Üsküdar University Department of Sociology undergraduate students Feyza Keskin and Zeynep Cansoy took an active role in the research conducted across Turkey under the leadership of Prof. Dr. Ebulfez Süleymanlı, Head of Üsküdar University Department of Sociology.
Üsküdar University Sociology Department conducted a comprehensive research on the TV series viewing habits and daily life practices of university students during the pandemic. A total of 1,865 associate, undergraduate, graduate and doctoral students between the ages of 18-26 studying at 146 different state and foundation universities in 73 cities in Turkey participated in the research. The rate of participants who stated that there was an increase in the level of series viewing during the pandemic was 70.2 percent. 56.7 percent of the participants stated that they watched TV series between 19.00 and 23.00 and 34.3 percent between 23.00 and 09.00. The research also revealed that university youth find foreign TV series more successful than local TV series.
Under the leadership of Prof. Dr. Ebulfez Süleymanlı, Head of Üsküdar University Department of Sociology, Feyza Keskin and Zeynep Cansoy, undergraduate students of Üsküdar University Department of Sociology, took an active role in the realization of the research conducted across Turkey.
With this research, it was aimed to examine how university students spend their time during the pandemic process in general and specifically to analyze the TV series watching habits that occupy most of the time spent on the internet and to examine how daily life and habits are shaped and changed during the pandemic process through different variables.
One thousand 865 students participated in the research
A total of one thousand 865 associate, bachelor's, master's and doctoral students from 79 different departments and programs between the ages of 18-26, studying in 146 different public and foundation universities in 73 cities of Turkey in the 2020-2021 Academic Year, participated in the online survey.
Providing information about the research, Prof. Dr. Ebulfez Süleymanlı said, "77.6 percent of the participants, 60.1 percent of whom are female (thousand 121 people) and 39.9 percent male (744), are undergraduate, 16.8 percent associate degree, 16.6 percent, 4.7 percent master's degree and 0.9 percent doctoral students.Among the participants, 59.6 percent (1,112) were studying at state universities and 40.4 percent (753) at foundation universities. 40.4 percent of the participant students are between the ages of 18-20, 36.8 percent between the ages of 20-22, 10.7 percent between the ages of 22-24, and 12.1 percent between the ages of 24 and above."
They spend a significant portion of their time on social media platforms on the internet
In response to the question "How many hours a day do you read books?", 39.1 percent of the participants stated that they read books for 1-2 hours, 36 percent for less than 1 hour, 17.4 percent for 2-4 hours and 4.9 percent for 4-6 hours.
The rate of those who said 6 hours or more was 2.5 percent. In response to the question "How many hours a day do you watch television?", 60.5 percent of the participants stated that they watch television for less than one hour, 23 percent for 1-2 hours, 12.2 percent for 2-4 hours and 2.9 percent for 4-6 hours. The rate of those who said 6 hours or more was 1.3 percent.
According to the answers to the question about the daily reading time of the respondents, it was observed that the reading time varied depending on the place of residence. "It was observed that 58.2 percent of the participants who chose the option "less than 1 hour" stayed with their families, 21.9 percent stayed in a dormitory, 10.8 percent stayed at home with friends, 7 percent stayed at home alone and 2.1 percent stayed with relatives.
31.1 percent spend 2-4 hours a day on the internet
To the question "How many hours a day do you spend online?", 31.1 percent of the respondents answered "2-4 hours", 29.9 percent answered 4-6 hours, 21.2 percent answered 6 hours or more, and 15.7 percent answered 1-2 hours. The rate of those who stated less than one hour was 2 percent. In response to the question "How do you spend most of your time on the Internet?", 49.8 percent of the participants stated that they use the Internet for social media, 24 percent for watching TV series and movies, 12.1 percent for research purposes such as books and articles, 8.1 percent for playing games, and 6 percent for educational purposes (online education, project writing, foreign language learning, etc.).
Series viewing rates increased during the pandemic
To the question "Did your level of TV series viewing increase during the pandemic?" 70.2 percent of the participants answered "yes", while 29.8 percent answered "no". To the question "In which time interval do you watch TV series the most?" 56.7 percent of the participants answered between 19.00-23.00, 34.3 percent between 23.00-09.00, and 8.9 percent between 09.00-19.00.
TV series viewing habits
In response to the question "What is your favorite type of TV series to watch?", 21.6 percent of the participants stated that they watch comedy, 15.9 percent drama, 15.9 percent action, 12.1 percent adventure, 6.7 percent thriller, 6.5 percent romance, and 2.5 percent horror TV series. On the other hand, 14.9 percent of the participants stated that they did not watch any series. When the responses to this question are compared by gender, 8.2 percent of men and 7.2 percent of women watched action series, 10.3 percent of women and 3.5 percent of men watched drama series, and 14.5 percent of women watched comedy series,2 percent of women and 6.9 percent of men, the romantic genre was preferred by 7.6 percent of women and 1.2 percent of men, the adventure genre by 6.3 percent of women and 5.4 percent of men, and the science fiction genre by 2.05 percent of women and 1.4 percent of men.
The content of the series is important
In response to the question "What is the most important factor for you in the TV series you watch?", 84.6 percent stated that the content and subject matter of the series, 10.9 percent the cast, 1.7 percent the director, 0.8 percent the production company and 0.5 percent the TV channel were important. The answers of the participants to the question "How do you choose the TV series you watch?" were listed as 58.6 percent "my own search", 16.9 percent "on the recommendation of friends", 11.8 percent "the prominent ones", 11.3 percent "the popular ones". To the question "Do you follow the news published in newspapers, internet, social media and television about the TV series you watch?" 26 percent of the participants answered "yes", 53 percent "sometimes" and 21.1 percent "no".
Students find domestic TV series mediocre
In response to the question "What is your satisfaction with the TV series broadcasted in Turkey?", respondents were asked to give a score between 1-10. Only 13.5 percent of the participants gave a score of "5", which is an expression of medium satisfaction, and 9.3 percent gave a score of "6". The rate of respondents who gave a score of "7" and above was 9.5 percent. A significant proportion of the participants, 66.9 percent, evaluated their satisfaction level with domestic TV series between "4" and "1" points.
Violence and sexual scenes disturb
In response to the question"What disturbs you the most in TV series and movies?", 33.2 percent of the participants stated that it was scenes of violence, 30.9 percent stated that it was the physical highlighting of women, 19.7 percent stated that it was scenes of sexuality, and 2.8 percent stated that it was the use of alcohol and tobacco.
TV series and movies do not create the right image for Turkey abroad
To the question "Do you think that TV series and movies create the right image of our country abroad?", 77.4 percent of the respondents answered "no, I don't think so", 15.4 percent answered "yes, I think so" and 7.2 percent stated that they were undecided on this issue. To the question "Do you have any products that you have seen in TV series and movies and purchased?" 79.7 percent of the participants answered "no, I do not", while 20.3 percent answered "yes, I do".
Series characters are effective
In response to the question "Do you think there is a character in the TV series you watch that you think has influenced your life?", only 18.1 percent of the respondents answered "yes, there is" and mentioned the names of the TV series characters that influenced them. Among these characters; Ezel, 7 Beautiful Men: Erdem Beyazıt, Şahsiyet: Agâh Beyoğlu, Anne with an E: Anna, AŞK101: Sinan, HIMYMYM: Barney Stinson, HIMYM: Ted Mosby, Behzat Ç: Vulture, 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, Valley of the Wolves: Suleyman Cakir, Valley of the Wolves: Polat Alemdar, Valley of the Wolf: Duran Emmi, North-South: Kuzey Tekinoğlu, Parks and Recreation: Leslie Knope, The Office: Michael Scott, Game of Thrones: Ned Stark, Arrow: Oliver Queen, Sherlock Holmes: Sherlock Holmes, among others.
Some TV series characters drive young people to depression
To the question "Have you ever experienced any mental problems due to the influence of TV series and movies?" 14.4 percent answered "yes, I have". In addition, this group of participants gave very interesting answers to the question of what kind of influence they had been subjected to. As a matter of fact, there were answers such as "the character in the series was depressed and I was under this influence and felt unhappy all the time for no reason" or "when I watched the child in striped pajamas and saw that the people who suffered the most in the war and the deaths were mostly seen in children, I realized that I was living a very empty life and I tried to shape my life accordingly", as well as answers such as "I could not close my eyes and fall asleep alone", which indicate psychological depression.
Foreign TV series are more preferred among young people
64.5 percent of the participants responded to the question that asked them to write the names of the 3 most watched domestic and foreign TV series. In response to this question, 67 foreign and 37 local TV series were mentioned by the participants.
Top 5 foreign TV series among the most watched foreign TV series:
1- HIMYM: 80 (6.6 percent)
2- Queen's Gambit: 73 (6.06 percent)
3- Breaking Bad: 67 (5.56 percent)
4- Prison Break: 63 (5.2 percent)
5- Dark: 62 (5.1 percent)
Top 5 most watched domestic series:
1-Apartment of the Innocents: 146 (12.1 percent)
2- Red Room: 124 (10.3 percent)
3- Unfaithful: 71 (5.9 percent)
4- It is different: 65 (.4 percent)
5- Ezel: 39 (3.2 percent)
