneliness and the relating levels of parasocial interaction. What they found was that women experiencing family and social loneliness resorted to parasocial interaction more than men did. However, men that felt chronically lonely turned to parasocial interaction more than women did. Romantically lonely people, both men and women, did not turn to parasocial interaction. 

So what do these result mean?

According to the research lonely people do turn to TV to fill a void. So if you’re feeling a little stranded by your friends and family, turning on your TV more often might not be a bad thing. Television can fulfill many functions in our lives. Not only is it always there, waiting to be watched, but it also tells us stories, informs us, and makes us feel connected. If you’re filling that sting that all of us feel when we are newly single or unfulfilled in our relationships you can also turn on the TV but it might not help you feel better. My remedy for being single is to reconnect with your friends and get out of the house. Being a hermit in your house with ice cream and a chick flick might make you feel better in the moment but in the long run it probably won’t. To me, relational loneliness passes. We are single, and it hurts for a while, but as time passes we get over it. To use parasocial interaction to help with loneliness we need to first find out why we are feeling lonely. Once we know that we need to proceed with caution. Parasocial interaction can only help stifle feelings of loneliness. It won’t solve our loneliness.

Want more info? 

Wang, Q., Fink, E.L., & Cai, D.A. (2008). Loneliness, gender and parasocial interaction: A uses and gratifications approach. Communication Quarterly, 56, 87-109.

Finally…. an explanation to why we get so attached to our favorite actors.

 

 

Imagine this situation. A major strike ensues in the media, people can’t agree on budgets and salaries. Before you know it your favorite shows are no longer on the air. We no longer have a clue on what will happen with McDreamy on Grey’s Anatomy, who will win The Voice, or how shows like Parks and Recreation, 30 Rock, or The Office will end. Now, I know that these are just television shows and we shouldn’t really care, but think about it. As a society we are on the edge of our seats when our favorite TV shows have a season finale. We are glued to the television every time it is elimination night on Dancing With the Stars. Let’s face it, there is no way that we could just go on with lives if our favorite shows weren’t on anymore without either talking about them or being upset about it. Why is this? Why do we create these relationships with characters on TV?

 One possible answer that many scholars have studied is called para-social interaction. You’re probably thinking…para-social HUH? Well this phenomenon is called para-social interaction, and according to Michael Schudson is means that we interact (one-sidedly) with the characters we see on TV as if we know them and they are our friends. Schudson studies reviews of New York City where the local paper was not produced after a strike had torn apart a town in 1945. While reviewing this study originally done by Bernard Berelson, Schudson found that many people views newspaper columnists as part of their lives with one person stating, “You get used to certain people, they become part of your family” (p.164). We create a connection with our people in the media, Schudson calls it a ritual, and when they are taken away we are “emotionally not prepared for the day” (p.165). So what does this mean for us? To me I think it takes cultivation theory (the theory that when we see things on TV we believe it as part of our reality) and makes it relevant and important to our daily lives. If we have a personal relationships with media figures than how does that not affect the reality we create for ourselves?

So know you might be thinking, how does a para-social interaction, or relationships with a media figure happen? How do these relationships develop? Two researchers, Rebecca Rubin and Michael McHugh go through the development of para-social interaction relationships. Rubin and McHugh state that viewers create closeness with the medium of TV and its characters. The relationships that develop out of this bond resemble an interpersonal relationship, or one we would have with a friend or acquaintance. Interpersonal relationships reduce the uncertainty we have about our friend leading to more growth within the relationship. Rubin and McHugh studied the similarities between para-social interaction and interpersonal relationships and this is what they found. That when we watch television we have an attraction to the media figure and a para-social interaction with them, this creates relationship importance. This is similar to the development of interpersonal relationships (shown below) where the amount of communication we have with someone constitutes liking and intimacy with that person, creating relationship importance. 

Believe it or not, when we watch TV, we create relationships with the people we see on screen. Television has more effects than we realize on our relationships, and by being aware of things like cultivation theory, and para-social interaction we can evaluate what we watch and be more aware of what effects TV has on us.

References:

Rubin, R. B., & McHugh, M. P. (1987). Development of parasocial interaction relationships. Journal           Of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 31, 279-292.

Schudson, M. (2011). The Sociology of News. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

Can watching television ruin our relationship?

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How many of you have watched movies like The Notebook, Say Anything, or P.S. I Love You and thought that love was supposed to be like the movies? I know that I have fallen victim to Ryan Gosling’s character in The Notebook thinking, if only I could find my Noah Calhoun my love life would be complete. Well what if I told you that researchers have found that the more we believe in the love that is portrayed in the movies, the more we destroy our real life relationships. I don’t mean to crush the dreams of all you hopeless romantics out there but if you keep believing in a “love like the movies” you really are making your chances of being in a successful relationship just that; hopeless. 

We spend a lot of time watching television, and if we are in a romantic relationship we also spend a lot of time being in that relationship. A researcher from Albion College wanted to see how cultivation theory speaks to the relationship between the two. Does the reality presented on television reflect the reality that is present in our relationships? This researcher wanted to answer that question and looked at the relationship between television viewing and marital satisfaction and commitment. To do this, 392 married individuals completed a survey, which included questions about relationship expectations, rewards (such as humor) and costs (overcoming challenges), commitment level, perceived quality of alternatives, television viewing, and belief in television portrayals. The findings indicated that the more we watch television or films that are romantic in genre and the greater our belief is in the portrayals of romantic relationships, the lower our commitment in our marriage will. 

Another correlation was found between the higher level of romantic themed content we watch and the higher we perceive the costs or challenges of our marriages. We also have more, “favorable perceptions of alternatives to one’s current relationships” the more we watch and believe in the portrayals of relationships on film and television. So what does this mean for us hopeless romantics? According to the research, my advice would be to take the genre of romance in film and television with a grain of salt. Maybe it’s fiction for a reason!

Another study also found a link between how watching television may be bad for your relationship. Researchers from three different universities studied how watching television shows where one is unfaithful in a relationship correlated to the level of regret felt by people that watch these shows and also were unfaithful in their real life relationships. So what does this exactly mean? Let’s break it down. These researchers found that for people that have cheated before in relationships, and felt a high amount of regret because of their infidelity were more likely to express a greater interest in television shows that had cheating-related storylines. Within these story lines researchers looked at two different portrayals of cheaters, the first a rationalization portrayal and the second was a self-blame portrayal. In other words characters that cheated on television either rationalized infidelity or blamed themselves for the infidelity. What the researchers found from these portrayals was that regretful cheaters preferred the rationalization portrayal to the self-blame portrayal. However, cheaters with little regret equally enjoyed both of the portrayals. For regretful cheaters programs that had a character that was cheating helped them reduce their regret. If you find your partner watching more shows that involve cheating story lines, BEWARE!

Based on the research we can see that love isn’t always like the movies, and maybe we don’t want it to be. Relying too much on television can ruin what we have right in front of us.

References:

Nabi, R., Finnerty, K., Domschke, T., & Hull, S. (2006). Does misery love company? Exploring the therapeutic effects of TV viewing on regretted experience. Journal of Communication, 56, 689-706.

 

--> Osborn, J. (2012). When TV and marriage meet: A social exchange analysis of the impact of television viewing on marital satisfaction and commitment. Mass Communication and Society, 15, 739-757. 

An answer to why we take the media so seriously.

 

The media is all around us and sometimes it seems inescapable. What I mean by that is the media is always sending us messages or ideas that are hard to get away from. We watch an episode of Dexter and all of a sudden we start having anxiety attacks and have an abrupt fear of serial killers. We watch Disney movies and have an idea on what beauty and true love is, and how to achieve it.

 The media gives us ideas on what is normal, how to act, and what to expect in our society. But where does this idea come from? Well, theorists and researchers in the communication field have been thinking the same thing for years, and this community of academics has come up with one possible answer, cultivation theory. 

Developed by George Gerbner in the 1960s and according to researchers from the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, cultivation theory is the assumption or hypothesis that "those who spend more time watching television are more likely to perceive the real world in ways that reflect the most common and recurrent messages of the world of fictional television." This means that what we see on TV can reflect how we act and think in the real world. The media assists us in creating our own social reality. 

According to both researchers there are different ways in which cultivation theory has been studied and current developments that are utilized to examine different media phenomenon. The first is genre-specific cultivation, which states that different genres of television can affect us in different ways. One of the most recent genres that have been studied using cultivation theory are talk shows.

The second, and most well known way in which cultivation theory has been used as a lens to study media is with media violence and fear of crime. Many scholars study how crime or violence in the media reflects viewers’ outlook on crime, violence, and social trust in reality.

Recently other research using cognitive theory has also sprung up. Researchers have studied the portrayal of drug abuse, mental health, body image, homosexuality, gender, family, relationships, sexual stereotypes, the environment, and race perceptions. The future for cultivation theory seems strong with both researchers saying that, “as long as there are popular storytelling systems and purveyors of widely shared messages, Gerbner’s main ideas are likely to persist.”

So know that we know the basics of cultivation theory you might be wondering how it is applied, and how researchers study it. Let’s bring it back to Grey’s Anatomy and see how a researcher from Texas A&M University studied how watching Grey’s Anatomy effected perceptions on the relationship created between doctors and patients. With what we now know about cultivation theory we can assume that heavy viewers of Grey’s will, “maintain perceptions of doctors that are consistent with depictions of television doctors on Grey’s.” The researcher wanted to study how the perceived credibility of Grey’s Anatomy is positively associated with the perceived courageousness of real-world doctors. To study this effect students filled out surveys on their perceptions of doctors and then their viewing habits and credibility of Grey’s Anatomy. Audience viewings of Grey’s Anatomy were also utilized with surveys relating to credibility and perceptions of doctors given afterward.

What the researcher found is that the more people watch the show the more realistic they perceived the show. This finding can shape our assumptions on reality. Using this information the researcher also found a positive association between the perceived courageousness of real-world doctors and patient satisfactions. Just like in Grey’s Anatomy patients want doctors that are willing to do risky procedures to save patient’s lives and make them better.

We have only scratched the surface of cultivation theory and the potential ways in which we can use it as a lens to study television effects. In the upcoming weeks I hope to use cultivation theory as a theoretical framework to examine how entertainment media, especially film and television, can shape our expectations of relationships.

Morgan, M., & Shanahan, J. (2010). The state of cultivation. Journal Of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 54, 337-355.

Quick, B. L. (2009). The effects of viewing Grey's Anatomy on perceptions of doctors and patient satisfaction. Journal Of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 53, 38-55.

What reality TV really teaches us about relationships

Reality TV. You either love it or you hate it. Personally, I find shows like The Jersey Shore, Extreme Makeover, and 16 and Pregnant interesting. Without these shows I would never have a perspective on what it is like to live in Jersey for the summer, put my body through a complete transformation, or be a young pregnant woman. Reality shows can give us an interesting look at different people and situations. But I have to wonder, can reality shows give us a "false" view on reality? A researcher at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh wanted to know the same thing. This researcher wanted to know how images of beauty were portrayed in reality shows based on plastic surgery. In today's world a thin body with full breasts is the "ideal" body. Although throughout history the standards of beauty have changed the pressure for women to fit into the standard have not. This is why reality shows on plastic surgery are made. Remember back to 2002 when shows such as Extreme Makeover, The Swan, Dr. 90210, and I Want A Famous Face took America by storm. All of these shows take "ugly ducklings" and turn them into beautiful "swans.

 By studying these shows the researcher found that the participants on these shows valued flat stomachs, big(ger) breasts, tight buns, and full hips. One cast member on The Swan valued having bigger breasts. Her husband later stated that she would talk to him about her breast size more then tell him she loved him! By emphasizing body image in these shows the researcher claims that it reinforces and refines the norms of body image. So what does this mean for relationships? Well, according to the research by catering to the "idea" body image men will find women more desirable. The research found this to be half true. First off, most men on these shows stood neutral to their partners decisions. They stated that they thought their partners were beautiful inside and out. However, when the surgery was complete their attitudes changed and they were happy and excited about the transformation. So what does this all mean for us? According to the research these shows pose a problem for women and relationships. It reinforces a body image that is only attainable through elective surgery, giving women and men a skewed idea of beauty. In turn this can lead women to not feel beautiful in their current relationships and leave men wanting a fantasy that is next to impossible to attain.

Why Skype could potentially be your new relationship lifesaver.

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Long-distance relationships. To some people they are the hardest relationships to be in. I have been in one for longer than I can remember with somebody that I love. It’s not always the most convenient relationship to be in, but it’s worth it. The one thing I can tell you about being in a long-distance relationship is that it takes a lot of work. You have to consciously put in effort everyday to stay with that person. If you have ever been in a long-distance relationship then you know that mediated communication such as Skype, or FaceTime is your best friend. What if I told you that mediated communication styles (Skype, texting, phone calls, Facebook, instant messaging, etc.) and the level of media used can make or break your relationship? A researcher that wanted to answer this question revealed that the different amounts of media a couple uses to communicate could dramatically increase or decrease the staying power for that relationship. Did you ever wish your partner would call more? How about comment more on your Facebook. What about the opposite? Have you ever felt suffocated with your partner and wish the constant calling and texting would decrease? These are the findings of this study. After interviewing 10 couples that use mediated communication the results were stunningly clear. Individuals in a relationship that use mediated communication such as Skype, texting, phone calls, Facebook, instant messaging, etc. at the same level were more “in tune” with each other than those that used it at different levels (one person used it more than the other). Using mediated forms of communication became part of the identity that formed their relationship. Texting or using Skype was just something the couple did; it became a norm within their relationship. 

Couples also had to alter their use of mediated communication, some couples stated that they were using mediated communication too much or too little, with one couple even stating they needed to stop watching so much television and spend more time together. This makes me wonder, about the different reasons one would use mediated communication more than their partner. What if I was going through a stressful time at work and needed my partner to be there for me? Causing me to text more than I normally would. Would this decrease our satisfaction or would we have to temporarily adjust our mediated use. Mediated communication is becoming more and more popular and I can only imagine it won’t be long before we all have to increase our usage in some way.

Do you really have a chance with a Ryan Gosling or are we just fooling ourselves?

 

So, have you ever though love was supposed to be like the movies? Well two researchers wanted to answer this question by asking if our connection with our favorite TV/movie characters is somehow related to our real-life relationships with friends and romantic partners. And I have to wonder how much of what we see happen in movies and on television correlates with what I expect in my personal life. Do I really believe that Ryan Gosling will rebuild a house for me, or lift me up Dirty Dancing style and be with me? Or that my personal McDreamy will “choose me and love me” and drop everything (wife and all) to be with me? Well what these researchers from Vassar College and Ouachita Baptist University found is that when we are single we have a greater attachment with our McDreamies than we do when we are in relationships. So what does this mean? Do we only have a greater yearning for our favorite characters if we are single? I definitely have noticed that when I am single I notice men more when I’m out then when I am in a relationship. What the research shows is that this affinity with TV/movie stars and characters is partially compensating and complimenting for something we are missing in reality. This can be our need to belong, feel attachment, and be wanted. These are basic needs that we as humans feel and need, and I don’t want anybody to get the wrong impression. Just because we might be HUGE fans of people like Brad Pitt, Emma Stone, or Johnny Depp, and really feel an attachment for these people doesn’t mean that we are failing at relationships in reality.

           

                                                            Dirty Dancing Moment

  

          What we need to realize is that it’s not all our fault. The media presents TV/movie characters as likeable and relate to us and in turn that affects what we think and how we react to certain TV shows and movies. This is what another study claims to show.

Does what we watch on TV influence who we will choose to be our next romantic partner? According to a study done by a social scientist at the University of California, Davis the answer is yes. This researcher conducted a study to see if when men are portrayed as more available or scarce on television shows if that will affect our choice on whom (what type of personality) we want as a partner. Let me explain. If there are more males available to single women on television, will women choose partners with personality traits of either devoted, or promiscuous in reality? What the research found is that after watching TV with an abundance of males, women were more likely to choose males suited for short-term relationships and with personality traits such as detached, aggressive, and promiscuous. The opposite is true of watching TV with a lack of males. Women were more likely to choose males suited for long-term, committed relationships and personality traits of devoted, upright, and honest. So what does this mean? For starters, I’m sure that this has happened to everyone of us. I feel that the media and its affects are something that we take for granted, especially as media consumers. If we become more aware of what we watch and the choices we make, specifically relationships choices, we can be better relationship partners. Love is not like the movies no matter how hard we want it to be like that or how hard we try to make it like the movies.

              

        This shows that the media has effects on our reality. This is the beginning of uncovering how the media can affect and shape our interpersonal relationships.