A Quantitative Review on the Relationship Between Series Watching Motivations and Individuals’ Happiness

Abstract

Series constitute a significant portion of content consumed extensively on both television and digital platforms. Categorized into various genres such as drama, science-fiction, comedy, and crime, series cater to audiences with diverse socio-demographic and psychographic characteristics. The fundamental motivations for watching series include spending leisure time, entertainment, escapism, socialization, and knowledge acquisition. Series are among the most watched programs on television or digital platforms. In recent years, the proliferation of digital platforms in addition to television channels has made it possible for viewers to watch multiple episodes or a season of a series at the same time, while enabling viewers to access the series on various screens at any time and anywhere. The diversification of content to appeal to viewers with different interests and demographic characteristics, the possibility of global access to series on digital platforms, technological advances and the Covid-19 pandemic can be counted among the factors contributing to the increasing popularity of series. Happiness, on the other hand, denotes an individual’s state of well-being, influenced by various personal, environmental, and cultural factors. When the literature on the relationship between happiness and series watching is examined, it is possible to infer that the studies mostly focus on the relationship between television viewing and happiness. However, there are various studies structured on the basis of happiness and watching series, albeit limited. Parasocial Interaction, Uses and Gratifications and Cultivation Theory come to the fore when the relationship between series and happiness is evaluated. Within the framework of the Uses and Gratifications approach, viewers watch series for various motivations. These motivations can be in the form of entertainment, spending time, and information. On the other hand, within the scope of the Parasocial Interaction Theory, viewers can identify with any series character. Considering that series are an intense genre on television within the framework of the Cultivation Theory, it can be said that watching too many series can affect the viewers' perception of reality. When the literature on watching series is examined, it is observed that watching series is evaluated within the framework of various communication theories and that studies on binge watching are conducted. However, it has been determined that the studies focusing on the relationship between watching series and happiness are limited. Therefore, the study focuses on the relationship between watching series and happiness. This study aims to analyse the relationship between watching series and happiness. The pilot application of the research was carried out with 30 participants reached online. After the pilot application, the items in the scales were finalised. In the research, the participants were reached through convenience sampling technique. Data obtained from 360 participants were analyzed through various statistical techniques. Through a survey, it was determined that the dimensions of “enrichment” and “emotional empowerment” had the highest average among the reasons for watching series, while “socialization” had the lowest average. Significant differences were found between the reasons for watching series and age and education, as well as between the number of series watched and educational status. It was determined that there was no significant relationship between reasons for watching series and happiness. On the other hand, it was observed that there was a significant relationship between “enrichment” and “coping/escape” which are among the dimensions of reasons for watching series, and happiness. However, it was concluded that this relationship was at a low level. The most striking finding within the scope of the research is that there is a significant relationship between the dimensions of “enrichment” and “coping/escape” and happiness, albeit at a low level. The aforementioned finding can be interpreted as that watching series reinforces “learning new knowledge” and “coping/escape”. However, it would not be wrong to state that individual well-being or happiness also includes the ability to cope with possible problems.

Keywords

• Series
• Watching Series
• Happiness
• Enrichment
• Emotional Empowerment

Dizi İzleme Motivasyonlarının Bireylerin Mutluluklarıyla İlişkisi Üzerine Nicel Bir Değerlendirme

Abstract

Diziler, gerek televizyon gerekse dijital platformlarda yoğun düzeyde izlenilen içeriklerden biridir. Drama, bilim-kurgu, komedi, suç gibi birtakım türlere ayrılan diziler farklı sosyo-demografik ve psikografik özelliklere sahip izleyicilere seslenmektedir. Vakit geçirmek, eğlenmek, kaçış, sosyalleşmek, bilgi edinmek dizi izlemenin temel motivasyonları arasındadır. Diziler, televizyon ya da dijital platformlarda en çok izlenen programların başında gelmektedir. Son yıllarda televizyon kanallarının yanında dijital platformların çoğalması, bir yandan izleyicilerin dizilere çeşitli ekranlardan diledikleri zaman diledikleri yerde ulaşımını sağlarken aynı zamanda birden fazla bölümün ya da dizinin bir sezonunun bir anda izlenmesini mümkün hale getirmiştir. Farklı ilgilere ve demografik özelliklere sahip izleyicilere hitap edecek şekilde içeriğin çeşitlenmesi, dizilere dijital platformlar üzerinden küresel ulaşım olanağı, teknolojik ilerlemeler ve Covid-19 pandemisi dizilerin artan popülaritesine katkıda bulunan faktörler arasında sayılabilir. Mutluluk ise temel olarak bireyin iyi oluş halini ifade etmektedir. Kişisel, çevresel ve kültürel çeşitli faktörlerin mutluluğu etkilediği belirtilebilir. Mutluluk ve dizi izleme ilişkisine yönelik literatür incelendiğinde çalışmaların daha çok televizyon izleme ve mutluluk arasındaki ilişkiye odaklandıkları çıkarımında bulunmak mümkündür. Bununla birlikte sınırlı da olsa mutluluk ve dizi izleme temelinde yapılandırılan çeşitli çalışmalar mevcuttur. Televizyon ya da dijital platformlarda yoğun bir şekilde izlenilen birer içerik olan diziler ve mutluluk bağı değerlendirildiğinde Parasosyal Etkileşim, Kullanımlar ve Doyumlar ve Ekme Kuramı öne çıkmaktadır. Kullanımlar ve Doyumlar yaklaşımı çerçevesinde izleyiciler çeşitli motivasyonlardan hareketle dizileri izlemektedir. Bu motivasyonlar eğlenme, vakit geçirme, bilgilenme şeklinde olabilir. Öte yandan Parasosyal Etkileşim Teorisi kapsamında izleyiciler herhangi bir dizi karakteri ile özdeşleşebilir. Ekme Kuramı çerçevesinde dizilerin televizyonda yer alan yoğun birer tür olduğu düşünüldüğünde çok fazla dizi izlemenin izleyicilerin gerçekliğe yönelik algısını etkileyebileceği söylenebilir. Dizi izlemeye ilişkin literatür incelendiğinde çeşitli iletişim kuramları çerçevesinde dizi izlemenin değerlendirildiği, art arda izlemeye (binge watching) yönelik çalışmaların yürütüldüğü gözlemlenmiştir. Bununla birlikte dizi izleme ve mutluluk arasındaki ilişkiye odaklanan çalışmaların sınırlı olduğu belirlenmiştir. Dolayısıyla çalışmada dizi izleme ve mutluluk arasındaki ilişkiye odaklanılmıştır. Çalışmanın amacı dizi izleme ile mutluluk arasındaki ilişkiyi değerlendirmektir. Araştırmanın pilot uygulaması çevrim içi olarak ulaşılan 30 katılımcı ile gerçekleştirilmiştir. Pilot uygulamanın ardından ölçeklerde yer alan ifadelere nihai şekli verilmiştir. Araştırmada kolayda örnekleme tekniğinden hareketle katılımcılara ulaşılmıştır. 360 katılımcıdan elde edilen veriler çeşitli istatistiksel teknikler aracılığıyla analiz edilmiştir. Bu kapsamda yürütülen tarama araştırması sonucunda dizi izleme nedenleri arasında en yüksek ortalamaya sahip olan boyutların “zenginleştirme” ve “duygusal güçlendirme”, en düşük ortalamaya sahip boyutun ise “sosyalleşme” olduğu belirlenmiştir. Dizi izleme nedenleri ile yaş ve eğitim değişkeni arasında ve izlenilen dizi sayısı ile eğitim durumu değişkeni arasında anlamlı bir farklılığın olduğu ortaya çıkmıştır. Dizi izleme nedenleri ile mutluluk arasında anlamlı bir ilişki olmadığı belirlenmiştir. Öte yandan dizi izleme nedenlerinin boyutları arasında yer alan “zenginleştirme” ve “başa çıkma / kaçış” ile mutluluk arasında anlamlı bir ilişkinin bulunduğu görülmüştür. Bununla birlikte söz konusu ilişkinin düşük düzeyde olduğu sonucuna ulaşılmıştır. Araştırma kapsamında en dikkat çekici bulgu “zenginleştirme” ve “başa çıkma / kaçış” boyutları ile mutluluk arasında düşük düzeyde de olsa anlamlı bir ilişkinin bulunmasıdır. Bahsi geçen bulgu dizi izlemenin “yeni bilgiler öğrenmeyi” ve “başa çıkmayı / kaçışı” pekiştirdiği şeklinde yorumlanabilir. Bununla birlikte bireysel iyi oluşun ya da mutluluğun olası sorunlar ile başa çıkma becerisini de içerdiğini dile getirmek yanlış olmayacaktır.

Keywords

• Diziler
• Dizi İzleme
• Mutluluk
• Zenginleştirme
• Duygusal Güçlendirme

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