Lazy leisure: A qualitative investigation of the relational uses of television in marriage

Technology use during couples’ bedtime routines, bedtime satisfaction, and associations with individual and relational well-being

“…However, recent research has also shown that shared television viewing can increase relational quality, through spurring social connectedness for couples who do not share social networks (Gomillion et al, 2017). This builds upon existing research suggesting that joint television viewing among couples has an overall positive effect on couples, promoting conversation (Finucane & Horvath, 2000) and also a sense of togetherness (Finucane & Horvath, 2000; Gantz, 1985). Thus, although there is evidence that engaging with technology independently might serve as a symbol of disinterest to one’s partner (McDaniel & Drouin, 2019; McDaniel et al, 2020; Spencer et al, 2019), choosing to engage in technology-related leisure time with a partner might provide relationship benefit (Finucane & Horvath, 2000; Gantz, 1985; Gomillion et al, 2017; McDaniel et al, 2020).…”

“…The overall tone of these ideal and typical bedtime routine descriptions supports prior work suggesting that a partner’s technology use, particularly problematic use, has the potential to negatively affect relationships (McDaniel, Malan, & Locher, 2018; Morgan et al, 2017; Spencer et al, 2019); however, the mere occurrence of apart technology use in typical bedtime was not associated with worse satisfaction. Moreover, shared technology use may be beneficial to couples (Finucane & Horvath, 2000; Gantz, 1985; Gomillion et al, 2017; McDaniel et al, 2020). Just as shared television viewing promoted affiliation among couples, providing a relaxing atmosphere for couples to unwind (Finucane & Horvath, 2000), it appears that joint technology use (e.g., watching television or a movie or together) was a way for couples to relax and unwind from their day.…”

“…In addition, many individuals own multiple devices—in America, the average family has five such devices in their household (Pew Research Center, 2017). Similar to how researchers were concerned with the role of television in modern family life in the last part of the 20th century (e.g., Finucane & Horvath, 2000), researchers are now exploring the effects of new mobile technology and media use on couple and family well-being.…”

“…However, based on research (e.g., Finucane & Horvath, 2000; Gantz, 1985; Gomillion et al, 2017; McDaniel et al, 2020) that showed a potential benefit for shared technology use among couples, we expected: H2: Shared technology use (i.e., both members of a couple engaged in technology use together) would be positively related to bedtime satisfaction, which would predict more frequent sex and higher levels of sexual, relationship, and life satisfaction (all while controlling for other types of bedtime activities). …”

When the ball stops, the fun stops too: The impact of social inclusion on video game enjoyment

“…Audiences generally regard co-viewing as an overall positive experience -an enjoyable activity that could elicit positive affect just by virtue of being near or spending time with others (Brody, Stoneman, & Sanders, 1980;Finucane & Horvath, 2000;Kubey, 1990;Raghunathan & Corfman, 2006). Similar work involving children's television responses has demonstrated that watching with parents or siblings can increase the young viewers' enjoyment of the show (Salomon, 1977;Wilson & Weiss, 1993), and one unpublished experiment found dyadic viewing to be generally more enjoyable than individual co-viewing (Lin & McDonald, 2007).…”