Assessing the Impact of VCR Use on Leisure Attitudes and Behavior
Wachter, Cynthia Jean Harum
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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/72461
Description
Title
Assessing the Impact of VCR Use on Leisure Attitudes and Behavior
Author(s)
Wachter, Cynthia Jean Harum
Issue Date
1993
Doctoral Committee Chair(s)
Kelly, John R.
Department of Study
Leisure Studies
Discipline
Leisure Studies
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
Health Sciences, Recreation
Mass Communications
Recreation
Abstract
As VCRs become increasing instrumental to the rhythm of everyday life, questions arise as to how the enhanced ability to control video media affects peoples lives, both attitudinally and behaviorally. This study was concerned with identifying the role of the VCR in leisure, both as an activity in itself and as a mechanism for prioritizing leisure activities.
Based on a uses and gratifications perspective, this study examined the TV viewing and VCR use of a sample of 119 VCR households in a midwestern city between November and March of 1992/1993. The instrument developed for use in this study consisted of a TV and VCR diary in which respondents recorded a variety of information related to each viewing (or recording) occasion for one week. Following completion of the diaries, 24 interviews were conducted with diary respondents.
The results indicate that while the ability to manipulate the broadcast schedule and the expansion of program content choices are valued features of the VCR, the VCR merely enhanced established patterns of TV viewing rather than significantly altering TV viewing behavior. As a leisure activity, the playback function of the VCR represented a primarily solitary activity pursued for entertainment and relaxation. The activity of watching rented movies, however, represented a primarily social activity pursued for entertainment, relaxation, and companionship. The VCR's role in facilitating the prioritization of leisure activities appeared minimal. The majority of the activities pursued during recording represented work or obligatory life activities followed by recording a program that is simultaneously broadcast with another desired program or recording a program while viewing. VCRs were rarely used to accommodate involvement in other leisure activities.
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