TELEVISION IN THE HOME

PRIMARY RESEARCH

*all research conducted was done with willing verbal consent by the participator*

Silent generation:

The first person that I interviewed was my nan; Frances. She grew up in London and didn’t have a television until her teen years when she was 15, as television hadn’t been introduced until late 1955. This meant that she grew up with the influence of mainly radio and newspaper information. You would dress up and attend live shows instead of being in your home and being entertained. She told me of the times that instead of television, they would go to the cinema where they could pay a small fee and watch the film over and over again. She could remember what her favourite films where, and how they began (“a chicken would appear on the screen”). When the television was introduced into her home she didn’t really use it as she was caring for her mother, and the one that they did have was so small as her family couldn’t afford a nicer one. When she was able to watch a TV, she exclaimed that it was a lucky treat and there were several shows that would really make her happy and forget about what was going on at home.

In today’s day and age, she only watches TV from home on the television set which she has 3 of in her apartment. One in the main room, her bedroom and the guest room. She is constantly watching television as she lives alone, and as I watched her watch it, it really showed that she had a love for being immersed in it. Although she didn’t have much knowledge on how to work it, television really helped and guided her into understanding the world today and also keeping up on the news. As today’s world is so quickly evolving, although she doesn’t have the same technologies that I have, she still knows what they are and how we use them.

Generation X:

My parents both had different experiences with television. My mother; Alison grew up in a house that loved watching television and listening to the radio, with her father always in control of what the family watched. In comparison to my father; Rod, whose mother would hide the remote and make sure that the TV was only on the channel that she would want to watch. This really gave them both different perspectives when they would watch TV. Whilst my mother would be easily distracted when watching TV as it was more easily accessible than my father, who would be very invested in what was going on with the storyline/ characters.

These days Alison and Rod are both heavily into media and watching television both through a set, and on their phones. Of a night they will watch the news around the dinner table, and then either their favourite shows for the night and then recorded shows that they weren’t able to watch. This includes Netflix as well as it is available on their television. Alison is very into watching television on her phone through Netflix as it is a less distracting way of not really accessing social media when trying to understand what is going on in the show. As Rod travels quite a lot, so he really enjoys loading media onto his iPad and binge watching on the plane. I think that by looking at the ways that they both grew up and their relationship towards the television was interesting as they both had different experiences with it. However, although Alison really enjoys watching TV, Rod watches it and critically analyses what is going on, thinking into the storylines and plots, and then always has an opinion at the end of a film. As he wasn’t really allowed to access it as a child, it really influences him now as he is so drawn to wanting to be able to understand different plots, or what is going on in the current world.

Generation Z:

I have three siblings who are 18, 15 and 12. They all have very similar recounts from their childhood and are quite the same with how they view television today. When they were younger they remember always being influenced by what was on TV. There were shows such as the wiggles and hi-five to continuously stimulate their minds that they were able to sing and dance to. There were only 2 televisions in the home, one in the main living area and one in the kitchen. This really determined how they watched television as there were 6 members in the household and 2 communal sets. Of an afternoon there would be fighting and then mediating as to who got to watch first, what they watched and how long for. This created an understanding between each other and really helped to take turns. Of a night after dinner, they would all go, and watch shows like Big Brother, Survivor etc. that were more “family” shows that they could enjoy. Then when they went to bed after a specific show finished then it was their parents turn to watch television. As more technology became available with the introduction of iPhones and laptops it really changed the ways that they viewed what they watched.

As they began to get televisions in their room they were able to watch what they wanted away from their parents. Currently there are 8 television sets, 6 phones, 5 laptops and 2 iPads that are in the home. With the introduction of Netflix and Stan it has immensely shifted the way that they connect with TV. All three either watch through their laptops, phones or sets for hours, and are able to watch what they please. This leaves room for creativity as they have access to YouTube. YouTube has been an incredible influence for them as the 12-year-old is heavily into art and creating online Minecraft worlds, and drawing in general. The 15-year-old is very into makeup and tutorials that influence the way that she is able to create on her own terms. The 18-year-old is into binge watching through Netflix and, without being influenced by his viewing habits as a child would probably be watching mainstream television.

By looking through primary and secondary research, I found that each generation had very different relationships with television and the ways in which they watched it. Today’s children are heavily influenced in the ways that they communicate with this media as they have so much access to it.  This includes whilst they are watching TV as they are so in sync with the rest of the world whilst being involved in another dimension through television. I found that the older generations who didn’t have access to technology growing up really focused on one source of television which was through the box set, compared to this generation who see the world through their devices. This is important in seeing what the future holds for how people watch television and how they socialise with others whilst watching it.