ABSTRACT
Entertainment provides at least three gratifications: a respite from the anxieties and pressures of everyday life; the opportunity to compare oneself with the demeanor, possessions, and behavior of others; and a means of keeping up with what is transpiring in the world. These gratifications have been particularly well documented in the case of television (Comstock & Scharrer, 1999), where a variety of measures of stress and interpersonal conflict predict greater affinity for or consumption of television; where viewers tend to watch those on the screen like themselves in gender, age, or ethnicity more attentively (which would make comparisons more meaningful); and where there is a common belief that something can be learned from all types of programming and keeping abreast embraces both events in the world at large and the varied portrayals and depictions offered by the medium in news, sports, and entertainment programming. There are also less-positive consequences of attending to entertainment, with one of the most investigated by the social and behavioral sciences the facilitation of aggressive and antisocial behavior by violent television and film portrayals.
