This case-study attempts to present, as fairly and as accurately as possible, how five people living together differ in their use of the television. I decided to focus the case-study on my aunt and uncle, their two children, a boy and a girl. The grandmother, not related to me, was staying with them for the whole period of the study. The mother and father are both in their mid forties. The daughter is 18, and preparing for her A-levels. The son is 17, and is in the first year of the local sixth form. The mother is a Civil Servant, who is able to work at home on some days. The father is a teacher. The grandmother is in her early 70s. The family has 3 colour television sets and a black and white set. The main set is in the study and has a video attached. The old television, which doesn't work very well, is in the dining room, the parents have a portable set in their bedroom along with the old video and there is a black-and-white portable in the kitchen. Neither of the children has a television set in their bedrooms.
The main source of data was the interviews with the family over a number of days. These were taped and parts transcribed as necessary. Members of the family listened to the tapes and added to them if they wanted to. I observed the family for two days during the last week of school, and for most of three days over the Easter holidays. I took notes, to see if what I had been told on tape was true. On occasions I pretended to be doing other college work so that the family was unaware of what I was in fact doing.
In order to structure the case-study, I used some of the major themes identified by David Morley in Family Television, then drew from this information and considered whether the family's use of television and video was related to gender.
Each member of the family claimed to have a different programme preference. The father talks of having a preference for sport, but was observed to watch only rugby. The father also likes factual programmes: 'I like travel programmes you know what's his name Michael Palin programmes, when they're on... and the holiday programmes. I like those'. He is also interested in the news, both national and local, and by the weather forecast, which he rarely misses. When challenged that he likes educational type programmes he is unimpressed, and is unwilling to consider himself hi-brow but agrees that he watched mainly for information: 'perhaps I'll have more time to watch rubbish when I'm retired'.
It becomes clear that the mother's main criterion is entertainment, and expands on the point, explaining that she likes popular drama, such as Casualty and House of Elliot. She also likes comedy - Only Fools and Horses and One Foot in the Grave being particular favourites. She watches the news, but says that she is not obsessed by it: 'Surely once or twice a day is enough... why would I want to see the BBC at 9, and see the same thing again at 10?'.
Interestingly, the father also enjoys popular drama and was observed watching with his wife. When questioned he was unable to recall anything specific that he had enjoyed, but when prodded he admitted enjoying detectives programmes that his wife chose - Morse, P.D.James, Ruth Rendell - all these were cited as favourites. However, the father was adamant in his dislike of serials: 'I can't stand having to wait a week for the next bit, if I can't see it all together, I'd rather not watch it'. The daughter enjoys the Australian soaps - Neighbours is a particular favourite, and is something that she has watched for years. Brookside has become a recent favourite, which she watches late at night. She also likes the Welsh soap opera Pobl y Cwm, but is not an avid viewer and has no other preferences. Pobl y Cwm is the only programme that every member of the household watches, including the son and the grandmother. When discussing the programme the mother said: 'You can get involved in it, like other soap operas I suppose. Its not always good, it gets its moments, but we watch it anyway'. Observed to watch every night, the son is unwilling to admit a liking of the programme but did say: 'It's better than it's been ... more youngsters... drugs and things, it can be quite realistic'. The grandmother has few preferences, but openly dislikes what she terms long programmes, such as films and drama. She does however enjoy quiz programmes and rarely misses Countdown.
There doesn't seem to be a basic pattern or routine about the family's viewing. The mother and father tend to watch television in the study, which is their main set, while the children tend to watch in their parents' bedroom. Occasionally the daughter watches the old set in the dining room. The grandmother has no interest in the television during the day, and prefers Radio Cymru. Television is evening entertainment for which she joins the parents. She does, however, tire and was observed to go to another room to knit and listen to the radio. The mother admits to liking television: 'I think I use it mainly to relax... I didn't used to watch it so much... I think I watch more than I used to'. She likes the background noise, '...I like the radio on when I go to sleep, so I suppose the TV is the same... it's noise in the background'. This liking of noise was confirmed by observation, and the television is often on during the day when she works at home. However, when she needed to concentrate seriously on her work she was observed to turn off the television. The mother openly admits that the television in the bedroom has had a detrimental effect on her reading patterns: 'I read less than I used to, there's no doubt about that. Before we had TV in the bedroom I used to read novels continually... I don't do that now... It easier to put the TV on'.
For the father, with television he 'can take it or leave it'. He is, however, convinced that work accounts for his inability to give his full attention to television programmes. He often works in the evening, preparing lessons or marking while the television is on, but was observed to take his work into the kitchen when he needed to concentrate. He admits to preferring to view sitting down, attentively and in silence when there is something he particularly wants to watch, but he does consider his attitude to the television as detached. He explains that it's mainly after 9.00p.m. and at weekends that he does watch, and his serious viewing is restricted to those times. Even on holiday, this pattern was observed to persist. The parents were observed to plan to watch a particular programme and sit down and watch it without disruption.
Both the children agreed that television was important to them, and both said that they watched 'quite a lot'. However, this was not confirmed by observation. They both tend to watch the portable television upstairs, but rarely together. Neither seemed unduly concerned that they didn't have a television set in their bedroom, although the son would very much like one and said that all his friends have got a set. The grandmother shows no desire to have a television of her own, she says that she is satisfied with the amount of viewing she does at present. The viewing habits of both the children are seriously affected by the demands of work, but the fact that the daughter agreed that 'my mother and father are always working... marking or typing or writing or something... television is on sometimes but they're not watching ,may show that the parents media habits have had a direct influence on the children's media habits, a phenomenon identified by Chaff and Timms (Lull 1990:69). The daughter's attitude to television is that it is not an important part of life, but it is pleasant and useful for relaxation. The parents and grandmother go to bed early during term time, and it is then that the children argue over the main set. Both children are inclined to sit up late and watch indiscriminately, usually a late night film, but again they rarely, if ever, watch together.
The mother reads Television Wales, and during the holiday time, was observed to use a highlighter pen to mark the programmes she wished to see. She also uses Teletext to check on film rating and for up-to-date information. The father was not observed doing this; he also stated that he hardly ever looked at Television Wales, but was prepared to listen to his wife if she recommended a programme. Both children read Television Wales; the son also checks teletext for programme times. Despite this, neither plans their viewing, rather, they will settle down to a late film if there happens to be one to their liking.
When asked about their use of the video, it became clear that all four members of the family used both videos a great deal. It is mainly used for time shifting purposes, although all four hire films, usually on Friday evenings of during the holidays. This is something that the parents do when there is a film which the mother particular wants to see, the children usually hire films to watch with friends. The mother encourages this because it means that the children are in the house. The video doesn't seem to encourage family viewing, at least as far as films and TV programmes are concerned. The family does own a video camera, and watching family videos is something that they are more inclined to do together.
The mother usually decides if there is something that could be recorded, the father remarks, 'The trouble is, we fancy something to watch and then we don't have time to watch it!' This view is challenged by the mother, who says that they family has a few programmes which have been taped and which they can go back to time and time again. These include episodes of comedy programmes, Fawlty Towers and Fo a Fe in particular. The mother wishes that she would have taped more short comedies, so that they could be watched when there was nothing else on. She reminds the father that his dislike of serials can be overcome by the use of the video. He agrees, 'we end up taping two or three episodes of a detective serial, P.D.James was one example... Silent Witness we've also taped, we see the whole thing at once then, usually during the holidays or at the weekend'. The mother also explained, 'there are a few good programmes on in the mornings and afternoons, which we can tape and see later'. She had recently seen an Esther Rantzen programme in a hotel when she was working away, and had noted the next time the same guest was on and encouraged the whole family to watch the programme.
The children have very different tastes, and they agree that the video is very useful when two programmes clash. Because the new video is recent, both children are inclined to ask either parent to set it for them, although they both use the old video confidently. The main person to benefit directly from the video is the son. He is a keen rugby player, and due to training and games at weekend , would miss a lot of things without the video, even if what he tapes is often more rugby. The son has his own video tape, which he guards in his own room, and this is what he uses when he wants to tape something he wants to keep. He has a small library of tapes, some comedies, sports programmes and a few films taped from the television. He is the only member of the family to do this. The grandmother has no interest in the video, and reported that she never asked that anything be taped. She does, however, watch taped programmes with the parents.
According to Abercrombie, '..one of the critical qualities of television seems to be its capacity to provoke conversation, to encourage talk' (Abercrombie 1996). The mother and grandmother freely admit to discussing the programmes they watched on television. The grandmother recounted the situation as regards the Countdown programme nightly, 'The people on it are so clever... some of them are young, and the girl, she's had the baby now by the way, a little boy, she's very clever with maths'. Other members of the family were observed to be bored by the one sided conversation.
The mother and grandmother often discuss Pobl y Cwm , usually commenting on how good the actors were, rather than the what is or has actually happened in the story. Interestingly, the mother commented that she often was asked by a male colleague what had happened in Pobl y Cwm. The mother often talks about a drama or a film that she has enjoyed with a female relative, and occasionally buys the video and often buys the book. The father rarely talks about television, except for the rugby. Although he says he 'quite enjoys' the programmes he watches: 'after I've seen them, I've seen them, so there's no point in talking about them'. The daughter discusses Brookside and Neighbours with her school friends: 'everyone watches them, so we just talk about what's happened... and who was in it... it's quite real really'. Oddly, she doesn't discuss Pobl y Cwm with her '0! friends, although this too is a soap opera. The son admits to watching, and discussing, some films with his friends, 'we watched Ace Ventura... it's just funny'. He has no recollection of ever discussing any other programme, 'some of them do it school, the girls talk about Brookside. .. but, no... I don't think we do it.'
Morley's studies (1986) revealed a distinct difference in the way men and women live with television. A summary of his findings has been described by Lull (Lull 1990:163): 'Men plan their viewing carefully... They also control the technical aspects of television,... Women... do not have as much say as men in the selection of shows... they watch far less attentively.'
The present case-study does not wholly support Morley's findings. Although it has revealed a difference between the viewing habits of all five members of the household, these differences are not always related to gender. Work commitments seriously affect the viewing of members of this household. The mother says that she watches a lot of television, but was not in fact observed to do so. She uses the television as background when performing household duties, for example preparing food. In common with the women in Morley's study she watches during the day, something the father doesn't do even during the holidays. The mother does admit to feeling relaxed when the daughter and son are in the house at weekends watching a video or film, as Lull comments: '...women everywhere use television as a babysitter' (Lull 1990,159). The daughter at present is seriously affected by school work, but like the mother she was observed to put the television on for background, especially in the kitchen, and uses the television indiscriminately during the day when relaxing. This behaviour was never observed from the father or the son, although both seem quite oblivious to the fact that the mother and daughter do this, and it seemed to be accepted as normal behaviour. During the day the grandmother views very little, and prefers the radio and sits for long periods reading magazines in silence. This, perhaps, is related to the fact that television for her is not part of everyday life.
Interestingly, although the mother watches television at home during the day, unlike Anne Gray's argument that '...women do not really consider themselves as having any specific leisure time at all in the house' (Morley 1986, 147) the mother does consider at least part of the evening as leisure time and uses it to watch television. Father although coming home from work the 'industrial time' (Morley 1986,147), he does bring work home with him, and the home does therefore become a 'site of work' (Lull 1990,163) for him. This could account for the fact that he doesn't arrange his evening around the television, but around the amount of work he has to do in preparation for the following day. He was not observed to show a great deal of interest in the television even during the holiday. The son, like his sister, has a great deal of school work and uses the television to relax, usually snacking or drinking.
Whereas 'masculine power' was evident in Morley's research (Morley 1986, 148) on power and control over family viewing, this was not observed in this case-study. The mother chooses the programmes for herself and the father, and does watch out for interesting programmes for son and daughter. The mother recalls telling her daughter to watch the American comedy Bewitched, because it was something she enjoyed in the '70s the father was also observed to call the son to . watch snippets of sport programmes. The mother usually plans ahead, chooses programmes which the father then admits to enjoying. Morley suggests that when the women in his study were in charge of the viewing, they were workers, and were influenced by the 'social definition of a masculinity of which employment... is a necessary... part' (Morley 1986, 149). This suggestion could be at work in the present case-study, because although the mother is at home on some days, she does not seem to consider the television as a 'guilty pleasure', possibly because she is also working. This could also explain why she is prepared to sit down in the evening and relax with the television. The daughter plans her viewing of soap operas, and then plans to take breaks from her work at convenient times. The brother, like the father, has a take it or leave it attitude, watches soaps occasionally, but isn't too concerned if he misses them.
It is the programme preferences in the family which are typically related to gender. The father enjoys factual programmes, and when prodded the son also says that he likes travel programmes. The father extends his preference into holiday programmes, and also watches the news, especially the local news and the occasional Time Watch and Survival. He related that he watches Panorama or World in Action if they are about education. His favourite relaxation programmes are sport - especially rugby - and shares this liking with his son. This liking for rugby is accepted totally by the mother, daughter and grandmother, and all three give up the main television to the men on rugby occasions. The son also likes ice hockey and watches out for programmes. The mother and daughter show no interest whatsoever in sport. The mother, typically, enjoys drama and detective serials, but unlike most of the women in Morley's research, she does not watch soaps apart from Pobl y Cwm. It is possible that, again, work commitments do not permit getting involved with programmes that are on many times a week.
The 'gender gap' (Lull 1990, 169) as regards the video where men are dominant in their working of it and their control is not evident in this family. The father does not assume responsibility for it, the mother, daughter and son do not expect him to do so. All members of the family make use of it, and the fact that they do so for different purposes. Their use of it is related to gender in so much as they tape their own favourite programmes, which are in part gender-related.
The present case-study has shown that this family uses television for relaxation and leisure, but that it has to fit in with their work patterns. The negative side seems to be that used in this way, there are very few occasions, if ever, when they sit down as a family and watch, because each member of the household has developed his or her own way of using the television and viewing. The positive side is that there is very little tension about the use of the television. This could be partly because it is a fairly affluent family, and has more than one video and television and also because the attitudes and work patterns of the parents, have influenced the son and daughter. It is doubtful, however, that this family could live without television.
April 1997
