Be-tween two worlds: a content analysis of tween television programming
Date
2011
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Delaware
Abstract
This study examined tween television programming, focusing on three broad areas previously uninvestigated by researchers: gender, sexuality/romantic relationships, and violence. This study also focused on two genres that constitute tween television: the teen scene and continuing adventure genres. This programming is of interest because of the nature of the viewers and the producers of these programs. Tweens are a lucrative market, and television programs are created specifically for them. Furthermore, members of this special group experience an important developmental stage where social and intellectual schema are established and identity, gender, and sexuality are explored. Cultivation theory and social cognitive theory serve as the foundation for this study. The content analysis revealed that females were underrepresented and that males and females were both presented somewhat stereotypically, although there were differences by program genre. Results also indicated that homosexuality was non-existent, and that characters from the teen scene genre exhibited the most sexual and romantic behaviors. The programs contained more violence than prime time television programming, and continuing adventure programs had more violence than teen scene programs. There were few contexts for violence, and few consequences for characters that committed violence. With these results and cultivation theory and social cognitive theory in mind, tween viewers could potentially develop a narrow conception of the world and the range of possibilities for themselves.