Television viewership has drastically changed since color TV was first invented and installed in homes across the U.S. in the 1950s. Rapid change in how people view television has occurred even more so in the last two decades with the emergence of social media and streaming platforms. Research studies and cultural examinations beginning in the mid 2010s have named the phenomena of viewing television combined with active participation on social media/the internet on a second electronic advice “second screen theory.” Appointment viewership is a fading phenomena and TV producers and corporations understand and therefore are capitalizing on audiences’ divided attention. Read more about second screen theory, how it works to increase viewership, and its other effects in this journal article by Rebecca Coates Nee and David Dozier.
For my family and I, we no longer have cable TV in our house. My parents chose to eliminate cable for a multitude of reasons: my dad stated that he was “sick of being held captive by Comcast [our cable, internet, and for a long time, our telephone], new technologies are way better.” He compared cable to having a landline and stated that all the physical devices needed to watch cable television was too much clutter. There is also a sentiment that cable is old-fashioned and unable to keep up with changing technologies, as all members of our family mainly watch TV on their phones, tablets, or laptops via streaming services. Instead of cable, my family has Netflix, Amazon Prime, and YouTube TV in order to watch sports and live news shows. Of the three friends I interviewed, one of their families had also “cut the cord” on cable.
Personally, I watch Netflix at school to unwind before bed. When at school I tend to watch light-hearted comedies or shorter Netflix documentary series by BuzzFeed or Vox. I recently have been watching the CNN history series on the decades on Netflix and would recommend watching the episodes on television within each decade to understand the evolution of not only viewing habits for TV but the evolution of television content as well.
While at home I watch Netflix or YouTube TV on my computer or in my living room and tend to watch TV shows that are more dramatic or engaging like American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace, The Marvelous Ms. Maisel, and You. I poled my roommates on their viewing habits and we all have similar viewing patterns. My three roommates watch The Bachelor and Survivor altogether and with other people on someone’s computer when the new episodes come out on streaming platforms. Each of my roomates tended to watch TV for an average of 1 hr/day. One of my friends, Caroline, is involved in iMessage group chats to discuss Survivor and even participates in a fantasy bracket for the show. Sarah stated: “I never watch live TV” and prefers to watch older shows like Sex and the City or Parks and Recreation. She watches TV for the distraction and likes comedy series for that reason. She stated that she will be on her phone while watching TV but rarely engages in second screen interactive viewership.
Media and Politics in Turkey 