Not Suitable for Family Viewing

Television viewing is becoming more individualistic, no more family viewing.

The days of the family gathering around the telly to take in an evening show after dinner are over, says a Swedish study that examined society’s ever-changing relationship with television. While trendwatchers have long reported that people are becoming more independent, "We are becoming more and more individualistic also in our choice of TV programs," researcher Jakob Bjur wrote in a new dissertation from University of Gothenburg in Sweden.    

"In 1999 social viewing, watching together, accounted for 45 percent, and in 2008 it was down to 37 percent. We are becoming more and more individualistic also in our TV choices, and I'm convinced that this trend will continue. We can no longer speak of TV as a social adhesive, a unifying force," Bjur said publicly, adding that television is now a source of social fragmentation.  There are other avenues for social interaction, he added, including the Internet.

"People still gab," Bjur maintained. "But the discussion is on the Net instead, in specific groups, not least for TV series."  

Are we experiencing the same changing social dynamics here in the States, perhaps internationally? Experts say yes, but disagree as to whether it is a positive or negative development.  

“The study conducted by the Swedes is the result of the US exporting this trend around the world,” says Robert Kesten, Executive Director Center for SCREEN-TIME Awareness.   

“Back in the 1980s with the advent of and access to more and more cable television, electronic games and video, we saw the increase of screens in peoples' homes,” Kesten adds. “This increase has led to people being more sedentary and solitary, spending time alone rather than in groups and concentrating on more and more content of interest to them and them alone.”  

Citing the 2008 National Institutes of Health report, Kesten blames these social changes for physical and emotional maladies like depression, obesity, and he adds, “other anti-social behaviors.”   

“As of now, the media and media related industries continue to push us into this solitary world, making us believe that virtual people are our friends and in some respects are better than ‘real’ people,” Kesten contends. “Other companies are pushing for games and interactive screens that appear to allow us to relate directly to others, but it does not replace spending real time in real space with real people.”

“The end result will be more medication to replace the social and physical needs we have as human beings and a more dangerous and less engaged society,” he maintains.  

Some experts see the situation differently. Futurist and forecaster Christopher Kent is optimistic about changing interpersonal dynamics and our shifting media habits. Togetherness was merely a function of limitations, he contends.    

“I see the fragmentation as discussed in the Swedish study as a positive step,” Kent says. “In the past, one of the reasons a family would watch the same program was that there was both limited programming and limited televisions.”  

In fact, Kent notes, greater variety of outlets may contribute to peace and harmony in the home. “The explosion of cable outlets, the falling cost of television screens, and the spread of VCRs and DVRs means that viewers no longer suffer under the tyranny of the person who controlled the television,” he contends. “If I want to watch Doctor Who and my wife wants to watch Mad Men, there is no conflict.”  

Despite the separate viewing habits, Kent maintains that family bonding can still occur over favorite programs. “It’s just that like with viewing, these conversations are time-shifted,” he notes. “In my own extended family, we still talk about the latest episodes of our favorites, but first we ask each other if they’ve seen it—no spoilers!”  

Television, Kent argues, may actually become a greater social tool. “One of the big trends at CES 2010 was HD televisions with Skype capability baked in,” he explains. ”That means that with a camera, you can watch a program and talk with someone simultaneously. Adding to this, is Verizon’s FIOS service, which now offers simultaneous Twitter and Facebook connectivity, again giving people the opportunity to share while watching a program.”  

Geographical challenges will be overcome due to greater strides in technology, Kent says. “All of these advances actually encourage communal viewing, the twist being that the viewers are not physically with each other,” he says.  

While we may find other ways to connect, gone are the days of family television night, say many.

“The Web has shifted cultural preferences away from cohesive, family TV-viewing,” Valerie Jennings, founder and CEO of Jennings Social Media Marketing says. “Social media continues to alter our propensities due to abundant Web channels as well as user, news and corporate content available on sites such as YouTube, metacafe, Twitter, Facebook and niche community sites like Treehugger.com.”  

“We are living in a ‘Web life’ world, which has become very different from the traditional, family TV-land,” Jennings maintains.   

Lena Liller, senior communications strategist for marketing communications firm Keating Magee agrees, adding that the digital video recorder, which enables family members to record and watch shows on their own, separate timetables, is a key factor.  

“Today’s T.V. household is very different from those of past decades. It's no longer a function of The Cosby Show is on at 8pm tonight and the kids enjoy that show so mom and dad sit down and the whole family watches it together,” Liller says.  

Like Kent, Liller notes that as technology advances, people will find and enjoy new ways to connect and socialize, although, she allows, there is a “physical fragmentation” that occurs when people watch their own programs in different parts of the house.   

“It's not necessarily social fragmentation for [families] because of the popularity of social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter where people of all ages are posting/tweeting their perspectives on their favorite T.V. programs,” Liller explains. “And, given that families are often ‘friends’ or ‘followers’ of each other on these sites, they can have those side-bar conversations that would have traditionally taken place in the living room as they were all gathered in front of the tube.”  

The notion of what defines “family” may be worth discussing the debate continues over whether families will be more or less cohesive as time and technology advance, says Ramani Durvasula, PhD, professor of psychology at Cal State University, Los Angeles. “The construct of family has undergone numerous shifts in the last 200 years,” she contends. “We tend to get focused on the family of our own personal childhoods and a snapshot of the present.”  

“The fact is, the archetypal nuclear family as it is maintained in the US right now—employed father, child-focused mother, middle-class, heterosexual, racially consistent—isn't going to be around for much longer, so exactly what is family anymore—and in terms of society—technology and globalization have changed the paradigm,” Durvasula explains.    

Author and artist Dan Schwartz says that he and his wife has discussed how to integrate television viewing into their family structure once they have children. “We would prefer to have programs that we can watch as a family, so we are hopeful that we can unite the family around the television,” he says.   

“I was raised in a family that did not watch television together, while she was raised in a home that regularly did watch together, and years later I would have to admit that her family seems closer with more shared interests,” Schwartz notes. “Whether or not the television can take all the credit for the closeness of her family or not, they still can unite around the television on any occasion and rarely argue over what to watch.”  

Psychologist Tina B Tessina, PhD, advises parents to set the tone for family togetherness. “Savvy parents are learning how to set family time with shared viewing or no TV at all, and also to join in the kids' favorite games, Wii, or watching the kids TV shows,” she says.