At 8 PM my family usually gathered around for dinner. We then tried to clean the dishes quickly to watch TV together.
Anne
TV, according to Hilde Himmelweit et al. (1958), was once upon a time a device that glues everyone in the family together. In fact, it had been a family pastime for decades that kept children “indoors and share both time and interests with their parents”. Before the dispersed arrival of Internet and other smart devices, family members spent most of their time socialising around the television hall, whether it was watching the news or a TV show, it would become the discussion that everyone enthusiastically chatted about for the whole day. Such good old times.
For 9x generation like me and Anne, we were lucky enough to witness the golden age of TV and its transitions throughout years. A bulky old school. A portable aesthetic LCD that is capable of 3D-image playing. To the state-of-art streaming device like everyone has now.
Talking more about television memories with Anne, I was surprised to find lots of similarities in our experience, mostly about television role in forming our family’s values. Television had enabled us to develop a shared taste with other members and learn about each other’s particular interest. In turn, it further strengthens the sense of collectiveness rooted in our culture: we are willing compromise our viewing favorite so that everyone can enjoy something together. Interestingly, our watching experience are largely determined by who we are watching television with rather than the program itself.
It is a meaningful conversation that I have learnt so much about my interviewee using ethnographic approach.
1. Family is the most important thing
Helly: Do you think that as technology advances, it changes the way your family bond with each other?
Anne: Well, it does and does not in some way. Since we have more TVs and iPads in our house, we don’t have to share the same screen with anyone to watch our favorite show. However, our family still maintains the habit of doing things in the same space – the living room. My dad would work on his computer while my mother does some chores. I personally like to move to the living room for study. We would let the TV speak freely and if there is something interesting on TV, everyone would stop their current activity to watch together. Family is the most important thing to us. If we do not take initiatives to act on it, it will slide away.
2. Technology is not the culprit for our communication problem. It is all about how we control technology and use it to our best advantages.
H: Some people says that technology makes us lonelier and more disconnected. Do you agree with that?
A: I think that we are always changing. At different time, we have different interest. Technology, while accelerating that process, does alternate the way we communicate and interact with each other. However, it does not necessarily make it worse. I appreciate the advanced technology that allows me to keep in contact with my family anywhere anytime. Although I am studying abroad, I am still able to make daily conversations with my parents. I call them on regular basis and send photos about something I am doing.
The conversation with Anne makes me think of my brother who is a generation younger than me and a heavy user of iPad. He would never know what it means to gather around a bulky TV at 9 P.M every evening and enjoy a drama episode together with family. His watching habit would be more likely to orient towards online streaming services.
I wonder how the future will continue to change. For every minute that we live, it becomes history. In each era, there is something beautiful and worth learning about. Though we cannot stop the time, we can be a storyteller who narrates about the once-upon-the-time for the next generation to appreciate.
REFERENCES:
Ruddick, G 2017, ‘End of families gathering round the TV as binge watching grows’, The Guardian, viewed 30 August 2019, <https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2017/aug/03/end-of-families-gathering-round-the-tv-as-binge-watching-grows>
Himmelweit, H. T., Oppenheim, A. N., & Vince, P. 1958, ‘Television and the Child. An Empirical Study of the Effect of Television on the Young’, London: Oxford University Press
Helly Pham 