The spatial and social context of television-viewing adolescents

This paper studies television-viewing adolescents within their spatial and social context, using the Uses and Gratifications approach as a typology of uses. Because previous research suggested the importance of gender-based differences in both the frequency of watching TV and of content preferences, but lacked an examination of the socialand spatial-viewing contexts for boys and girls, respectively, a specific emphasis is placed on gender. Results were obtained by means of both quantitative and qualitative methods. Despite an increased privatization of television access, which is more obvious for boys than for girls, teenagers still prefer to watch TV in the domestic environment of the living room where social interaction and television-centered communication are prevalent. Overall, social interaction about television programs yields more satisfied viewers in terms of four gratification items: exploration, amusement, social inclusion and escapism.