ABSTRACT
Watching television is most people’s major leisure activity and the main source of the information, images and arguments through which they make sense of the world. Virtually all households, except the very poorest, have a set and almost half (46 per cent) have more than one.1 In the average home, a set will be turned on for between 4½ and 5½ hours a day (depending on the time of year) and the average person over the age of four will watch around 3 hours a day, which accounts for just over a third (35.1 per cent) of their total ‘free’ time. The next most popular activities-visiting friends, relaxing or napping, and doing hobbies-take just over 8 per cent each. Centrality is not the same as influence, however. Research shows that viewing is almost never passive. People interpret, evaluate, dismiss, and argue back at the screen on the basis of their social experience and their involvement in other media. The problem is that cultural forms that were previously separated from the television system are being increasingly tugged towards it, reinforcing its command over experience and debate.
