Revitalising Audience Research by Frauke Zeller Cristina Ponte Brian O'Neill

Author:Frauke Zeller, Cristina Ponte, Brian O'Neill [Frauke Zeller, Cristina Ponte, Brian O'Neill]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Methodology, Reference & Language, Language Arts, Communication
ISBN: 9781317649441
Publisher: Taylor and Francis
Published: 2014-10-24T04:00:00+00:00

Conclusion

The comparative framework offered in this chapter enabled the linking of two seemingly unrelated ends of audience studies: the study of media and children and the study of media and older adults. Apparently, these two areas of scholarship have much in common, and it seems that the study of both groups also experienced similar transitions. In both areas, scholars realised that (a) the social constructions of childhood and later life are fluid and greatly dependent on cultural and temporal contexts; (b) each of these life phases includes various developmental stages, and thus children and older adults are not homogenous groups; and (c) these life phases should not be studied as processes towards an end product (becoming or declining) but, rather, as a form of being in its own right. In addition, both areas of scholarship recognised that (d) whereas children and older adults have the greatest amount of free time, they also face more constraints to beneficial use of leisure. Last, it was acknowledged that (e) both children and the older adults have been ‘othered’ by many societies, and thus, both groups are exposed to various forms of ageism (reflected in daily life, in media content and by scholars’ attitudes).

Both stages of childhood and later years, just like any other stage of the life course, pose various psychological challenges including life transitions and some painful losses. Both populations may use media to help individuals cope with such challenges and adapt to new life circumstances. Thus, studying the array of roles of media in the lives of young and old audiences is informative and enriching, particularly in relationship to information acquirements and social engagements, including processes such as para-social interaction, identification and attachment to media characters and narratives. Moreover, the growth of the concept of well-being seems to characterise both ends of the human audience spectrum as additional research enriches our understanding of how media are contributing to (and/or threatening) the well-being of both children and older adults. Generally, this concept considers the roles of media in all aspects of audiences’ lives holistically: physical, mental, emotional and social. Given the intricate and complex matrix of media-related issues that are so crucial for the well-being of children and young people, this concept that has emerged out of the health professions and has been applied in the field of gerontology for many years, has been gaining momentum and been applied recently in several symposia and publications (e.g. Handsley and Rich, 2010; Lemish and Götz, 2013; Romer and Jordan, 2014).

In spite of the many similarities, this chapter revealed considerable differences between the two areas of research. These differences highlighted gaps in each body of knowledge and, thus, illustrated directions for future research. As mentioned before, models of individuals’ development across the life course (Elder, 1974; Baltes, 1979) suggested that human development across the life span is characterised by gains and losses from birth to death. Whereas studies of older adults put great emphasis on losses and decline, they also recognised opportunities for development and growth in later life (Nimrod and Kleiber, 2007; Kleiber, et al.

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