Big Brother Study - Do you agree?
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Big Brother Study - Do you agree?
Grooch | Wednesday, June 19, 2002 - 07:13 pm     From the BBC News: Big Brother is a woman Reality shows give viewers a sense of control Big Brother appeals to viewers who want to feel they are in control, says a researcher studying the reality television show. And the programme's biggest fans are more likely to be women than men. Janet Jones, a lecturer in communications at the University of Aberystwyth, is examining the programme as part of her PhD studies in interactive television. As part of the project, a questionnaire has been attached to the Big Brother official website, which will give researchers an insight into what makes this electronic goldfish bowl so addictive to so many viewers. And she says that she has received 14,000 questionnaire returns in 24 hours, which she says is "symptomatic of the craze surrounding Big Brother". Among the show's most ardent fans, who might use the associated website and mobile phone services, she says about 65% are women. Addicts In the show's audience on Channel 4, in the programme's edited form, about 60% of the audience is female. And among these are people who "find it very hard to tear themselves away from the programme - and they're sending back questionnaires at three in the morning". A key factor in holding the audience's attention is the sense of empowerment, says Janet Jones. The continuous access through a digital channel and the internet and the ability to influence the outcome by voting gives viewers feelings of control, she says. Viewers also say they like the apparent "ordinariness" of the Big Brother setting and the mundanity of the conversation, compared with more exotically-located shows such as Survivor. Feelgood There could also be an underlying psychological appeal, she says, with some research suggesting that such programmes can give people a feelgood factor associated with making friends. The appeal to women rather than men could reflect differences in how the sexes approach television, she says, with women more likely to engage with stories about relationships which are stretched over a long period of time. Janet Jones says that the emergence of the reality show has been the culmination of a long-running trend in factual programmes. In the Nineties, viewers increasingly turned away from traditional documentaries towards the "docu-soaps", which built programmes around everyday dramas and real people. Big Brother and other similar shows have taken this a step further, with viewers apparently able to interact with the struggles of "real" people that become well-known to the audience. |
Rabbit | Wednesday, June 19, 2002 - 07:27 pm     Okay Groochie turn around and dont peek!! < Rabbit stands up in hot-tub and takes a look> < heh heh, still gotem.> No Grooch bucks like BB too! |
Kaili | Wednesday, June 19, 2002 - 07:47 pm     I can see how there are some valid points in the study. However, for a PhD study she should take into account that American BB (I don't know about any of the others) no longer gives viewers much control except in stupid rewards (should they get a toaster or a massage table...). My boyfriend does not understand why I like these shows so much and teases me about it endlessly... however he wants me to save the tapes so he can watch too. I think we watch for different reasons and get different things out of it. I focus way more on the relationships and the different impacts the votes and "alliances" may have in the future. He watches pretty much just to watch. So, I agree about the female difference in some ways. I pick out the people who I think I would like to hang out with as my favorites while he chooses the troublemakers as favorites. Of course in many cases (more with the shows where we have to view edited versions of what happens as our only source of info about the people) my opinion changes each week... |
Bettyblue | Wednesday, June 19, 2002 - 10:39 pm     "they're sending back questionnaires at three in the morning". (I liked that part.) |
Amac | Wednesday, June 26, 2002 - 02:51 pm     From the article: "Among the show's most ardent fans . . . she says about 65% are women." I have to wonder if that percentage holds true among us posters. Are we, as a group, 65% women-35% men? |
Ryn | Wednesday, June 26, 2002 - 03:35 pm     Hmmmmm I would venture a guess that its a bit more women than men, at least here...... |
Gusto | Friday, June 28, 2002 - 03:30 am     more women than men is not a bad thing... I've always admired the strength, intelligence, and sensibility of women... and worshiped the ground they walk on... in fact, I'd pretty much do anything to ..... Okay I'm laying it on a bit too thick eh? Off to have a beer and watch sports... |
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