Democratisation of the TV versus fascist dictatorship of the TV: so what happens now that families collective engagement has moved back to the living room?
- 1. Democratisation of the TV versus fascist dictatorship of the TV: so what happens now that families collective engagement has moved back to the living room? Marie Grif?ths University of Salford UK Rachel McLean University of Bolton UK
- 2. What¡¯s on Today? ? Changing Social practices ? Framing this study ? The field study ? What the families said ? Discussion ? Resources
- 4. UK Family room: Historical cf 2010 Children¡¯s TV Children¡¯s TV shut down (7pm) 24/7 4 TV channels Unlimited channels, delay TV TV on demand, Iplayer Pong (TV game of ping PS2- 1994 pong-1975) Wii - 2006 Family unity? Family fragmentation?
- 5. TV is becoming extinct!! Personalized TV streams via the web that you log into Downloading/streaming is replacing C/DVDs Mobile devices (Ipads/smart phones) are the new breed
- 6. Reconfiguration I became easier to reconfigure domestic spaces as technology ¡°shrinks¡¯ Mobile devices have had a major impact on the shift in how society consumes media Digital media de-centered the place of children within domestic spaces giving them more autonomy - mobile phone ownership triggered this 6
- 8. Framing the Study ? Television Studies: social aspects ? Domestic technologies discourses: ? Silverstone and Morley in 1990 argued the need to recontextualise TV, using the metaphor of the TV as the ¡°family hearth¡± ? Flynn in 2003 examines the re-organization of the spaces in which collective engagement occurs using the metaphor the ¡°digital hearth¡± ? 2010 years later (we argue) that the hearth again needs recontextualising as mobile devices reconfigure the domestic spaces by using the metaphor the ¡®mashable domestic hearth¡±
- 10. Family 1: Mum, girl 13 and boys 15, 16 &19 Family 2: retired couple Family 3: Mum, Dad, 8 & 4 year old boys Family 4: Mum, Dad, girl 12 & boy 10 Family 5: Mum, Dad, girl 12 & boy 9 Family 6: Mum and boy 10 Family 7: Mum, Dad and boy 8 The Families
- 11. ¡°the rows over that TV..I have to bargain with them with 30 minute time-slots¡± Mum of 4 and 8 year old boys ¡°(his father) hates..hates him having the remote control¡± about an 8 year old boy ¡°I like holding it (remote control) then I can turn it up if people are talking¡±
- 12. ¡°one of the best bits of kit we ever bought, she loves the wii fit and I love the games, darts, bowling and tennis¡± ¡°we played a lot of games as young kids, don¡¯t forget we went to youth clubs til were 19-20 and I missed them games...so this is great¡± ¡°yeah we play games on it (the wii)all the time¡± (he shows me what levels they are on) quotes from two retired Wii players - not actual photograph of participants
- 13. ¡®it means we do watch films and programs together when we want to..¡¯ ¡°...it¡¯s (X-Box) broke now and I am not rushing to buy another one¡± ¡°Back in the bedroom the best place for it¡± ¡°Well when the X-Box was in the living room it just meant that the ¡°better when we just had lads took over the room playing the TV and a video to row Fifa or COD - we (herself and the about!!¡± daughter) could not watch our soaps¡± quotes from mother of three teenage boys 15, 16, 19, and one teenage girl 13 not actual photograph of participants
- 15. Different but the same? 15
- 16. Family Unity? ? ¡°he (8 year old boy) watches the TV here and he (4 year old Boy) is on the pc watching a dvd and Simon (dad) is on laptop listening to music¡± ? ¡°do you regret buying the Wii? No I don¡¯t as they get a lot of enjoyment out of it and when they are doing together and they are laughing their heads off it¡¯s nice¡± ? ¡°it means we do watch films and programs together when we want to..¡± 16
- 17. Family Fragmention? ? ¡° If I am upstairs and doing something and I ask him to get off (the Wii) then he will.. LOSE it!! He will be kicking the floor having a trantrum. going deranged with it¡± ? ¡±always big fights as they never let her (the sister) go on it (the x-box)¡± ? ¡°he does not like people talking while he is playing the Wii or watching the TV...he just turns the volume up to high¡± ? ¡°the rows over that TV I have to bargain with 30 mins time-slots¡± (because of the channel choices) 17
- 18. Although family entertainment is now centered again around a central living space the preferred activities of "networked individuals" fragment family life. Often driving parents away to other spaces as children take control of the entertainment hub. A need for a wider study as families steer through ever changing digital landscapes A need to recontexualise Silverstone and Morley¡¯s family hearth revisiting Fynn¡¯s work How does your family share space? Discussion
- 19. Contact Details ? MarieGriffiths : m.griffiths@salford.ac.uk ? Rachel McLean: 19
Editor's Notes
- Flynn abstarct to reminf=d you Console based video games are an increasingly familiar and engaging technology in the living room and as such, warrant critical attention. Considerations of their impact on the home have been widely regarded by new media academics as technological innovation and by social scientists as symptomatic of a decline in social and familial connectedness. In an attempt to move the debate beyond discussions of machine functionality and social crisis, this paper argues for a reframing of some of the ways we think about the impact of entertainment technologies on the home. It presents the notion of the digital hearth as a concept that shows how cultural meanings associated with the home can be transformed through gaming and changing patterns of consumption. The research examines the domestication of the console through cultural histories of the living room, the social context of electronic media, and ethnographic studies. It argues that the concept of the digital hearth represents a re-organization of the spaces in which collective engagement occurs and a shifting of the cultural norms associated with that collective engagement. In these spaces not only does the living room become the site of collective engagement but also the form of that engagement changes with the digital hearth acting as the focal point around social interaction. The paper traces parallels between the appropriation of television and of radio into the home and the domestication of the console while arguing that the console represents a shifting of spatial and social norms of domestication from previous electronic media. In addition it represents gaming in the home as symptomatic of changes from public to private forms of entertainment which constitutes a changing geographic base for social networks.
- i wouldn’t banish the wii daddy watches his match i would go on the computer who do you think is control of the TV ;me he does not like people talking while he is playing the wii steve hates him having the remote control we go on our ds at 5oclock in the morning he turns the channel over straight away the rows over that tv i have to bargain with 30 mins time-slots can i play an try sneak and go on the computer he always wants one no 1 he looses his life if he looses a life i get cross ..i scream and shot If I am upstairs and doing something and I ask him to get off that he will.. lose it!!where he will be kicking the flor having a trantrum.going deranged with it “do you regret buying the Wii? no i dont as they get a lot of enjoyment out of it and when they are doing together and they are laughing their heads off it’s nice” i did not think he would be that obsessed
- he watches the tv here and he is on the pc watching a dvd and Simon is on laptop listening to music uses lot of things as bargaining tools to placate potential tempers tantrums simon hates them being on that (the wii) he regrets buying it Well when the xbox was in the living room it just meant that the lads took over the room playing fifa or COD - we (herslef and the daughter) could not watch our soaps always big fights as they never let her (the sister) go on it Back in the bedroom the best place for it - ...its broke now and I am not rushing to buy another one if they want another they will all have to agree and that not going to happen as she just wants the laptop... there is only one laptop and now they all want that so that’s more rows...and they row about whose credit is being spent better when we just had the TV and a video to row about!! it means we do watch films and programs together when we want to.. they come and go more now they are older but it has been hard with three boys and one girl no-one agrees one of the best bits of kit we ever bought, she loves the wii fit and I love the games, darts, bowling and tennis yeah we play games on it all the time (he shows me what levels they are on) we played a lot of games as young kids, don’t forget we went to youth clubs til were 19-20 and i missed them games...so this is great we play it with grandchildren - its great fun- everyone can join in