Television's Cultivation of Attitudes about Online Romantic Relationships

Abstract

Cultivation theory is based upon the idea that television depicts a world that is different from people’s social reality. The result is that people who watch a lot of television have an inaccurate and skewed perception of the real world (Gerbner, 1969). The primary focus of Gerbner's work has been on perceptions of societal violence. Cultivation has since explored other areas such as gender stereotyping (Signorielli, 1989, 1990), child socialization (Hawkins and Pingree, 1980), and environmental risks (Dahlstrom, 2010). The purpose of the current study is to assess how the consumption of television media messages predicts people’s ideas about online romantic relationships.

The research found that consumption of television media messages predicts attitudes about online romantic relationships. The content analysis showed that there is not necessarily a consistent television message about online romantic relationships; however television advertising predicts attitudes about online romantic relationships. The survey results showed that television advertising predicts lower associations of stigma and higher associations of normalization for online romantic relationships. Most important towards the advance of cultivation theory is the study found that people who watch more television have more positive attitudes about online romantic relationships than people who watch less television. Expanded study of online romantic relationships as they continue to become more common is suggested as this research represents a first look at an important and underesearched area of media theory and interpersonal communication demonstrating a valued addition to the cultivation literature.