Viewing Habits and Identification With Television Characters Among at-Risk and Normative Children and Adolescents

Abstract

This study examined the relationship between participants’ negative or positive identification with television characters and their behavior, and how their reactions in times of anger — whether simply negative or physically violent — varied between at-risk participants and normative ones. Participants were 86 children and adolescents from Israel who filled in four questionnaires on the topics of viewing habits, attitudes, self-image, and aggression. The findings revealed that at-risk children and adolescents reacted with more anger than did their normative counterparts, and that their reaction became stronger when they identified with a character’s negative behavior. It was further revealed that the more they watched, the higher their identification with the character and the greater their negative reaction during anger. A violent physical reaction in times of anger is more strongly associated with viewing alone than with viewing with friends. The findings also revealed that identification with the character is a mediating variable between the amount and type (solitary or with friends) of viewing and negative and violent reactions. At-risk children and adolescents tend to choose programs that show violent behaviors, and such programs could ultimately lead them to exhibit violent reactions. The question is how can the amount of children and adolescents’ viewing be limited while avoiding arguments and punishment? The key to success is finding a solution that will be formulated with the children and adolescents’ full cooperation.

Adolescents' Preferences for Media Content and Their Perceptions of Dominant Value Orientations in the Media

“…However, of all the content, adolescents mostly watch movies and series. The results are consistent with other research, which showed that boys are more inclined to follow sports content, and girls to entertaining, as well as that adolescents watch movies and series the most, and the least media content in the field of art and documentary program (Zilka, 2018). These results meet the predicted expectations that adolescents watch television passively and that their entertainment content is more attractive than others.…”

“…Such topics, in addition to being less represented, are also less attractive for students to read. In a recent study of adolescents, their low propensity to read such topics has been confirmed (Zilka, 2018).…”

Watching of Scary TV Shows by Children and Youth, Identification With Characters, and Resulting Fears and Nightmares

“…In addition to the immediate behavioral effects of identification with TV characters, watching programs involves psychological processes that affect the consolidation of identity in the long term, not only immediately. Researchers (Bandura, 1971(Bandura, , 1986(Bandura, , 2001Cole & Leeds, 1999;Hough & Erwin, 2010;Livingston & Das, 2010;Morgan & Shanahan, 2010;Rideout et al, 2010;Vandewater et al, 2006;Wilson, 2011;Zilka, 2014;Zilka & Romi, 2018) have claimed that television presents a wide range of role models and offers children and adolescents an opportunity to try out and compare alternate identities. In this way, television offers a rich variety of characters to children as role models, and exposes them to characters to which they are unlikely to have been exposed face-to-face in real life.…”

Media Content Preferences and Perceptions Towards Dominant Value Orientations in Media Among Pre-Service Teachers

“…Several studies have examined user attitude and media consumption (Roberts, 2000;Mayhew & Weigle, 2018;Mayhew & Weigle, 2018). Other academics have concentrated on one type of media, such as television (Tahira Shah & Khurshid, 2017;Cohen, Zilka & Romi, 2018;Abd Halim & Rosidi, 2012), music (Celasin, 2013;Bryson, 1996), or social media (Rutledge et al, 2019;Adegboyega, 2020;Avunduk et al, 2020;Adegboyegan, 2020;Khammatova et al, 2021). Pre-service teachers' media content choices have not been studied nationally.…”