The spatial and social contexts of television-viewing adolescents

This paper studies television-viewing adolescents within their spatial and social contexts, using the Uses and Gratifications approach as a typology of uses. Because previous research suggests the importance of gender-based differences in both the frequency of watching TV and the frequency of content preferences—but lacks an examination of the social- and spatial-viewing contexts for boys and girls, respectively—a specific emphasis is placed on gender. Results are obtained by means of both quantitative and qualitative methods. Despite an increased privatization of television access, which is more obvious for boys than for girls, teenagers still prefer to watch TV in the domestic environment of the living room, wherein social interaction and television-centered communication are prevalent. Overall, social interaction about television programs yields more satisfied viewers in terms of four gratification items: exploration, amusement, social inclusion and escapism.

► The position of television usage in the global media use of adolescents. ► Gender differences for media use and multitasking behavior of young people. ► The singular and combined effects of gender, age and education type on TV-viewing gratification items. ► The singular and combined effects of gender and different social contexts on TV viewing gratification items.