The role and existence of television in my life has become ubiquitous; a medium that I encounter everywhere. Television has become an integral and familiar part of my everyday cultural experience. It is not until this year, studying ‘TV Cultures’, that I was forced to defamiliarise myself with television to think about it as a complex technology and analyse how it is consumed in the cultural environment.
My television experience is one that I would call traditional. Traditional in the sense that I tend to watch only free-to-air television and I watch it in a social environment with my family or friends. I don’t engage with transmedia or social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter to interact with the television. I rarely use the trending video-on-demand and emerging online technologies such as ‘Stan’ and ‘Netflix’ to engage and catch-up with television content – unless there is a series that I have been recommended to watch and I know that the entire series can be watched consecutively online, without interruption. As such, when I find my desired series, I often binge watch until I complete the series or come to the realisation that I have become disinterested in the content.
As a result of recording my viewing habits in my ‘time-use diary‘, I have discovered that I have a number of viewing habits that I did not acknowledge before they became under surveillance.
Holistically, I have realised that I consistently watch TV at the start of the week rather than at the end of the week or on the weekends. I believe this is because I have more time on those days. As such, I am not selective in what television shows I watch. I watch what is scheduled at a time when I am free. There is repetition in the types and genres of shows that I view such as reality television, drama and news shows. I use TV as my source of global information and entertainment.
Interestingly, I have found that when I am at my boyfriend’s house I watch television more frequently. This is caused by a number of environmental and social influences, such as the television being central to the living room where the dining table is situated. Furthermore, the television is constantly on as my boyfriend’s mum is often watching it. As a result, I feel obliged to engage with the television. A particular show that I view most weeks on a Monday night at his house is the comedic, news and quiz show, ‘Have You Been Paying Attention?’. This has become almost a ritual and event within my viewing habits as I religiously watch the show with my boyfriend and his mum – planning dinner around it. This is a show that I watch in order to keep up to date with all of the television and news that I miss during the week. Essentially, ‘Have You Been Paying Attention?’ is the only show that I selectively watch and schedule into my timetable.
Have a look at the show here:
In regards to my time spent viewing television, I tend to only watch one or two shows per night which makes watching television an occasional experience. I don’t often watch television for long periods on my own, it is usually experienced with my family or with my boyfriend’s family. If I am watching it on my own, I rarely watch an entire show, I am sporadic, frequently switching between channels – often zoning out and watching commercials. I see this as an intimate and private experience with television. In this sense, the television is used as an escape, it is mind-numbing and relaxing. On the contrary, when I am watching television with the family, it is engaging and interactive. As a result, watching television is considered a social event for me where I become an active viewer.
The notion of television being an engaging experience can be further exemplified through way that my boyfriend’s mum actively interacts with a show. Using a second screen, she likes to ‘troll’ Facebook by commenting on television shows such as The Bachelor or X-Factor whilst watching them simultaneously. I listen to her read out the comments that other viewers are making in regards to a show. Essentially, the television becomes the centre of attention – an integral part of a social experience, where we comment with each other on the show and converse reactions to the show’s content. In these moments, I am taking part in active viewing of television and using transmedia to interact with a text.
Fundamentally, this reflection has challenged me to analyse my relationship and experience with television from a new perspective. I have discovered that my television viewing experience is social and has patterns of repetition. In reflecting on my viewing habits, I acknowledge that they don’t coincide with the current trending online technologies and transmedia platforms used for watching and interacting with television. It is possible that when I have more time I will transcend to watching television on these platforms. I will be more active in my role as a viewer and will use transmedia to engage with a television show’s content. For now, I will just stick to my simple routine of watching free-to-air TV.
Click here for my time-use diary