The Social Embeddedness of Media Use

The main objectives of the series correspond to those of the journal Communications: The European Journal of Communication Research, also published by Mouton de Gruyter. The discipline of communication science is concerned with investigation of the structure and function of mass communication processes and their impact on society and social groups. How these processes have an impact on values, knowledge, opinions and behaviour of individuals similarly constitutes an important area of concern for the discipline. The Communications Monograph series emphasizes these concerns of the discipline through publication of books taking a European social science perspective. Inasmuch as mass communication cannot be studied distinct from other modes of communication, the purpose of the Series is to publish material covering other communication forms - intrapersonal, interpersonal, organizational - in addition to mass communication. In other words, the Communications Monograph series encompasses the entire field of communication science as its domain of interest. Special attention is addressed to the publication of titles that serve as main texts for academic courses and focus on such topics as communication theory and methodology, mass media and production of mediated messages, media use, reception processes, and media impact, political and marketing communication, advertising, public relations and propaganda, media policy, new media technologies and electronic networks, media history and media development.

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Scholars in the field of communication research have extensively studied television viewing in general and watching television news in particular. The book looks at the subject from an integrative theoretical perspective. Based on Schutzean sociology and action theoretical approaches to media use, the author argues that immediate social influences and other everyday life situations largely determine television use, and that the influence of short-term situational characteristics are often overlooked in person-centered explanatory models. In three empirical studies, the role of short-term situations and the influence of immediate social surroundings is analyzed. The use of Discrete Time Event History Analysis is an innovative way to look at household diary data. Findings reveal how family members influence each other in many ways. Watching television turns out to be an integral part of everyday life in the family, but also a force that may reduce family interaction. It is shown that television may serve as a surrogate for those family members that are not present, and that family members while present at home follow each others example. Partners are shown to mimic each other, children to mimic their parents, and parents follow the example set by their children. Television news viewing, in contrast to general television viewing is less determined by the immediate influence of others. Also, the individual motivations for news viewing vary throughout the day. First exposure to television news appears to be motivated by other factors than subsequent exposure. A need for ‘surveillance’ dominates first exposure, but subsequent exposure appears to be governed by other, more ‘ritualistic’ motivations. The book is important to scholars, graduate-level students, and practitioners who are concerned with theoretical and methodological insights in the phenomenon of television viewing in everyday life.