FinalThesis (1)

FRIENDS AND ITS INFLUENCE ON COLLEGE STUDENTS

How The Television Show Friends Influences College Students & Their Perceptions of Living Independently After College

Written by: Morgan Edmonds & Alison von BredowSenior Thesis

Monday, May 2, 2016

Table of Contents

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Introduction and Abstract ……………………………………………………..………......3

Rationale ………………………………………………………………………………......4

Literature Review ………………………………………………………………………....4-14

Hypotheses …………………………………………………………………………….….14

Method ……………………..………………………………………………………….….14-19

Results …………………………………………………………………………………….19

Discussion ………………………………………………………………………………...19

Theoretical Implications ………………………………………………………………….20

Practical Application ……………………………………………………………………...20

Limitations On Research ……………………………………………………………….….20-21

Future Research …………………………………………………………………………….21

Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………….………...21-22

References ……………………………………………………………………….………....23

Appendix ………………………………………………………………………….………...24

Abstract

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The researchers conducted this study to analyze how the television show Friends influences college students and their perceptions of living independently after college and whether or not the length of time students spent watching the television show, Friends, had a direct correlation to how the viewers perceived life after college. The researchers had two hypotheses; H(1): College student’s expectations of living independently will differ as a result of the amount of time spent viewing the television show, Friends and H(2): College student’s attitudes of living independently will differ as a result of the amount of time spent viewing the television show, Friends. 59 college-aged students were surveyed with the use of social media to discover if heavy viewers have skewed expectations and attitudes about life after college compared to light viewers. The results show that students who binge-watch (watch 3 or more hours a day) of Friends do have unrealistic expectations and attitudes about life after college compared to students who do not binge-watch the show.

Introduction

Since instant online streaming of television shows has become a daily pastime for many

people, it raises the question of whether or not watching a television series in its entirety in less

than a month has a negative effect on viewers compared to only watching the series once a week

on the television. The purpose of this study was to identify how the television sitcom Friends

portrays experiences of living independently after college to college aged viewers, then examine

how influential binge watching (3 or more hours a day) of Friends affects college students’

perceptions of life after college. The relationship between the duration of time spent watching

the television show and viewer’s resulting perceptions, is important to understand because it

gives insight to how influential television shows can be to viewers. Then as a result, this gave the

researchers a better understanding of our culture as a whole.

Rationale

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Although research has been done that discusses how television affects its viewers, the

research is based on viewers who watch a show once a week on TV. There has yet to be studies

that go a step further and look into how binge watching a specific television show online may

influence viewers perceptions of reality. Binge watching is a common activity many college

students participate in by subscribing to online streaming sites such as Netflix, Hulu, or Amazon.

Our research explored and built upon the concept that, “if viewers can have strong connections to

a show with only watching it one day a week, how strong is the connection when they watch the

show series for a prolonged period of time in less than for a month?” By gaining the viewpoints

of viewers who have binged-watched Friends online, it gave the researchers a better

understanding of how the show affects college students’ expectations on living independently

after college.

Literature Review

This study focuses on identifying the television show Friends portrays experiences of

living independently after college to current college students. Studying the influence television

shows have on viewers can help researchers have a better understanding of our culture as a

whole and see how our perceptions of the reality are formed.

Friends is an American television sitcom that first aired in 1994 and lasted for 10 seasons

until 2004. The series revolves around a circle of 6 friends living in Manhattan, New York. First,

there is Monica Gellar. She is a chef and the mother figure in the group, with a perfectionist,

bossy, competitive, and obsessive compulsive nature. Second, there is Rachel Green. She is the

riches-to-rags story within the series. After leaving her fiancé at the altar, her father cuts her off

financially and she moves in with Monica, who is her best friend from childhood. Third, there is

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Phoebe Buffay. She is the eccentric, self-taught musician who is ditsy but street-smart after her

mother committed suicide and was forced to live on the streets for the majority of her life.

Fourth, there is Joey Tribbinani. He is a struggling actor and womanizer. However, despite his

string of short-term relationships, one-night stands, and lack of intelligence, he is innocent and

has good intentions. Fifth, there is Chandler Bing. He is a witty executive who has a knack for

being overly sarcastic. Lastly, there is Ross Gellar. He is the brother of Monica Gellar and is a

Paleontologist working at the Museum of Natural History. He is the sweet man with a good

sense of humor, who is often clumsy and awkward.

DellaContrada (2004) interviewed Elayne Rapping, Ph.D. professor of American Studies

at UB College of Arts and Sciences. According to DellaContrada, Rapping states that “Friends

echoed change in American society because it was one of the first television shows to portray

youth on their own and will be remembered as the show that made Americans aware that being

in your 20’s is the prime of your life.” DellaContrada also stated that the premise of this show is

often centered around huge moments in the character’s lives such as marriage, divorce, getting a

new job, being fired from a job, having a baby, or starting new relationships. However, the show

also sends the message that it’s okay to not be serious all the time because nothing severely bad

is likely to happen in a twenty-something’s life.

In the very first episode of the Friends series, after Rachel decided to stop being

dependent on her father’s money, Monica turned to Rachel and said, “Welcome to the real

world! It sucks—You’re going to love it.” Donahue (2014) states that Friends is now 20 years

old but is still the best-ever show about twenty-something’s because from the moment Monica

helped Rachel enter a world full of poverty, dead-end jobs, and quarter-life crises, the series

became an inspiration for twenty-something’s everywhere. The friends on Friends never have an

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overly dramatic blowout. The group may fight amongst each other or argue briefly, which is

natural, but would reunite very soon after. Donahue continues to state that the constant job

changeovers that the Friends characters endured is very similar to many people’s career quests in

their mid-to-late 20’s in that the ups and downs of their careers shined light on what it was like to

be working.

The series’ approach to dating was one that didn’t just entertain, but also helped the

audience and characters to grow. Donahue argues that no matter how long a relationship was, the

characters still changed and grew because of that relationship, despite the show lacking

smartphones and drug-fuelled clubbing. Even without these things, it was very influential.

Donahue continues by saying that Friends tells a familiar story of working hard, attempting

success, and trying to make enough money to actually eat dinner.

In another analysis of Friends, by Tyler Coates (2014), he examines the show’s delivery,

by comparing Friends to Seinfeld, another popular show of its time. Both Friends and Seinfeld

contain similar show premises in that, “their characters were not forced into interacting [with]

each other because of some outside force… the characters on both shows were just pals who

enjoyed hanging out together.” However, Coates points out that while both shows are very

similar in styles, we owe a great deal more to Friends for bringing in other entertaining sitcoms

such as New Girl, How I Met Your Mother, The League, and even Happy Endings. Which all

have characters in the mid-to-late 20s and early 30s struggling to find their way in the world.

Coates finishes by saying that both Seinfeld and Friends equally contributed to television sitcom

success during the 1990’s, making them both “Must See TV”, but only Friends created a more

appealing, connecting, and grander television experience than any other sitcom ever created.

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As if we needed more reasons for why Friends has changed so many aspects of television

for Americans, Ellen E Jones (2014) writes on six positive aspects that the television show gave

Americans to love when watching the show. In developing a strong connection with the show,

and its characters, Friends gave audiences “consistent laughs, the true spirit of camaraderie,

proof that the suits don’t know a thing about comedy, a nationwide caffeine addiction, an

irritating way of speaking, and some admirable aspirations.” With each list note, Jones argues

that it was the repetitive demonstration of those aspects that made the show a success. The more

involved audience members would become with the show; the more likely audiences were to

demonstrate certain participant behaviors by “copying” what they love most about the show into

their daily activities. Whether it was using Chandler’s sarcastic way of speaking, the constant

comedic banter between characters, or stopping at the local coffee shop every day wishing it was

like Central Perk. Jones tells how the show Friends gave audiences something to believe in,

something to always follow, and something to aspire to be.

The goal of television show creators is to keep viewers watching episode after episode

and many have been influenced by what made Friends successful. Similar to Tyler Coates,

Alyssa Rosenberg (2015) brings up the popular television sitcom The League by examining how

this show’s characters keep their audiences coming back week after week, looking for more and

treating them as their own real friends The main characters’ friendship group is similar to that of

the show Friends, according the League’s Co-Creators Jeff and Jackie Shaffer, “These guys have

known each other for a long time… and you get invited into this world, but there is no explaining

it.” Just like Friends, The League’s episode premises and friendship dynamics draws audiences

in causing them not only want to watch the show week after week, but also feel as if they are part

of the friend group. One of the reasons for that, according to Jeff, as quoted by Rosenberg

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(2015), is the constant and repetitive actions and mannerisms of each of the individual characters

thus allowing the audience to connect with the fictional characters. For example, in The League,

the character Jimmy is characterized as having a sarcastic nature with the tendency of, “making

up lists of insults in advance of everything from weddings to author readings.” It is that repetitive

tendency by Jimmy, like Chandler in Friends, that audiences connect with, that they enjoy, and

want to constantly experience again and again.

Jonathon Bernstein (2014) writes of how the success of Friends was majorly contributed

to the fact that each individual character possessed different stereotypical qualities such as, “Joey

the empty headed actor, Chandler the bottomless well of irony, Monica the uptight fun-killer,

Ross the unlucky love dork, Phoebe the ditzy chick and Rachel the self-absorbed one who goes

from riches to rags” (Bernstein, 2014). Audiences came back to see these stereotypical qualities

by their favorite characters being performed regularly. However, Bernstein also accredits this

constant return of audiences to the never-ending cycles of on and off again romantic

relationships within the friend group. The on and off relationship of Ross and Rachel, Ross’s

many marriages, the brief relationship stunt between Rachel and Joey, or that hidden love affair

between Monica and Chandler drew viewers back to the show each week. Another attraction that

Bernstein points out in the show, is how meticulous the writers were to making sure that no one

character took over the show or the series in the plot line. In other words, every character either

participated in or had their own storyline in every episode. They, “resisted any attempt to elevate

one character above the others” (Bernstein, 2014).

Theoretical Grounding

Cultivation Theory is a social theory that examines the long-term effects of television as

developed by George Gerbner and Larry Gross. This theory suggests that, “the more time people

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spend ‘living’ in the television world, the more likely they are to believe the social reality

portrayed on television” (Gerbner, 2000). In other words, the Cultivation Theory suggests that

television is responsible for ‘cultivating’ viewers’ reality because massive television exposure

over time shapes the attitudes and values of viewers, which in turn, affects our view of society

and culture.

This theory applies to understanding how the television show Friends portrays

experiences of living independently and how viewers are influenced by these portrayals because

it gave the researchers a better understanding of how long-term exposure to television can shape

a viewer’s expectations of what their life may be like after graduation. One component of the

Cultivation Theory is the cultivation analysis, which studies how exposure to television

contributes to the conceptions of viewers. These conceptions are usually ideas about how the real

world should be. Simply put, it’s hypothesized that viewers who watch more television perceive

the world differently than those who view television less. The researchers looked for this

component in the research by first asking participants how many hours of Friends they watch a

week, and determine how different perceptions are between heavy viewers and light viewers

(Gerbner, 2000).

Friends as a Phenomenon

The research that was found prior to this study revolved around how attached viewers get

to fictional characters as well as the influence Friends has had on the viewers. These areas have

been important to study in the past because it gave researchers a better understanding of how

media affects its viewers when it comes to how they feel about characters and how their attitudes

affect their everyday lives. This section explores two significant, related areas of research to this

issue: Attachments to Characters and Influence on Society and Culture.

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Attachments to Characters

Todd (2011) focused on the television show Friends and how the show’s fictional

characters have encapsulated the Generation-X experience, those born between the early 1960s

and the early 1980s, while also focusing on television's influence as a powerful cultural medium

and how it plays a larger role in the lives of Americans. The Generation-Y, or those born

between the early 1980s and the early 2000s now are watching Friends and are being influenced

by this phenomenon. Todd touches on how television is our culture’s medium for knowing about

itself because, “how television stages the world becomes the model for how the world is properly

to be staged” (Todd, 2011, p.867). He then goes into more detail discussing how television

influences our reality and how viewers are beginning to identify with their favorite characters as

they follow the series plot development week to week and become intimately involved in the

characters’ fictional lives. The analysis by Todd reveals that the cultural impact of Friends is a

media event and how “the show’s fictional characters become socially available” to their viewers

(Todd, 2011, p.867).

Eyal & Cohen (2006) examined viewers’ reactions to parasocial breakups with

characters. Parasocial relationships, are one-sided relationships where one person extends

emotional energy, interest and time, and the other person or persona is completely unaware of

the existence of the other person. In the study conducted by Eyal and Cohen (2006), 279 students

completed surveys assessing their viewing habits, attitudes toward the show, favorite character,

and loneliness. Eyal & Cohen explained that television characters provide viewers with one-way

relationships and the intimacy they offer is only at a distance. The study explained people’s

reactions to the end of a relationship with a television character due to a death or show

cancellation. These findings oppose the view that developing attachments to characters is no

more than an illusory diversion, which is when lonely viewers create a relationship in their heads

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with fictional characters and thus support the notion that mediated relationships are a part of

some viewer’s social lives.

Cohen (2001) implemented a research study that explores the identification processes of

television characters by its viewers. The identification process is when viewers assume the

situations within the television show are actually happening to them and how they react to the

characters on the show. By examining average television viewers and monitoring how their

perceptions were affected, Cohen was able to look at the amount of identification experienced by

the viewers after watching the show. The research’s emphasis on identification is how the

viewers identify with characters and then create their own self-identity based on their perceptions

of those characters. According to the research, the amount of identification increased by the

amount of involvement that viewers felt with the messages of the show. Among many of areas of

the study, the identification process determined a lot by on the amount of persuasion that the

show conveyed to its audience, that they then would absorb and identify with. The research

conducted also found that the higher the involvement experienced by avid viewers, the higher the

intensity of identification with plot lines and the characters themselves.

In total, the research found that the identification of the characters acted as a way of

modeling behavior off of, but also played a huge role in emotional understanding, attitudes,

perceptions, and desires. This article is important to the form of communication phenomenon

being studied by how identification was seen as an imagination tool, allowing audiences to take

on the characters’ identities, hopes, and ideals. This then affected how they viewed the real

world. Further understanding of identification on media asks that it be looked at through

different angles in how exactly audience’s identification with characters affects their perception

of everyday life.

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To conclude, these studies show us that viewers are likely to have connections to

characters and because of these connections, viewers are likely to exhibit signs of going through

a breakup when the show ends or a character leaves the show. When viewers watch the show

each week, they start to assume that the real world should be very similar to the fictional

television world they are watching and start to believe that life is supposed to be that way. This

research tells us that avid viewers are more likely to feel connected with the show and to specific

characters because they watch it every week.

Influence on Society and Culture

The International Communication Association (2012) proposed a study to examine how

exposure to different sexual portrayals may impact the sexual health of young adult female

viewers, with emphasis on their intentions to have casual sex. The experiments focused on

college young adult females, between the ages of 18 and 22 being exposed to one of four

different sexual portrayals. These reflected recreational or relational attachments between the

female and male characters and whether or not there were positive or negative consequences that

resulted from these attachments.

One of the main focuses of this research was on the number of young female characters

who were most commonly placing themselves in more sexual circumstances than in the past on

television shows. Thus, viewers are more likely to see young female characters initiating and

experiencing more sexual situations, but also experiencing the negative after-effects of high

sexual activity. The findings from this study showed that participants were more likely to

support non-judgmental attitudes toward sex and report greater motivation to achieve one’s

personal goals when the main character experiences a negative consequence than when she

experiences a positive consequence. The results from this study may indicate that a viewer may

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not model a behavior simply because a character experienced a positive or negative outcome, but

rather a viewer could relate to a character because of that specific scenario.

Nabi & Clark (2008) suggested that depictions of liked characters experiencing rewards

or punishments for their actions, influenced viewers to be more or less likely to perform those

behaviors themselves. They conducted two studies; one on television serial “schema” (a

representation of a plan or theory) on reality and one on how college women interpreted

promiscuous behavior portrayed on television programs. The study was created with the purpose

of bringing to light the longstanding lack of concern in regards to the potential negative

interpretation of sex and violence being portrayed on television. Using the Social Cognitive

Theory, which suggests that the portrayals of liked characters will influence a viewer to be more

or less like that character depending on the rewards or punishments for their actions, they found

that the actions of “liked characters” on television shows are most likely not to be viewed as

dangerous behavior on the basis that it was the “liked character” that was performing that action,

thus making the negative action appear okay to do. The viewers completely forget about the

amount of negative consequences that may come out of that specific action. The rules of reality

are negated, leaving only the messages being portrayed by the “liked character” to guide the

viewers. 400 undergraduate women at the University of California, Santa Barbara, were recruited

to participate. The research was designed to test the assumption that negative portrayals of the

outcomes associated with risky behaviors will discourage viewers from performing them. Nabi

& Clark concluded that contrary to Social Cognitive Theory, even when behaviors are negatively

portrayed, audiences may be motivated to model those behaviors anyway.

Fisherkeller (1997) studied three adolescents in hopes of analyzing their uses and

interpretations of television. Fisherkeller had concerns that everyday practices, such as television

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viewing, shape peoples sense of culture as well as reproduces that culture. Cultural studies done

on television audiences try to understand the power of these systems and why mass media plays

such a prominent role in people’s lives. Fisherkeller found that contextual analyses of young

people’s talk about television are valuable means for exploring how people discover themselves

as part of multiple cultures.

To conclude, these studies place an emphasis on researching whether or not viewers will model

the behaviors of the characters, no matter if the character experiences positive or negative

outcomes. Fisherkeller’s study was different from the others because it sought to understand how

television as a whole influenced culture, whereas the other two sought to understand whether or

not behaviors would be modeled despite the consequences.

Methodology

H(1): College student’s expectations of living independently will differ as a result

of the amount of time spent viewing the television show, Friends

H(2): College student’s attitudes of living independently will differ as a result of

the amount of time spent viewing the television show, Friends

Method

College students’ expectations and attitudes about living independently after college were

addressed in a survey to provide a more complete understanding of how media can affect its

viewers.

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Participants

In this study 59 students were recruited with the use of a voluntary sampling survey

procedure through social media (Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram) in which the participants

selected themselves based on a strong interest in the topic. The link to the survey was posted

directly to these accounts and gave background information on what the survey was for by

stating that it was targeting college students who are currently watching or who have watched the

television show, Friends in the past. The unit of analysis being researched were the expectations

and the attitudes of living independently after college of individuals who watch this specific

television show. This included people who binge-watch (3 or more hours a day) the show as well

as those who only watch it occasionally.

The main focus of this study were participants who are college students who fall between

the ages of 18 and 23 years’ old. Of the 59 students who took the survey, more than half (n = 52)

were female, (n = 6) were male, while (n = 1) did not answer. Out of the 59 participants who

took this survey, (n = 55) were in the targeted age group and (n = 4) did not answer. Additional

demographic questions asked the participants to report their ethnicity and family income,

however, these questions do not contribute to the final results of the research.

Procedures

The researchers chose to conduct a Google Docs survey that was posted to social media

platforms asking specific questions related to Friends and focusing on the participant’s

expectations and attitudes towards life after college. By posting the survey on Facebook, Twitter,

and Instagram; the researchers were able to gather a variety of information from participants who

volunteered to take the survey. This type of design was chosen because the hypotheses were

looking for a range of answers from the individual opinions of the participants, which allowed

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them to then determine a general consensus. The survey was comprised of 4 sections (6 sections

including the consent at the beginning and class credit at the end) with 3 to 5 questions in each

section. Creating the Google Doc took a week to complete, which included: formulating the

questions and organizing the sections appropriately. The 4 sections asked questions revolving

around experience, attitudes, expectations, and demographics. The experience section asked

questions about the duration of time the participants watched the television show. Multiple

choice questions were used in this section to get an authentic answer from the participants

regarding their viewing habits (i.e. How many hours a day do you watch Friends? A.) none B.)

1-2 hours, C.) 3-4 hours, D.) 5 or more hours a day.) The attitudes section asked questions

pertaining to participants’ attitudes towards living independently after college (i.e. Until what

age do you see yourself living with friends or roommates? A.) 23, B.) 24, C.) 25, D.) 26, E.) 27

or older.) The expectations section of the survey asked questions using a Likert scale to examine

what the participant’s expectations of life after graduation are after watching Friends (i.e. I will

have a job after graduation, 1 being “Not Likely” and 5 being “Very Likely.”) Lastly, the

demographic section contained multiple questions regarding the participant’s different

characteristics such as biological sex, age, ethnicity, and family income.

Since the survey is online, the researchers were able to distribute a link to the survey via

Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram which allowed anyone to take or share it. Because of this

procedure, it allowed the research to be completely voluntary and anonymous.

Each section of this survey had very specific titles that correlated to the types of

questions that were asked. This included questions that would help to understand the hypotheses

and gather as much accurate date as possible regarding how the participants envision life after

college. The types of questions involved in this survey were: multiple choice, Likert Scale,

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which is a rating scale, and short answer options for the participants to elaborate. The multiple

choice questions were created to give participants a more authentic answer regarding their

viewing habits. The researchers chose to include a Likert Scale to allow participants to answer

those specific questions based on how they feel or what they imagine to be accurate. At the end

of each section, there was a short answer question that asked the participant to elaborate if

necessary.

The survey, and the way in which the researchers chose to deliver the questions was

reliable because it looked for participants who have not yet graduated from college to share their

attitudes and expectations of life after college and how Friends affected their opinions. With the

different demographic questions, we were able to exclude and include different people that

would affect our findings based on if they were the target demographic or not. A strength of the

survey is that the hypotheses are examining whether or not heavy viewing of Friends is directly

correlated to the viewer having skewed (less realistic) expectations and attitudes about life after

college. Another strength that came from this type of research was that we filled a research gap

since a study done on binge-watching had not yet been conducted. However, a weakness of this

survey was that we had no way of knowing how accurate and honest the answers given by the

participants were due to the fact the survey was being conducted online, instead of face-to-face.

Measures

For this study, the dependent variables were the attitudes and the expectations of living

independently after college to students as well as the length of time they watched Friends. The

questions were set up to specifically ask about the participant’s attitudes, perceptions, beliefs,

and expectations about living independently or with roommates after college and how many

hours a day and a week they tune into Friends.

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Expectations. Expectations was found using the Likert Scale to measure the types of

expectations binge watchers and non-binge watchers’ views of life after college and living

independently when thinking of the television show, Friends. An example question for the

measure was, “how prepared do you feel to live on your own after college?” Then using the

Likert Scale participants would rate their expectations on a scale of 1 to 5. 1 being highly

unprepared and 5 being highly prepared. The scale’s reliability was tested with Cronbach’s

Alpha (α=.404).

Attitudes. Attitudes was also found using the Likert Scale, allowing the researchers to measure

how the attitudes of binge watchers and non-binge watchers affected participants after watching

Friends when thinking about life after college in relation to the television show. Example

questions for measuring attitudes included; “after watching Friends, how likely are you to live

with roommates after college” or “how comfortable do you feel with life after graduations.”

Then the possible answers could be chosen from a rating scale of 1 to 5. The scale’s reliability

was tested with Cronbach’s Alpha (α=.404).

Data Analysis

Types of analysis performed were multiple choice and Likert Scale questions set up to

ask the participants their attitudes, perceptions, beliefs, and expectations about living

independently or with roommates after college after watching the television show, Friends,

which led to the participants being Dummy Coded into two categories (binge-watchers and non-

binge-watchers). The purpose of our research was to determine whether heavy watchers of

Friends developed skewed expectations and attitudes towards life after college as compared to

light viewers. Therefore, making our two distinct categories for our t-test in our final analysis of

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binge watchers (those who watch 3+ hours of Friends in a given week) versus light viewers

(those who watch less than 3 hours of Friends). In order to address H(1) and H(2), independent t-

tests were used. Of the total participants (n = 59), there were more binge-watchers (n = 47) than

light viewers (n = 12).

Results

Hypothesis 1 predicted that binge-watchers would have skewed expectations of life after

college rather than light viewers. An independent t-test supported this hypothesis t(59) = .82,

p>.04 with binge-watchers reporting skewed expectations of life after college (M = 3.6, SD

= .61) rather than light viewers (M = 3.2, SD = .53).

Hypothesis 2 predicted that binge-watchers would have a different attitude towards life

after college than light viewers. An independent t-test supported this hypothesis t(59) = .34,

p>.21 with binge-watchers having different attitudes (M = 3.4, SD = 1.1) than light viewers (M =

2.9, SD = 1.2).

Discussion

The results of this study illuminated that viewers who watch 3 or more hours of a

television show a week may have skewed expectations and attitudes towards what life after

college will be. The theory-based findings supported Cultivation Theory and suggests that

viewers are influenced by media. Important theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Theoretical Implications

According to Cultivation Theory (Gerbner, 2000), television affects its viewers after

long-term exposure. The theory suggested that the more time people spend living in the

television world, the more likely they are to believe that reality. This study’s findings reinforce

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the idea that television affects its viewer’s attitudes and expectations to reality after a prolonged

exposure to a particular television show. Or in this particular study, Friends. The study also

reinforced that the binge watchers and non-binge watcher’s attitudes and expectations slightly

differed in how they then viewed reality, thus proving the Cultivation Theory’s definition.

Practical Application

The research adds to Todd (2011), Eyal & Cohen (2006) Cohen (2001), Fisherkeller

(1997), Nabi & Clark, and The International Communication Association (2012) by illuminating

the already made points about how television and Friends in particular influences viewers.

These studies placed emphasis on researching whether or not viewers will model the behaviors

of the characters, no matter if the character experiences positive or negative outcomes and

whether or not viewers are likely to have connections to characters and because of these

connections, are more likely to exhibit signs of going through a breakup when the show ends or a

character leaves the show.

Limitations On Research

In the study conducted, there were some variables that neither the survey or the

preliminary research could account for. This study only focused on the effects of perceptions on

reality after watching one show (Friends) for a long period of time. The research never

accounted for the effects of any other type of show like New Girl or How I Met Your Mother, to

name popular sitcoms of today. Then finally another limitation faced is only certain aspects of

the show were examined, the living experiences of the character’s post college and how that

particular aspect was interpreted by viewers.

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Future Research

The research conducted for this study, only focused on one type of show, a popular

sitcom from the 1990’s to early 2000’s. In the future, for the sake of variety on the study, it

would be beneficial to study binge-watching of a popular current television show like Once

Upon a Time or How to Get Away with Murder. Another area of future research for the study

would also be to look at the binge-watching effects of a particular television show genre such as

comedy, mystery, suspense or drama. To then determine the effects of a particular genre on

viewer’s perceptions of reality. Finally, binge-watching in general could also be studied while

going into greater depth in why people binge-watch television shows for hours and hours on end.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the research was designed to examine how television shows affect

viewers’ perceptions of how they view reality. By studying the idea of how viewers develop

strong connections to the fictional characters in a weekly television sitcom, such as Friends, the

researchers determined how that strong connection affects the viewers in the real world and their

expectations of what their lives should be or will be like after graduation based on how often

they watch the show. With the rise of online video streaming services such as Netflix, Hulu, and

Amazon Prime, viewers have easy access to shows like Friends and thus are more likely to

watch the show over longer periods of time rather than one night every week on television. This

binge-watching (watching a total of 3 or more hours a day) affected the influence television

shows have on their viewers and this study examined those effects on the viewer's overall

perceptions, attitudes, and beliefs. By focusing solely on college students who have watched or

are currently watching Friends on one of the online streaming platforms, the researchers gained a

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better understanding of how watching Friends for long periods of time affects personal

connections to the characters. In addition, by exploring and building upon the concept that ‘if

viewers can have strong connections to a show with only watching it one day a week, how strong

is the connection between the show and someone who watches it constantly for a month or

more?’ and by gaining the viewpoints of college viewers who have binged watched Friends on

Netflix, it gave the researchers a better understanding of how strong the viewers’ connections are

they have to the show and how those connections may affect their expectations for what their

lives may be like living independently after college.

References

Bernstein, J. (2014). Friends at 20: How Ross and Rachel started a TV revolution.Telegraph.co.uk.

Coates, T. (2014). 'Friends' Week: Why 'Friends' Is More Influential Than 'Seinfeld'. Decider. Cohen, J. (2001). Defining Identification: A Theoretical Look at the Identification of Audiences

With Media Characters. Mass Communication And Society, 4(3), 245-264.

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DellaContrada, J. (2015). "Friends" Reflected Change in American Society, Among First TVShows to Portray "Youth on Their Own," says UB Pop-Culture Expert - University atBuffalo. Buffalo.edu.

Donahue, A. (2014). Friends: 20 years old and still the best-ever show about twentysomethings.

The Guardian. Eyal, K., & Cohen, J. (2006). When Good Friends Say Goodbye: A Parasocial Breakup Study.

Journal Of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 50(3), 502-523. Fisherkeller, J. (1997). Everyday Learning About Identities Among Young Adolescents in

Television Culture. Anthropology And Education Quarterly, 28(4), 467-492. Gerbner, G. (2000). Cultivation Theory. In E. Griffin, A First Look at Communication Theory

(4th ed.). McGraw-Hill. How Different Televised Sexual Portrayals May Influence the Sexual Health of Young Adult

Females. (2012). In International Communication Association (pp. 1-25). Jones, E. (2014). Friends 20th anniversary: Six things we wouldn't have without. The

Independent. Keyton, Joann. 'Surveys And Questionnaires'. Communication Research. 3rd ed. New York:

McGraw-Hill, 2011. 160-183. Print. Nabi, R., & Clark, S. (2008). Exploring the Limits of Social Cognitive Theory: Why Negatively

Reinforced Behaviors on TV May Be Modeled Anyway. Journal Of Communication, 58(3), 407-427.

Rosenberg, A. (2015). How TV shows make us feel like their characters are our friends.

Washington Post. Todd, A. (2011). Saying Goodbye to Friends: Fan Culture as Lived Experience. The Journal Of

Popular Culture, 44(4), 854-871

Appendix A

1. On average, how many hours a day do you watch the series Friends?a. Noneb. 1-2c. 3-4d. 5 or more

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- This question will allow us to have a better understanding on whether or not participants binge watch the show or not, and to what extent.

2. On average, how many days a week do you watch the series Friends?a. Noneb. 1-2c. 3-4d. 5-6e. 7

- This question allows us to have a better understanding of whether viewers watch Friends heavily or only watch it occasionally.

3. After graduation, where do you most likely see yourself living?a. At home with my parentsb. The cityc. Suburbsd. Country

- This will allow us to determine if Friends has influenced viewers to live in the city.

4. After graduation, do you see yourself having a roommate?a. Yesb. Noc. Possibly

5. If you answered “yes” to question number 4, who would you most likely want to live with?

a. I answered “no” or “possibly” to number 4b. Friendsc. Random people to get a fresh startd. Family (siblings, etc.)

- Questions 4 and 5 will give us a better understanding on whether or not viewers want to live with a roommate after college as a result of the fun roommate atmosphere experienced by the characters on the television show.

6.

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