Comparing Frequency of TV and Internet Use among African-American Students and Their Effects on Material Values and Sociability

David J Park,Maria Elena Villar

doi:10.29333/ojcmt/2493

David J Park, Maria Elena Villar

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.29333/ojcmt/2493

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Abstract

This study compares sociability, material values and self-reported happiness among AfricanAmerican university Internet and television consumers.Reminiscent of Marshal McLuhan’s (1979) medium theory, our results highlight the role of technological change in affecting value structures and social behaviors. The results showed that heavy Internet users did not differ from light Internet users in their level of sociability, however, heavy Internet users avoided “large social gatherings.” For materialism and self-reported happiness, there were no differences between heavy and light Internet users. The results for television viewers differed from Internet users. While there were no differences between light and heavy viewers concerning sociability, heavy TV viewers scored higher than light viewers on materialism, and lower in happiness. Findings suggest that the effects of heavy television viewing do not necessarily translate to heavy Internet use.

Highlights

Media consumers spend roughly three and five hours per day watching television (U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2010; Nielsen, 2011), and three to four hours per day on the Internet (Nie, Simpser, Stepanikova, & Zheng, 2005; O’Brien, 2012), with those under 40 likely to average a few more hours per week with new media (Holmes, 2008)
Black scholars have highlighted the need for further study on the different effects of increased television viewing on Black audiences (Watkins, 2000), as well as the need to further research African-American Internet users
A one-way ANOVA was used to test for mean differences in materialism, sociability and happiness among three TV frequency groups, with significant differences found between heavy and light TV viewers with respect to materialism, sociability and happiness, supporting H1, H2 and H3

Summary

Introduction

Media consumers spend roughly three and five hours per day watching television (U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2010; Nielsen, 2011), and three to four hours per day on the Internet (Nie, Simpser, Stepanikova, & Zheng, 2005; O’Brien, 2012), with those under 40 likely to average a few more hours per week with new media (Holmes, 2008). As most people in the United States are online, researchers interested in the effects of media have turned their attention from traditional media like newspapers and television, to the effects of the Internet (Fodeman & Monroe, 2009; Ellison, Steinfield, & Lampe, 2007). A growing body of evidence connects the use of various media technologies tovalues and behaviors, among college students (Sirgy et al 1998; Kraut, Patterson, Lundmark, Kiesler, Mukopadhyay, & Scherlis, 1998; Beaudoin, 2009; Fodeman & Monroe, 2009; Park & Villar, 2011;Ellison et al, 2007; O’Brien, 2012; Wellman, Haase, Witte, & Hampton, 2001; Whitty, 2008). Carey (2008) expands on this important influence by noting communication technologies transmit beliefs encoded within information.According to Brock (2012), culture shapes various online social interactions Television and the Internet are social media structures that disseminate predominantly commercial content that encourages consumption and cultivates values. Carey (2008) expands on this important influence by noting communication technologies transmit beliefs encoded within information.According to Brock (2012), culture shapes various online social interactions

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