PROPOSAL / CHAPTER ONE
1.0 INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND
TO THE STUDY
According
to UNESCO (1999), Television is ubiquitous, with at least one television set
present in most family homes in developing countries. It is, therefore, not
surprising that time spent in front of a television set watching television,
videos or DVDs is one of the most prevalent leisure time activities among young
people in developing nations.
While
there are potential benefits from watching some television programs, videos and
DVDs by families, there are concerns that time spent in front of a television,
particularly during daylight hours, displaces more cognitively and physically
challenging pursuits on the family members [Huston et al; (1999)]. The evidence
that physical activity among children and adolescents is displaced by time
spent in front of television is, however, equivocal [Biddle et al; (2004)].
Despite
the enormous evidence on the need for healthy stimulating environment and
healthy supportive family interactions for the growing child, television
viewing (TV) seems to be replacing family interpersonal interactions.
Television viewing according to Van (1990) refers to the art of spending time
in front of a television screen while participating actively or passively in
what is being displayed.
(Jason
and Johnson, 1995). Television viewing habit refers to the amount of time an
individual spends viewing television programmes, the nature of such programmes,
the age of the viewer and the viewing hour. In this study, television viewing
habit refers to the average daily viewing time of families Ile-Ife.
Television
viewing habit may impact positively or negatively on the families’ cognitive
development. Viewing television programmes for about 1-2 hours daily on the
average may enhance families’ cognitive skills development while a habit of 3 hours
or more of television viewing of general audience programmes or cartoon shows
according to Wiecha, Sobol, Peters, and Gortmaker, (2001) may reduce the time
children would spend engaging verbally and socially with family members and
significant others which are prerequisite for effective cognitive skills
development.
Television
viewing is not condemned completely in the life of families. It has some merits
if well censored by parents and other adults. A study by Rosenberg (1994)
showed that television has been the most effective of all mass media in making
people aware of a wide range of human problems ranging from pollution to
homelessness and increasing awareness and acceptance of various kinds of
illness both physical and mental.
Evra
(1998) in his study noted that television viewing can promote pro-social
behavior, stimulate the imagination, teach letters and numbers and enhance
pre-reading and voluntary reading skills among children in a family.
1.2 STATEMENT
OF THE PROBLEM
Television
with an audiovisual potential enables it to get the right information across to
the people but the challenging aspect of it is the fact that not every body in
the society have access to television.
The
positive and negative effect of television on the behaviour among family
attracts the attention of so many intelligent people in the state and other in
the educational sector.
To this end, the research
will find out the television viewing
habit among families in Ile-Ife.
1.3 OBJECTIVES
OF THE STUDY
The main
aim of this study is to investigate the television viewing habit among families
in Ile-Ife. The specific objectives under this study are:
i.
To know if television
affects the viewing habit of families in Ife-Ile.
ii.
To determine if television
have impacts on the lives of families in Ile-Ife
iii.
To ascertain if television
viewing influences the career choice of family members in Ile-Ife.
iv.
To find out how
parents/guardians censor the choice of television programmes being watched by
family members in Ile-Ife.
v.
To study if television
viewing by children enhance their performance in school.
1.4 RESEARCH
QUESTIONS
i.
Does television affects
the viewing habit of families in Ile-Ife?
ii.
To what extent has
Television impacted on the lives of families in Ile-Ife?
iii.
Does television viewing
influences the career choice of family members in Ile-Ife?
iv.
How do parents/guardians
censor the choice of television programmes being watched by the family members
in Ile-Ife?
v.
Does television viewing by
children enhance their performance in school?
1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
This
research work deals with the television viewing habit among families in
Ile-Ife. As an academic work which intends to pass through the scientific
scrutiny in terms of empirical analysis.
It aims
to the academic knowledge both for the benefit of the researchers and students
of great minds.
More so,
those who want to engage in similar topic will find it very useful by serving
as a reference point as very few materials are available on the topic.
Therefore,
the findings of this research will serve as a good literature for both scholars
and students of mass communication who might want to carry out similar or
related research in the future.
Media
houses will also learning how to schedule their programmes and know the nature
of the programmes to be televised.
1.6 SCOPE
OF THE STUDY
The scope
of this study covers families in Ile-Ife and specifically discusses the
television viewing habits of families in Ile-Ife.
However,
the finding of the project work can be well applicable to all other families in
other states in Nigeria.
1.7 DEFINITION
OF TERMS
Television: This is a form of broadcast media which families in Ile-Ife
habit for.
Habit: This
is a natural tendency that is developed by families in Ile-Ife
Family: This
refers to a group of parents and their children that have developed the habit
of viewing television.
