Revisiting Family Television Viewing Culture in the Digital Age: The Role of Streaming, Technology and Changing Habits

Abstract

Family television viewing time was a cherished tradition that members of the unit, particularly the parents were intentional about. The digital age is one with several impacts on human lives and activities. Accordingly, people are becoming increasingly attached to their digital devices such as mobile phones, tablet computers and more. Therefore, this study was conducted to examine family television viewing culture vis á vis the idea of content creation examining how this affect family television viewing culture. The study was conducted based on systematic literature review. Findings showed that there are significant changes in the TV viewing culture noticeable amongst which are in the area of a shift from the traditional broadcast to on-demand content and streaming services, the social media factor, and the appreciation of the co-viewing and co-creation capacity of the new era. Additionally, the researchers revealed that digital media and associated technologies also played a significant role in the changing narratives of family TV content viewing. With the technologies, content creation has been simplified and the space liberalised just as audiences are not just mere passive consumers of contents but now active creators. There are effects associated with this development. The researchers concluded that though there are noticeable changes in the culture of family viewing television, it is simply not the end of an era where families converged to see entertainment and news because of the new ways of co-viewing enabled by technological innovations. The researchers recommended partly that families must understand the place of family and make time to bond even in the face of technological advancement.