Üsküdar Üniversitesi Department of Sociology conducted a comprehensive study on university students' TV series viewing habits and daily life practices during the pandemic. A total of 1865 associate, undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral students aged 18-26, studying at 146 different public and private universities in 73 cities across Turkey, participated in the research. The rate of participants who stated that their TV series viewing increased during the pandemic was 70.2%. Of the participants, 56.7% stated they watched TV series between 7:00 PM and 11:00 PM, and 34.3% between 11:00 PM and 9:00 AM. The research also revealed that university youth find foreign TV series more successful than local ones.
Under the leadership of Prof. Dr. Ebulfez Süleymanlı, Head of Üsküdar Üniversitesi Department of Sociology, Üsküdar Üniversitesi Department of Sociology undergraduate students Feyza Keskin and Zeynep Cansoy actively participated in the realization of the nationwide research.
This research aimed to generally examine how university students spent their time during the pandemic, specifically analyze TV series viewing habits which constitute a large part of time spent online, and study how daily life and habits were shaped and changed during the pandemic through different variables.
1865 Students Participated in the Research
The study, conducted via an online survey, included a total of 1865 associate, undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral students aged 18-26 from 79 different departments and programs, studying at 146 different public and private universities in 73 cities across Turkey during the 2020-2021 Academic Year.
Providing information about the research, Prof. Dr. Ebulfez Süleymanlı said, 'Of the participants, 60.1% are female (1121 people) and 39.9% are male (744). 77.6% are undergraduate, 0.8% associate, 0.6%, 4.7% are master's, and 0.9% are doctoral students. 59.6% (1,112) of the participants study at public universities, and 40.4% (753) at private universities. Of the student participants, 40.4% are between 18-20 years old, 36.8% between 20-22 years old, 0.7% between 22-24 years old, and 0.1% are 24 years old and above.'
They Spend a Significant Part of Their Time Online on Social Media Platforms
In response to the question 'How many hours a day do you read books?', 39.1% of participants stated 1-2 hours, 36% less than 1 hour, 0.4% 2-4 hours, and 4.9% 4-6 hours. The rate of those who said 6 hours and more was 2.5%.
In response to the question 'How many hours a day do you watch television?', 60.5% of participants stated less than an hour, 23% 1-2 hours, 0.2% 2-4 hours, and 2.9% 4-6 hours. The rate of those who said 6 hours and more was 1.3%.
According to the answers to the question about participants' daily book reading times, it was observed that reading time varied depending on where the person resided. Of the total participants who selected the 'less than 1 hour' option, 58.2% lived 'with family', 21.9% lived 'in a dorm', 0.8% lived 'at home with a friend', 7% lived 'alone at home', and 2.1% lived 'with relatives'.
31.1% Spend 2-4 Hours Online Daily
To the question 'How many hours a day do you spend online?', 31.1% of participants answered '2-4 hours', 29.9% 4-6 hours, 21.2% 6 hours and more, and 0.7% 1-2 hours. The rate of those who stated less than an hour was 2%. To the question 'How do you mostly spend your time online?', 49.8% of participants stated using social media, 24% watching TV series/movies, 0.1% for research purposes like books and articles, 8.1% playing games, and 6% for educational purposes (online education, project writing, foreign language learning, etc.).
Pandemic Increased TV Series Viewing Rates…
To the question 'Did your TV series viewing level increase during the pandemic?', 70.2% of participants answered 'yes', and 29.8% answered 'no'. To the question 'During which time slot do you mostly watch TV series?', 56.7% of participants answered 7:00 PM-11:00 PM, 34.3% 11:00 PM-9:00 AM, and 8.9% 9:00 AM-7:00 PM.
Comedy is Watched More…
To the question 'What is your favorite TV series genre to watch?', 21.6% of participants stated comedy, 0.9% drama, 0.9% action, 0.1% adventure, 6.7% thriller, 6.5% romantic, 0%, 2.5% horror-style series. 0.9% of participants stated they never watch TV series. When the answers to this question were compared by gender, it was observed that 8.2% of men and 7.2% of women preferred action series, 0.3% of women and 3.5% of men preferred drama, 0.2% of women and 6.9% of men preferred comedy, 7.6% of women and 1.2% of men preferred romantic, 6.3% of women and 5.4% of men preferred adventure, and 2.05% of women and 1.4% of men preferred science fiction.
Series Content is Important!
To the question 'What is the most important factor for you in the series you watch?', 84.6% stated the content and theme of the series, 0.9% the cast, 1.7% the director, 0.8% the production company, and 0.5% the TV channel. Participants' answers to the question 'How do you choose the series you watch?' were listed as 58.6% 'my own search', 0.9% 'friend's recommendation', 0.8% 'featured ones', and 0.3% 'popular ones'. To the question 'Do you follow news about the series you watch published via newspapers, internet, social media, and television?', 26% of participants answered 'yes', 53% 'sometimes', and 21.1% 'no'.
Students Find Local Series Mediocre
Participants were asked to rate their satisfaction with series broadcast in our country on a scale of 1-10. Only 0.5% of participants gave a score of '5', which indicates a moderate level of satisfaction, and 9.3% gave a score of '6'. The rate of participants who gave a score of '7' or higher was 9.5%. A significant proportion of participants, 66.9%, rated their satisfaction with local series between '4' and '1' points.
Scenes Containing Violence and Sexuality Are Disturbing
To the question 'What is the most disturbing element for you in TV series and movies?', 33.2% of participants stated violent scenes, 30.9% the physical prominence of women, 0.7% sexually explicit scenes, and 2.8% alcohol and tobacco use.
TV Series and Movies Do Not Create a Correct Image for Turkey Abroad
To the question 'Do you think TV series and movies create a correct image for our country abroad?', a large majority of participants, 77.4%, marked 'no, I don't think so', while 0.4% marked 'yes, I do think so', and 7.2% stated they were undecided on this matter. To the question 'Have you ever bought any product you saw in TV series and movies?', 79.7% of participants marked 'no', while 20.3% answered 'yes'.
TV Series Characters Are Influential
To the question 'Is there a character in the TV series you watch that you think has influenced your life?', only 0.1% of participants answered 'yes' and named the TV series characters that influenced them. Among these characters were; Ezel, 7 Güzel Adam: Erdem Beyazıt, Şahsiyet: Agâh Beyoğlu, Anne with an E: Anna, AŞK101: Sinan, HIMYM: Barney Stinson, HIMYM: Ted Mosby, Behzat Ç: Akbaba, The Good Place: Chidi Anagonye, Dexter: Dexter, Ertuğrul Gazi, Producer Esther Shapiro, Deli Yürek: Yusuf Miroğlu, Yunus Emre, Actor Will Smith, Breaking Bad: Walter White, Peaky Blinders: Thomas Shelby, The Peanut Butter: Zac, The Handmaid’s Tale: Offred, Kurtlar Vadisi: Süleyman Çakır, Kurtlar Vadisi: Polat Alemdar, Kurtlar Vadisi: Duran Emmi, Kuzey-Güney: Kuzey Tekinoğlu, Parks and Recreation: Leslie Knope, The Office: Michael Scott, Game of Thrones: Ned Stark, Arrow: Oliver Queen, Sherlock Holmes: Sherlock Holmes.
Some TV Series Characters Lead Young People to Depression
To the question 'Have you previously experienced any mental problems due to the influence of TV series and movies?', 0.4% answered 'yes, I have'. Furthermore, very interesting answers were received from this group of participants when asked what kind of influence they were exposed to. For instance, answers like 'the character in the series was depressed, and I was influenced by this and constantly felt unhappy without any reason' or 'when I watched The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, I realized I was living a very empty life when I saw that those most harmed in war and most deaths were among children, and I tried to shape my life accordingly' were received, along with answers indicating psychological distress such as 'I couldn't fall asleep alone with my eyes closed'.
Foreign TV Series Are Preferred More Among Young People
64.5% of participants responded to the question that allowed them to list the top 3 most-watched TV series names, both local and foreign. Participants named 67 foreign and 37 local series in response to this question.
Top 5 foreign TV series watched:
1- HIMYM: 80 (6.6%)
2- Queen’s Gambit: 73 (6.06%)
3- Breaking Bad: 67 (5.56%)
4- Prison Break: 63 (5.2%)
5- Dark: 62 (5.1%)
Top 5 most watched local TV series:
1-Masumlar Apartmanı: 146 (0.1%)
2- Kırmızı Oda: 124 (10.3%)
3- Sadakatsiz: 71 (5.9%)
4- Bir Başkadır: 65 (0.4%)
5- Ezel: 39 (3.2%)