Television diffusion and social behaviour in three communities: A field experiment

Abstract

Television's impact on adults was evaluated by contrasting mother's and father's patterns of life activities and perceptions ofthe mass media in three Australian towns–one with five years of experience with one TV channel and two years with another (the High-TV town), one with one year's experience with one TV channel (the Low-TV town) and one without TV (the No-TV town). Parents' patterns of life activities change markedly in relation to the availability of television. The use of alternative media is highest in the No-TV town, decreases significantly in the Low-TV town, and manifests a slight recovery in the High-TV town, Similarly, social engagement tends to be highest in the No-TV town and depressed in the two television communities but the pursuit of indivdual interests, such as hobbies, manifests a linear increase with increasing availability of television. Parents' evaluation of the functions of television and other media can be conceptualized in terms of “entertainment” and “information”. Parents in the No-TV town consider television to be primarily an entertainment medium while those in the two television towns feel that television serves both entertainment and information functions. In addition, parents who have had the greatest experience with television (High-TV town) evaluate television more negatively (i.e., less exciting, interesting, and important) than their contemporaries for whom television is more novel (i.e., Low-TV town).