Several issues arise in this article. To begin with, I have a take on the research findings, as well as how accurately it complemented what I had anticipated. Moreover, it fuelled my thoughts to query what other research could be carried out on television programming via-à-is the utility and gratifications technique, and what can be foreseen as pertains to the study (Abelman, 1987). In addition, the article raised the topic of reactionary usage of religious programming, which additionally precipitated the thought of other types of programming that most people will watch since they do not want to watch any other program being aired at the time.
My Reaction
My first reaction to the article was that it needed to be updated. The findings were founded on a study that was undertaken in the late 1980’s, which is over two decades ago. The validity of the results may have been dependable at the time, but things have changed and hence rendered their validity null and void. My reason for stating this is that, cable TV has evolved over the years, from the small number of channels it once had, to thousands of them. Currently, people are privy to 24/7 news programming, with a numerous number of; sports channels, cooking channels, movie channels, home improvement channels, music channels, political programs and an expansive array of new channels that weren’t in existence at the time of conducting the study. People have the freedom to watch what they desire, when they want since so many channels are available, satellite programming is now available and TV has grown into an on-demand kind of outlet, which creates a unique demand cycle. This raises a question in my mind as to whether the changes mentioned above might bring about different results of the study entirely if it were to be redone today. Furthermore, I speculated over how relevant or not a study of 200 people in the Mid West would be for the whole country. For instance, could two groups of people living distant parts of the country watch religious programming for similar reasons? Would their viewing habits be the same in any way? Despite my fascination with the concept of uses and gratifications as used to demystify religious programming, I still think its obsolete and it has been taken over by events thus it is irrelevant in this day and age. At some point I would have come to the conclusion that, the reason as to why people are viewers of religious programming was because of design, their religious beliefs and upbringing, but now things are different, people may just watch television due to boredom, or for lack of other interesting programs, or disappointment in the level of immorality of conventional TV.
An Alternative of Programming to Which Utility and Gratifications Research can be applied.
An alternative category of programming to which utility and gratifications inquisition could be applied is movie programming. I would think that the results of such research would indicate that sports fans watch sports programming because of the entertainment value they derive from viewing the films. In addition, I believe they would find that movie viewing, especially series, is a ritualized process, especially among young people. Movie fans are keen to follow up on any new film releases based on the types of movies they like watching, whether drama, action, comedy, horror just to name a few. Movie enthusiasts would, in my view, watch them not based on what they don’t want to see but what they desire to see.
Reactionary Programming
Taking a closer look at what kind of programming individuals may tend to watch for reactionary purposes in prevailing programming raised a couple of issues in my mind. Shopping TV channels, such as HSN, Shop NBC, and QVC would be the preferred types of programming most individuals would watch for lack of interesting programs on television. I find myself doing so at times, while flipping through the channel and come across a new product and may watch the channel for a while. However, it is not something I plan to watch in advance. It’s a reaction that occurs due to my disinterest in current programming. News channels are another good example of reactionary programming. Those that run on a 24-hour basis do so repetitively. This indicates that they appeal to the reactionary character of their viewers. These channels bring new information to viewers and hence serve to keep them busy before a favorite program is aired.
References
Abelman, R. (1987). Why do People Watch Religious TV? : A Uses and Gratification Approach. Review of Religious Research, 29(2), 199-210.
