Never Mind the Picture,Sense the Screen

It is often thought that bookwork is likely to be hampered by an accompaniment of television, or more simply of music. Others allege that television reduces the time that is spent with books or writing. It is helpful, therefore, to use a very large survey sample to find out how many people do perform intellectual homework, and how many of these do so with television (or musical) accompaniment. It is clear that doing homework, and doing so with television or musical accompaniment, is a widespread experience, especially among young teenagers. Several statements outlining possible advantages or disadvantages were put to respondents, to record their agreement or disagreement. There was no overwhelming endorsement of disadvantages of an information‐noisy work environment, especially among young teenagers. There is substantial evidence that people believe that the possible competition for one's attention from television or music distracts other potentially disturbing individuals, or that it can act as a kind of ‘sensory screen’.     

Book review

Douglas, S. J. (1994). Where the girls are: Growing up female with the mass mediay. New York: Times Books. 340 pages.

Lang, A. (Ed.). (1994). Measuring psychological responses to media messages. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. 244 pages.

Cosby, C. O. (1994). Television's imageable influences: The self‐perceptions of young African Americans. Lanham, MD: University Press of America. 172 pages.

Kern‐Foxworth, M. (1994). Aunt Jemima, Uncle Ben, and Rastus: Blacks in advertising, yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. 205 pages.

Fiske, J. (1994). Media matters: Everyday culture and political change. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press. 253 pages.

Johnson, L. L. (1994). Toward competition in cable television. Cambridge, MA & Washington, DC: MIT Press & AEI Press. 214 pages.

Krattenmaker, T. G., & Powe, L. A., Jr. (1994). Regulating broadcast programming. Cambridge, MA & Washington, DC: MIT Press & AEI Press. 369 pages.

Moores, S. (1993). Interpreting audiences: The ethnography of media consumption. London: Sage. 140 pages.     

Text in a Texture of Television: children's homework experience

A survey answered by 842 respondents representing British children aged from 7 to 15 measured their amounts of television viewing, listening to music, serious reading and outdoor games playing, and their attitudes to leisure activities, such as television viewing. Children said whether they did school homework and if so, with or without the television switched on, and if so, whether they regarded it as a help or not. About a quarter of those aged 10 and over said they did work along with television, accepting its presence, and another one in six did so, actually welcoming it. Attitude measures showed clearly different stereotypes of the heavy viewer, reader and music listener. This children's sample had a broadly positive image of a heavy television viewer of their own age. A process of rationalisation is detectable in which those who reported heavy viewing themselves, were more likely to do homework with the television on, to say it helped them and that it was linked with good achievement at school. Reported behaviour and stereotypes were somewhat similar among those who were heavy music users, but noticeably different among those who claimed to read a lot.