In his dissertation, Transforming Audiences – Patterns of Individualization in Television Viewing (PDF), Jakob Bjur of the University of Gothenburg in Sweden studied the way in which TV audiences have changed their viewing practices over time. TV viewing has always been a social activity; however, Bjur has found that it has declined from 45% of all TV viewing being social in 1999 to 37% in 2009. He lists several key changes demonstrating how the viewing experience is becoming more individualized.
Television viewing is turning solitary [as] a practice, and heterogeneous, [as] an experience. – Jakob Bjur
Space and Time-Shifting
Viewing times tend to spread out over the day, instead of being tied to specific time blocks as they have in the past, such as Prime Time. Bjur believes that is related to the increasing ability to watch TV wherever we like and whenever we like. DVRs, Video On Demand, and Internet video sites allow the freedom of choosing to watch shows outside of their normal time slots. Multiple devices like PCs and mobile phones allow viewers to escape the single show at a time experience of the TV. Bjur found that:
As receiving technology gets more portable, television can be consumed anywhere. The line of change brought about by space-shifting is consequently that television technology goes from home-centred to individual centred, and television viewing from leisure time centred to spread over the day.
Fragmented Television Consumption
As the amount of available content has exploded, viewing habits of household members are becoming varied and are no longer focused just on the big name channels. New channels are constantly appearing, dedicated to specific interests such as cooking, game shows, classic TV, and more. The enables each viewer to cater to their own specific tastes, which may not appeal to others in the household. Bjur states:
We no longer live in an era where a singular program is summoning the nation and delivering the subject of tomorrow’s lunch table discussion at the workplace and school. This era was ended as a consequence of cable and satellite and the last nail in the coffin, if needed, was set into place by digitalisation of the terrestrial network.
As viewers spend less time in front of the same shows in the same room, the social aspect of TV watching naturally declines. So, is Social TV destined to disappear? It doesn’t appear to be. As we discussed previously, social interaction also can depend on the type of show being watched – live TV encourages more participation. While the intra-family social experience declines, there is an explosion of extra-familial social interaction. Online discussion forums such as TelevisionWithoutPity.com enable viewers to find and talk with others who watch the same shows. Viewers can also interact online via Hulu.com’s Facebook application. Back in the living room, viewers are already using their mobile phones to text with their friends while watching. It won’t be long until that experience is integrated smoothly into the TV screen itself. Social TV is not dying, but new technologies need to continue to help bridge the gaps that watching wherever and whenever has created.
Are you still watching TV with your family? Have you shifted your viewing patterns or found a like-minded TV community online.
