Always On Anywhere: Streaming Television and Its Effects

A special issue of Social Sciences (ISSN 2076-0760).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (1 December 2018) | Viewed by 39487

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Institute for Health System Innovation & Policy Hariri Institute, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA
Interests: communication technologies and the ways in which the structure, content and uses of online and mobile media may influence sociopolitical change at the macro (national) and micro (individual) levels

E-Mail Website
Co-Guest Editor
Division of Emerging Media Studies, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA
Interests: empathetic communication; patient experience; social & emerging media in the context of health education

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The rise of television streaming and online video have made dynamic media consumption easier than ever, prompting a slow burn on the total hours dedicated to traditional television watching, particularly among younger age brackets. From this shift, entirely new consumption patterns continue to emerge including binge watching, public television consumption, multi-screening experiences, and even self-guided consumption experiences of single narratives. At the same time, algorithmic solutions are now assisting in shaping media exposures on platforms such as Netflix, Hulu and YouTube, among others.

This special issue seeks to explore this evolving role of television streaming - and all of the moving parts therein - on health, politics, and civic discourses. We invite participants to consider how the nature or consumption of television streaming is affecting human engagement with these areas at the individual or societal level

Possible areas for focus may include:

  • How are streaming behaviors affecting physical and mental health, particularly among adolescents and young adults?
  • Do algorithmic recommendations create or break information silos, either improving or restricting civic dialogue?
  • What relationships exist, if any, between specific television streaming platforms and the ideologies of the content housed therein as it relates to mental health and civic discourse?
  • How do interactive streaming experiences cultivate collaboration or community among viewership?
  • How has streaming television changed or impacted our expectations of and behaviors related to civic discourse?
  • Does prolonged exposure via binge watching engender deeper connectivity between viewer and content?

Prof. Jacob Groshek
Ms. Sarah Parker Ward
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • television streaming
  • online video
  • emerging media
  • political discourse
  • civic

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 1010 KiB  
Article
Transportation or Narrative Completion? Attentiveness during Binge-Watching Moderates Regret
by Matthew Pittman and Emil Steiner
Soc. Sci. 2019, 8(3), 99; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci8030099 - 16 Mar 2019
Cited by 21 | Viewed by 8891
Abstract
Extant results on the binge-watching outcomes have been mixed. This study sought to examine the crucial factor of attentiveness that might help to enhance viewer experience and mitigate post-binge regret, as well as differentiate the motivation of narrative transportation from narrative completion. While [...] Read more.
Extant results on the binge-watching outcomes have been mixed. This study sought to examine the crucial factor of attentiveness that might help to enhance viewer experience and mitigate post-binge regret, as well as differentiate the motivation of narrative transportation from narrative completion. While narrative transportation involves a viewer getting unconsciously swept away by the story, the motivation of narrative completion is a more self-aware, cognizant effort to progress through the story. A survey (N = 800) determined that the degree to which an individual pays attention to a show may either increase or decrease subsequent regret, depending on the motivation for binge-watching. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Always On Anywhere: Streaming Television and Its Effects)
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9 pages, 550 KiB  
Article
An Experimental Examination of Binge Watching and Narrative Engagement
by Sarah E. Erickson, Sonya Dal Cin and Hannah Byl
Soc. Sci. 2019, 8(1), 19; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci8010019 - 11 Jan 2019
Cited by 40 | Viewed by 13852
Abstract
Increasingly, audiences are engaging with media narratives through the practice of binge watching. The effects of binge watching are largely unknown, although early research suggests binge watching may be motivated by a need for escape and could be associated with some qualities of [...] Read more.
Increasingly, audiences are engaging with media narratives through the practice of binge watching. The effects of binge watching are largely unknown, although early research suggests binge watching may be motivated by a need for escape and could be associated with some qualities of addiction. In this study, we ask whether the practice of binge watching impacts audience engagement with a media narrative. Using an experimental approach, we manipulate the format of exposure to media narratives (binge or nonbinge) and test the effect of this manipulation on audience engagement, specifically parasocial relationships with favorite characters and narrative transportation. Results suggest that binge watching increases the strength of parasocial relationships and the intensity of narrative transportation. Media engagement has been shown to increase media effects, suggesting that binge watching could change not only how audiences engage with narrative media but also the effect it has on them. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Always On Anywhere: Streaming Television and Its Effects)
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12 pages, 278 KiB  
Article
Go Long or Go Often: Influences on Binge Watching Frequency and Duration among College Students
by Kelly Merrill Jr. and Bridget Rubenking
Soc. Sci. 2019, 8(1), 10; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci8010010 - 8 Jan 2019
Cited by 36 | Viewed by 15967
Abstract
Binge watching, or serial viewing of a single program over an extended period of time, is a relatively new norm in television viewing that is becoming more popular than traditional appointment viewing. Previous research has explored various influences on binge watching; however, the [...] Read more.
Binge watching, or serial viewing of a single program over an extended period of time, is a relatively new norm in television viewing that is becoming more popular than traditional appointment viewing. Previous research has explored various influences on binge watching; however, the current research is unique in exploring theoretically and empirically grounded predictors of both binge watching frequency and duration of binge watching sessions by means of a survey administered to college undergraduates (N = 651). Data show that binge watching frequency and duration are predicted by two non-overlapping sets of variables. Binge watching frequency was predicted by low self-regulation, greater tendency to use binge watching as both a reward and a form of procrastination, and less regret; while binge watching duration was associated with being female and experiencing greater enjoyment while binging. Self-control did not predict either binge watching frequency or duration, suggesting that alternative theoretical models should be explored. Findings also suggest that scholars should reconceptualize binge watching by including both frequency and duration measures in future studies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Always On Anywhere: Streaming Television and Its Effects)
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