A favorite waste of time: The experience of watching TV

Lennart Sjöberg () and Rutger Magneberg ()
Additional contact information
Lennart Sjöberg: Center for Risk Research, Postal: Stockholm School of Economics, P.O. Box 6501, SE-113 83 Stockholm, Sweden
Rutger Magneberg: Datagram HB, Göteborg, Postal: Tellgrensgatan 15A, 41460 Göteborg,

No 2006:6, SSE/EFI Working Paper Series in Business Administration from Stockholm School of Economics

Abstract: TV watching is one of the most important ways of spending leisure time, the average daily watching time in the Swedish population is about 141 minutes – about 15 % of non-sleep time. Yet, there is little research on the psychological processes taking place while watching TV. In the present study using still-relevant data from a 1985-86 data base, the cognitive and emotional functions of TV watching in everyday life were investigated by means of a random action sampling procedure. TV watching was characterized by a high level of happiness and relaxation, own initiative, a long time span, closeness to goal, commonness, and easiness. It was characterized by a low level of negative emotions, concentration, expected value of outcome, activation, level of intention and presence of others. TV watching thus emerges as an activity, which mainly provides some pleasant relaxation. It is common, easy to do and done in relative solitude. It is a somewhat interesting activity, but it stimulates little concentration and involvement. It is regarded as an obstacle to the pursuit of other goals. The relevance of the results for the present situation with regard to TV is discussed.

Keywords: experience sampling method; action sampling; television; emotions; interest; involvement (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 29 pages
Date: 2006-07-08, Revised 2008-09-01
Note: http://www.calstatela.edu/faculty/sfischo/A%20Favorite%20waste%20of%20Time.htm
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Published in Journal of Media Psychology, 2007.

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hhb:hastba:2006_006

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