CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION

BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY The traditional roles of mass media (of which television is an integral, if not most popular, segment) include surveillance, correlation, entertainment, and cultural transmission amongst many others (Folarin, 2005; Daramola, 2003). Through the performance of these functions, the mass media provides information; aids the understanding of the information provided (as well as creating a context for the interpretation of the information disseminated); acts as the link between transgenerational and cross-generational transfer of heritage; and provides escapism from lifes harsh realities through play. Important to this study is the entertainment function. This function was first postulated by Wright (1960) as communicative acts primarily intended for amusement. Basically, this refers to the medias ability to provide escape and relaxation (Daramola, 2003).

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It has been argued, and research findings have shown, that television provides more for the entertainment function than do other media of mass communication. This is achieved through their programming which according to Solomon (2008) presents the strongest (if not the only) offering that television stations give to the public in exchange for their patronage through viewership and advertising. Amongst the different programme genres provided by television stations for entertainment, reality

television programmes (also called reality television) represent one of the major programme types on modern-day television.

Reality television shows, defined by Hill (2005) as a genre of television programming that presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and usually features ordinary people instead of professional actors, sometimes in a contest or other situation where a prize is awarded, have grown in popularity since the 1990s, even though there have been reality shows running since the 1940s (Wikipedia, 2011). In Nigeria, with the success of the pioneer modern-style reality show, Gulder Ultimate Search, the

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popularity of reality television shows has grown, prompting several of them to produced and aired. The list of current realities shows in Nigeria (as at a headcount by the researcher) inexhaustively includes the following: Gulder Ultimate Search, Big Brother Africa (and Nigeria), Amstel Malta Box Office, MTN Project Fame, The Next Movie Star, Nigerian Idols, etc.

The Big Brother series is an international franchise which has run in the United States, United Kingdom, and some other countries of Europe and Australia. The African version, Big Brother Africa, is produced by Endemol (in South Africa) and involves 14

contestants selected from 14 African countries. The show, which is in its fifth season (the fifth season is expected to hit the airwaves on May 1st, 2011), is viewed in more than 42 African countries, Nigeria inclusive. There has even been a Nigerian edition of the series in 2008 (Wikipedia, 2011).

The level of viewership of the series in Nigeria is rather wide, drawing its audience from young people between the ages of 1218, and adults from 30 and above. Different segments of the

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show have generated controversy ranging from the fact that the winners are pre-determined, to the nude segments of the show (the Shower Hour) as well as acts on the show which are deemed to be sexually suggestive and morally suspect. This has ignited debate on the appropriateness of the show, especially to young viewers with highly impressionable minds, and the extent to which exposure to the show influence social behaviour. This was the focus of the study at hand.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM Television, unlike other media of mass communication (excluding the Internet in some cases) is considered to be the most convincing medium, due to its ability to match sight with sound in delivering its content. This makes it the most impressionable media, and with the right content production and delivery, it can be successful in winning, influencing and harnessing to a set objective. The Big Brother Africa television series has been fraught with controversy since it started gaining popularity in the Nigerian market. Critics of the show have vitriolically called for its ban from

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Nigerian television stations (satellite though), citing the nudity, loose morals, and other factors which they claim, can negatively influence Nigerian youths. This study therefore was designed to look into the extent to which exposure to the Big Brother series on MNet has influenced behaviours in Nigerian youths, using students of the University of Lagos as the focal point.

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY The purpose of this study was to ascertain the extent to which exposure to media content can influence certain behaviours in young people; in other words, how television can exploit the impressionable minds (or otherwise) of young people, using the Big Brother Africa series as a case study.

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY The study had the following objectives, which it expected to have achieved upon its completion. These include: a. Determining the extent of viewership of Big Brother Africa series amongst UNILAG students

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b. Finding out the segment(s) of Big Brother Africa that is (are) considered the most popular and preferred by UNILAG students c. Finding a link between exhibited social behaviour of UNILAG students, and their exposure (or lack of) to Big Brother Africa

RESEARCH QUESTIONS The research questions answered at the end of this study include the following: 1. What is the level of viewership of Big Brother Africa amongst University of Lagos students? 2. What segment(s) of Big Brother Africa is (are) most popular amongst University of Lagos students? 3. To what extent does the show influence social behaviour amongst University of Lagos students 4. To what extent does the show influence sexual behaviour amongst University of Lagos students

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

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The findings of this study will add to the literature available on the relationship between television exposure and behaviour amongst young people. It will also provide insight to television programme deciders and government regulators on the modus operandi of ensuring the televisions power to influence is not abused on the altar of profiteering. And lastly, it will hopefully provide the foundation for further research in its specific area.

OPERATIONAL DEFINITION OF TERMS Big Brother Africa: A television reality show which features contestants from different African countries (who subscribe to MNet) who live in a house for up to 106 days, undergoing

activities determined by the Big Brother. Contestants are evicted, until there is only one left, who is crowned the winner. Evictions, and the eventual winners are determined by votes from viewers across Africa and beyond. Influence: This can be defined as the ability to make one do something.

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REFERENCE Daramola, I (2003) Introduction to Mass Communication (Second Edition), Lagos: Rothan Press Folarin, B (2005) Theories of Mass Communication: An Introductory Text (2nd Edition) Ibadan: Stirling-Horden Hill, A (2005) Reality TV: Audiences and Popular Factual Television, New York: Routledge Solomon, O (2008) Programming at Silverbird Television, being unpublished B.Sc research project submitted to the Department of Mass Communication, University of Lagos Wikipedia (2011) Reality Television retrieved from on

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reality_Television, 02/03/2011 Wikipedia (2011) Big Brother Africa retrieved

from on

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Brother_Africa, 02/03/2011

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CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW/THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

Introduction The objective of this chapter is to outline and discuss the theories relevant to the understanding of the research area, as well as review literature which will help provide the required context. Considering the nature of the study, it is the view of the researcher that the social categories and the cultivation theories will suffice.

SOCIAL CATEGORIES THEORY The concept of the medias audience being heterogeneous and dispersed clearly acts to debunk the notion that the media has a mass, widespread effect on the society, despite the attempts by the magic bullet theorists to prove same. However, while the veracity of contemporary research which shows that media effects or influence on society is not as widespread as initially

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imagined, findings have also been made to show that there is still some level of group response to media stimulus. Some of these findings are explained by the concept of the social categories theory. The uniqueness of the individual members of the mass medias audience notwithstanding, there still exist some form of

homogeneity in terms of social status, level of education, interests, etc. As the clich goes, birds of a feather flock together, people generally group together when they share any form of commonality. This grouping influences what is described in the social categories theory. As a theory of communication, the social categories theory stresses that response to media stimuli is determined by the social category that the individual audience member(s) are affiliated to. Answers.com (2010) explains it the social categories theory as a theory of mass communication that argues that individuals within broad subgroups (such as age classes, sex, social, or educational class) react similarly to the mass media. This creates the impression that due to shared features of individual members of a group, they are likely to react similarly to media impulses, whether consciously, because they
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are trying to fit into the group (that is socialization to function optimally within the group) or unconsciously. In the light of this study, it is apt to assume that different individuals would generally watch reality television shows in this instance, Big Brother Africa because their peers do, and they do not want to feel out of place by not watching it. Also, it could reinforce the idea that particular interests shown at the same time by different members of the group influences them to want to watch the programme. The key result here is the assumption that the group pattern of exposure would also determine or at least influence the group pattern of response or effect that the series and its content would have on the audience. This means in simple terms that people exist in society as members of a group (membership of such groups are defined by various factors, including educational level and achievement, socio-economic class, tribal-ethnic

affiliation, etc), and to function as fitting members of such group, are expected to live up to certain standards and exhibit some kind of behaviour. This behaviour can be determined by different factors, including reality television shows, especially since this

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genre of television programming is an unscripted attempt to show life as it really is, unlike movies, soaps etc which are scripted.

CULTIVATION The ability of television to influence behaviour has been studied severally. This draws from the assumption that its ability to combine sight and sound to deliver its message helps enhance its credibility and memorability, especially since it is able to engage two key sense organs: the eyes and the ears. Ultimately, television is considered a key social integrator, acting as a bridge between generations and cultures, and consequently bringing into reality the concept of the global village. However, the downside of this trend is the propensity to mainstream, bringing about a homogeneity of opinions and conceptions, which is fostered under the ambits of cultivation, which is captured succinctly by the cultivation theory.

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The long term effect of exposure to television and its varied content on audiences is the subject matter of the cultivation theory. According to Wikipedia (2010), the cultivation theory attempts to create a cause-effect relationship between exposure to television and the long-term effects on audiences. Initially, the first time cultivation was developed by media theorists such as George Gerbner, the objective was to look into the relationship between long and sustained exposure to TV violence and real-life violence. However, the contemporary application of the theory now incorporates the influence of TV on other aspects of social behaviour.

According to Miller (2005: 282), cultivation theory was not developed to study "targeted and specific effects (e.g., that watching Superman will lead children to attempt to fly by jumping out the window) [but rather] in terms of the cumulative and overarching impact [television] has on the way we see the world in which we live" hence the term 'Cultivation Analysis'.

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Thus, the predilection of television as a strong socializing factor is highlighted by this theory. Gerbner, Gross, Morgan, & Signorielli (1986) make a case for this. They noted that although in previous times, other socializing factors which influenced social behaviour had been religion, social groupings, and education, the current trend had shown that: "television is the source of the most broadly shared images and messages in

history...Television cultivates from infancy the very predispositions and preferences that used to be acquired from other primary sources ... The repetitive pattern of television's mass-produced messages and images forms the mainstream of a common symbolic environment" (pp. 17 18).

It is therefore the assertion of the cultivation theory that the opinion of people on various aspects of society and their social lives is cultivated over a long period of time due, for the most part, to their exposure to television and its messages. This cultivation is however subtle, especially since it takes a long time

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to develop; which sometimes makes it impossible to associate the exposure to the social behaviour (most people do not agree that their preferred dress style, or use of vocabulary, etc are a function of their exposure to a preferred television programme where such dressing or use of language is depicted). This cultivation can have an impact even on light viewers of TV, because the impact on heavy viewers has an impact on our entire culture. Gerbner and Gross (1976:175) say "television is a medium of the socialization of most people into standardized roles and behaviors. Its function is in a word, enculturation".

Stated most simply, the central hypothesis explored in cultivation research is that those who spend more time watching television are more likely to perceive the real world in ways that reflect the most common and recurrent messages of the television world, compared with people who watch less television, but are otherwise comparable in terms of important demographic

characteristics (Gerbner, Gross, Morgan, Signorielli, & Shanahan, 2002).

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Gerbner and Gross (1976) emphasize that television as a mass medium of communication has come to represent a common symbolic environment that bound diverse communities together, socializing people in to standardized roles and behaviours. This brings into focus the concept of mainstreaming, which in effect is the subtle homogenization of opinions and behaviour as a result of exposure to specific social stimulus, such as television messages. This presents a view of television as an immensely powerful medium, which can be very successful in promoting propaganda. This is further corroborated by Gerbner et al (ibid) when they compared the power of television to the power of religion, saying that television was to modern society what religion once was in earlier times.

Source: Hawkins and Pingree (1983)

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UTwente (2010) states that the assumption of the cultivation theory in its most basic form, suggests that television is responsible for shaping, or cultivating viewers conceptions of social reality. The combined effect of massive television exposure by viewers over time subtly shapes the perception of social reality for individuals and, ultimately, for our culture as a whole. Quoting Gerbner, they argue that the mass media cultivate attitudes and values which are already present in a culture: the media maintain and propagate these values amongst members of a culture, thus binding it together. He has argued that television tends to cultivate middle-of-the- road political perspectives. Gerbner called this effect mainstreaming. Cultivation theorists distinguish

between first order effects (general beliefs about the everyday world, such as about the prevalence of violence) and second order effects (specific attitudes, such as to law and order or to personal safety). There is also a distinction between two groups of television viewers: the heavy viewers and the light viewers. The focus is on heavy viewers. People who watch a lot of television are likely to be more influenced by the ways in which the world is framed by television programs than are individuals who watch

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less, especially regarding topics of which the viewer has little firsthand experience. Light viewers may have more sources of information than heavy viewers. Resonance describes the intensified effect on the audience when what people see on television is what they have experienced in life. This double dose of the televised message tends to amplify the cultivation effect (UTwente, 2010).

LITERATURE REVIEW TELEVISION AS AN ENTERTAINMENT MEDIUM The mass media have different functions they are expected generally to play in society. This expectation of society of the media draws from the extent of its reach the mass media through its various individual vehicles pervades almost all areas of society and is not bound by economic, social, political, cultural

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and even national lines and their inherent ability to influence society, as explained implicitly and explicitly in media effect theories and studies (Flew and Sal, 2005; Barker, 2001; Folarin, 2005). Traditionally, according to media modelers in the 1960s including Harold Lasswell, and Richard Wright, the media are expected to perform the functions of information providing through surveillance, correlation, cultural transmission, and

entertainment. Other functions such as servicing the economy, education, etc have been added following research into the roles that the media play in society based on empirical observation. Important however to this study is the entertainment function. There have been several positions on the entertainment function of the media. Richard Wright who first proposed this position held that the media provided a means of escape from reality, and thus produced a feeling of relaxation. Cool Schools (2011) highlights the fact that entertainment constitutes the most important element of the media, especially television which is the most patronized medium for entertainment, even despite the shift to new media. This is however not to say that other media types such as radio, or print media, do not have entertainment content.
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Music talk programmes, sports, cartoons, puzzles, etc are examples of entertainment content in other media forms.

The point being made is that television, through its various contents, is by far the biggest entertainment media. Its ability to merge sight and engage it with sound helps memorability of its offering; before that, it would have attracted and kept audience attention to whatever it was showing. Some of the content that television usually carries for entertaining its audiences includes dramas, serials, soap operas, reality shows, etc. Through these avenues, television helps provide a practical experience of the postulations of the play theory, which posits amongst other things, that the media provides a route for escape from lifes harsh realities.

REALITY TELEVISION SHOWS: DEFINITION AND ISSUES ARISING

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The ability of television to both create and reflect is, in the opinion of most, the underlying factor that motivates the creation of reality television shows. Defined by Hill (2005) as a genre of television programming that presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and usually features ordinary people instead of professional actors, sometimes in a contest or other situation where a prize is awarded, reality television has grown in strength (by this is meant the number of shows and the ratings that accompany them cumulatively), since its beginnings in the since the early years of television, progressing steadily as a television formula in the 1990s, and becoming as a phenomenon around 1999-2000. Its unscripted nature has drawn some comparisons with

documentaries, docudrama and news, but the major distinction is that while the former, that is, reality television shows, are almost skewed towards entertainment and thus may adopt a less serious posture, while the latter (news, docudrama, documentary) do not. Wikipedia (2011, para 10) cites different sources in noting that the current popularity of reality television shows the world over is as a result of the resounding success of Big Brother and Survivor

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(in the US). These shows have been syndicated or/and replicated in different countries, where it has enjoyed the same success as their predecessors in the US. In Nigeria for instance, the first reality television show, Gulder Ultimate Search, was developed using the concept of Survivor series, while there has been one Big Brother Nigeria show, even though Nigeria is one of the 14 countries who participate annually in the Big Brother Africa show.

There are different types of reality television shows. According to Wikipedia (2011), these shows, include documentary-style shows, shows,

competition/game

self-improvement/makeover

renovation shows, social experiment shows, dating shows, talk shows, hidden cameras, supernatural and paranormal shows, and hoaxes. Which ever the sub-genre, the underlying motivation for reality television is the intention to create reality; to paint life as it normally happens for some people on an everyday basis. This underscores the need for reality television to defend its

unscripted status, for which it has been well criticised. For instance, Booth (2004) cites Daniel Petrie Jr., former president of

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the Writers Guild of America, who stated: "We look at reality TV, which is billed as unscripted, and we know it is scripted. We understand that shows don't want to call the writers writers because they want to maintain the illusion that it is reality, that stuff just happens." This is but one of the many criticisms that have been leveled against reality television. Others include that, according to Langholt (2011, para 5), many reality television shows present a distorted view of real life, highlighting the emotional, scandalous and traumatic moments that occurred during taping. Highly impressionable people such as children and young adults who believe this is the way life really is can develop a distorted sense of reality, including bad examples of how to react to anger, frustration or disappointment in their own lives. When they watch "reality TV," they believe this is an example of other "regular" people, and the way most people respond to situations in their lives. What kids don't understand is that the moments presented on the show are those selected from hundreds of hours of footage. Dramatic impact is the basis of the editing choices, so extremes of behavior are what end up being shown. The Bachelor, Flavor of Love, Big Brother and John and

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Kate Plus Eight are examples of unrealistic reality shows. There are some exceptions to this though.

Game shows, such as the famous MTN Project Fame, Nigerian Idol, etc that present people competing in talent contests, or shows that present people working on reaching a goal, such as The Apprentice Africa, are good because they allow people to be seen striving to do their best, getting praise for accomplishments, and earning rewards for doing well, as well as for having genuine ability. Reality television has also come under the fire for other reasons. Some have claimed that the success of reality television is due to its ability to satisfy the desire of viewers to see others humiliated. According to Alderman (2008), "there is a sub-set of reality TV that can only be described as Shame TV because it uses humiliation as its core appeal." Not only that, the unscrupulous nature of some of its sponsors is often revealed in the sense that the prize winnings are actually not as lucrative as what was earlier promised. For instance, the Timi Dakolo saga is a good

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reference point.

It required a court injunction for Celtel to pay

him his prize money, but the record deal did not materialize.

Reality television is also blamed for creating false celebrities who are rather unfitting role models for society to follow. Big Brother Africa in particular for its raunchy scenes, especially steamy tasks and the infamous Shower Hour, have had its winners become instant social celebrities popular amongst young people.

Ultimately, there is the temptation to design lifestyle patterns along the lines of what these people have been seen to do in the show which has earned them this status, and ultimately, this impacts negatively on the social values of society, especially in terms of sexual behaviour.

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REFERENCES Alderman, Tom (February 13, 2008). "Shame TV: Why Humiliation Sells on American Idol and Others". The Huffington Post. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tom-alderman/shame-tvwhy-humiliation_b_86500.html. retrieved on 12/06/2011 Answers.com (2010) Social Categories Theory downloaded from http://www.answers.com/topic/social-categories-theory, 12/7/2010 Barker, M. (2001) the Newton Report: a Case Study in Common Sense in Martin Baker and Julian Petey (eds) III Effects in the Media /Violence Debate, London: Routledge Booth, William (August 10, 2004). "Reality Is Only An Illusion, Writers Say - Hollywood Scribes Want a Cut Of Not-SoUnscripted Series". The Washington Post. on

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A530322004Aug9.html. Retrieved 10/06/2011 Flew, Terry and Humphreys, Sal. (2005) Games: Technology, Industry, Culture in Flew, Terry (ed) New Media: an

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introduction

(second

edition),

South

Melbourne:

Oxford

University Press Folarin, B (1998) Theories of Mass Communication: An

Introductory Text, Ibadan: Stirling-Horden Publishers Gerbner, G., & Gross, L. (1976). Living with television: The violence profile. Journal of Communication, 26(2), 172-199. Gerbner, G., Gross, L., Morgan, M., & Signorielli, N. (1986). Living with television: The dynamics of the cultivation process. In J. Bryant & D. Zillman (Eds.), Perspectives on media effects (pp. 1740). Hilldale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Gerbner, G., Gross, L., Morgan, M., Signorielli, N., & JacksonBeeck, M. (1979). The Demonstration of Power: Violence Profile No. 10. Journal of Communication, 29, 177-196. Hawkins R.P & Pingree, S. (1983). Televisions influence on social reality. In: Wartella, E., Whitney, D. & Windahl, S. (Eds.) Mass Communication Review Yearbook, Vol 5. Beverley Hills CA: Sage. Hill, A. (2005). Reality TV: Audiences and Popular Factual Television. London: Routledge

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Langholt,

(2011)

Effects

of

Reality

TV.

http://www.life123.com/arts-culture/television/realitytv/effects-of-reality-tv.shtml. retrieved on 12/06/2011 Wikipedia (2010) Cultivation Theory retrieved from

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultivation_Theory, on 22/6/2010 UTwente (2010) Cultivation Theory retrieved from

http://www.utwente.nl/cw/theorieenoverzicht/Theory %20clusters/Mass%20Media/Cultivation_Theory.doc/, 7/7/2010 Wikipedia (2011) Reality Television. retrieved on

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reality_Television.html. on 10/06/2011

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CHAPTER THREE RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

INTRODUCTION This chapter of the research study focused on the various means to be adopted by the researcher in the process of data and information gathering. These data and information collected helped provide solutions to the research problem as described in the research questions raised earlier in the study.

RESEARCH DESIGN A research design is a detailed, planned, and structured strategy of investigation designed so as to obtain answers to research questions. This covers the overall scheme of the research, containing an outline of the researchers empirical intentions, whilst also outlining what the variables to be tested are. Furthermore, a research design captures and elaborates on how

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the research objectives would be achieved and how the challenges to achieving this will be surmounted. Based on the above therefore, the research design to be adopted for this study is the survey research design. This draws mainly from the fact that this study is interested in sampling the opinions of people on the subject matter at hand, that is, the influence of exposure to Big Brother Africa. OConnor (2006) states that surveys attempt to capture attitude or patterns of past behaviour, while trying to measure variables by asking people questions and then to examine relationships among the variables.

STUDY POPULATION For the purpose of this study, the population comprised all the students of the University of Lagos, domiciled in the Akoka-Yaba campus, across all the faculties and departments.

SAMPLE AND SAMPLING TECHNIQUE

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Sampling can be understood as the process of delineating a representative of the total population for a study, who served as the sample, to whom the research instrument will be

administered, and conclusions drawn. For the purpose of this study, the simple random sampling technique applied in selecting the primary sample. 150 copies of the research instrument were distributed among randomly selected from all the faculties in the Akoka-Yaba campus of the University.

RESEARCH INSTRUMENT The research instrument for this study was the structured questionnaire, which was designed with both open and closed ended questions drawn up to elicit responses that answered the research questions.

DATA ANALYSIS AND PRESENTATION Descriptive method of analysis will be employed. Simple tables and percentages will be used to present the data.

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REFERENCES OConnor, T (2006) Writing Guide: Survey Research downloaded from http://www.apsu.edu/oconnort/3760/3760lect04.htm,

on 12/7/2010

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Chapter Four Data Analysis and Presentation of findings

Introduction The purpose of this study was to ascertain the extent to which exposure to media content can influence certain behaviours in young people; in other words, how television can exploit the impressionable minds (or otherwise) of young people, using the Big Brother Africa series as a case study. The research instrument was designed to draw answers to cover areas of inquiry such as the extent of viewership of reality shows, and the reality show that is the case study for this research project, and the instances where behaviour on preferred contestants on the show have been modeled. The research instrument was administered to the sample, and out of the 150 respondents, a total of 124 copies of the administered questionnaire, representing a 83 percent response rate, which is adequate for valid findings and

generalization. These responses form the basis of the findings

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presented below, which are used to answer the research questions.

Presentation of findings Table 1: Exposure to television Response Yes No Total F 124 0 124 % 100 0 100

Table 2: Frequency of exposure Response Usually Often Rarely Not at all Total F 73 40 11 0 124 % 59 32 9 0 100

Table 3: Extent (time) of exposure

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Response Below 5 hours Up to 5 hours More than 5 hours Total

F 48 45 31 124

% 36 39 25 100

Tables 1, 2, and 3 provide information on the extent of exposure to television in general. Table 1 shows that all the respondents watch television, with 124 respondents answering in the

affirmative in this regard. In table 2, the frequency of exposure is displayed. 73 respondents watch television on a regular basis, and 40 do so seldomly. The remaining 11 do so on a less regular basis. The time spent in front of a television is displayed in table 3. Respondents who pass for heavy watchers, that is, those who watch for more than 5 hours, total 31 respondents, while light users (those who watch below 5 hours) were 48 respondents. Those in-between (who watch up to five hours) totaled 45 respondents. This shows a rather heavy level of exposure to television amongst the respondents. Table 4: Programme types watched on television

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Response News/current affairs Talk shows Entertainment Sports Childrens belt Others Total

F 23 16 68 56 25 18 206

% 11 8 33 27 12 9 100

In table 4, the type of programmes watched by the respondents is displayed. Entertainment watchers were the most with 68 respondents, followed by sports followers with 56 respondents. Childrens belt (which is explained by virtue of the age of the respondents, and the content of the children belt such animated cartoons) viewers was next with 25 respondents. Bringing up the rear include news/current affairs with 23 and talk shows with 16. Other programme types had 18 respondents. This shows that television is considered primarily as a source of information amongst the respondents.

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Table 5: Exposure to reality shows Response Yes No Total F 124 0 124 % 100 0 100

Table 6: Exposure to BBA Response Yes No Total F 113 11 124 % 92 8 100

Table 7: Editions watched Response BBA 1 BBA 2 BBA 3 BBA4 BBA5 F 12 31 60 62 71 % 5 13 25 26 31

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Total

236

100

Table 8: BBA preference Response Yes No Total F 94 13 113 % 83 17 100

The extent of exposure to reality television shows is displayed in tables 5 to 8. In table 5, it can be seen that all the respondents had watched reality television shows at some point or the other, with all 124 respondents answering that they had watched it. The popular types of reality television shows amongst the respondents included Survival Series, Gulder Ultimate Search, Big Brother Africa, MTN Project Fame, Dancing with the Stars, Americas Next Top Model, Celebrity Takes Two, amongst others. Majority of the respondents agreed that they had watched Big Brother Africa at some point, with 113 respondents answering in the affirmative, and 13 saying they hadnt, as displayed in Table 6. Table 8 shows that of the 113 who had watched Big Brother
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Africa, the majority liked the show with 94 respondents saying they liked the show, while only 19 respondents said that they did not. The most watched editions of the show is displayed on Table 7, with BBA 5 (the most recent in which another Nigerian, Karen Igho, emerged as joint winner) proving to the most watched with 71 responses. This was followed by BBA 4 (which produced another Nigerian winner, Nwackukwu Uti) with 62 responses, and BBA 3 with 60 responses. Interestingly, BBA 3 also produced a Nigerian winner, the first Nigerian winner in fact. It can be argued that this fact that a Nigerian won the show increased the interest of Nigerians in the show. Preferred segments on the show, as evidenced by the responses, totaled two, which were the shower hour, and the tasks. No valid reason was given for the preference of the shower hour by the respondents, but for the task, respondents shared the view that it helped them assess the mental competence of the housemates, and also made easier to identify with them. Other views also expressed included that on the flip side, most of the housemates were rather artificial, and that they were only performing instead of showing their real selves, which was the main focus of the
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show. Respondents also linked their liking the show to the fact that for two editions running, a Nigerian, Ikechukwu Osakioduwa, had been the host (Big Brother) of the show.

Table 6: BBA and social impact Response Yes No Total F 56 68 124 % 45 55 100

Table 7: BBA and sexual impact Response Yes No Total F 67 57 124 % 54 46 100

Table 8: Behavioural impact of BBA Response Yes F 44 % 35

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No Total

80 124

65 100

Table 9: Intent of participation Response Yes No Total F 91 33 124 % 73 27 100

Table 10: Intent of participation as function of exposure Response Yes No Total F 124 0 124 % 100 0 100

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Table 6 to 10 links exposure to BBA shows to the sexual and social behaviour of the respondents. In Table 6, it can be seen that just a small majority of the respondents opined that watching BBA has an impact on the social behaviours of its audience, with 56 responses in the affirmative, and the majority, 68 respondents answering otherwise. On the flipside, majority of the respondents agreed that the sexual content of the show (which included the shower hour and the sexual escapades of the contesting housemates) had some level of impacts on its respondents, with 67 responses in agreement, while 57 disagreed. Table 7 shows that respondents shared the view that the show did not exactly have a strong influence on social behaviour because the contestants were in the same age-grade as the contestants and so whatever was displayed in the house was what already obtained. The general summary from the responses on the extent of sexual influence of the show was that sex was a strong driving force, and any sexual persuasion, especially through television, was rather strong, which was something that was prevalent during the show, especially through the manner of dressing of the female housemates (one respondent even noted that if given the

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chance, he would love to sleep with Karen Igho because of the way she always wore clothes that revealed her cleavage). In Table 8, respondents, in the majority, agreed that there was no direct relationship between some of the social actions (choice of clothes, language, manner of addressing people, pick-up lines) and their exposure to the show, with only 44 respondents saying that they had replicated something they saw on the show in their everyday lives, while 80 respondents denied ever having done such. There was however a majority of respondents who wanted to be on the show, with a total of 91 responses. Only 31 respondents denied interest in participating in the show, which underlines the shows popularity; as displayed in 9.

Table 11: Age Response 0-18 19-25 26-30 31+ F 52 43 19 10 % 100 0 100

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Total

124

Table 12: Sex Response Male Female Total F 51 73 124 % 100 0 100

Tables 11 and 12 displays the demographics of the respondents. There were more female than male respondents, with 73 female and 51 male respondents to the study. This could be interpreted to mean that reality television shows are more popular amongst females than males. The age grade of the respondents is displayed in Table 11, with majority of the respondents were aged between 0-35 years. 0-18 years numbered 52 respondents, 19-25

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years were 43, 26-30 year-olds were 19, while respondents above 30 were just 10 respondents.

Answering the research questions This section provides answers to the research questions posed earlier, which for purposes of clarity are replicated below: 1. What is the level of viewership of Big Brother Africa amongst University of Lagos students? 2. What segment(s) of Big Brother Africa is (are) most popular amongst University of Lagos students? 3. To what extent does the show influence social behaviour amongst University of Lagos students 4. To what extent does the show influence sexual behaviour amongst University of Lagos students

Research Question One: What is the level of viewership of Big Brother Africa amongst University of Lagos students? Tables 1, 2, and 3 provide information on the extent of exposure to television in general. Table 1 shows that all the respondents
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watch

television,

with

124

respondents

answering

in

the

affirmative in this regard. In table 2, the frequency of exposure is displayed. 73 respondents watch television on a regular basis, and 40 do so seldomly. The remaining 11 do so on a less regular basis. The time spent in front of a television is displayed in table 3. Respondents who pass for heavy watchers, that is, those who watch for more than 5 hours, total 31 respondents, while light users (those who watch below 5 hours) were 48 respondents. Those in-between (who watch up to five hours) totaled 45 respondents. This shows a rather heavy level of exposure to television amongst the respondents.

In table 4, the type of programmes watched by the respondents is displayed. Entertainment watchers were the most with 68 respondents, followed by sports followers with 56 respondents. Childrens belt (which is explained by virtue of the age of the respondents, and the content of the children belt such animated cartoons) viewers was next with 25 respondents. Bringing up the rear include news/current affairs with 23 and talk shows with 16.

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Other programme types had 18 respondents. This shows that television is considered primarily as a source of information amongst the respondents.

The extent of exposure to reality television shows is displayed in tables 5 to 8. In table 5, it can be seen that all the respondents had watched reality television shows at some point or the other, with all 124 respondents answering that they had watched it. The popular types of reality television shows amongst the respondents included Survival Series, Gulder Ultimate Search, Big Brother Africa, MTN Project Fame, Dancing with the Stars, Americas Next Top Model, Celebrity Takes Two, amongst others. Majority of the respondents agreed that they had watched Big Brother Africa at some point, with 113 respondents answering in the affirmative, and 13 saying they hadnt, as displayed in Table 6. Table 8 shows that of the 113 who had watched Big Brother Africa, the majority liked the show with 94 respondents saying they liked the show, while only 19 respondents said that they did not. The most watched editions of the show is displayed on Table

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7, with BBA 5 (the most recent in which another Nigerian, Karen Igho, emerged as joint winner) proving to the most watched with 71 responses. This was followed by BBA 4 (which produced another Nigerian winner, Nwackukwu Uti) with 62 responses, and BBA 3 with 60 responses. Interestingly, BBA 3 also produced a Nigerian winner, the first Nigerian winner in fact. It can be argued that this fact that a Nigerian won the show increased the interest of Nigerians in the show. In summary, and answering the first research question, the responses show that there is a high level of viewership of the reality television show amongst the respondents, with the popularity of the show growing with the level of success enjoyed by Nigerians on the show in recent years.

Research Question Two: What segment(s) of Big Brother Africa is (are) most popular amongst University of Lagos students? Preferred segments on the show, as evidenced by the responses, totaled two, which were the shower hour, and the tasks. No valid reason was given for the preference of the shower hour by the

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respondents, but for the task, respondents shared the view that it helped them assess the mental competence of the housemates, and also made easier to identify with them. Other views also expressed included that on the flip side, most of the housemates were rather artificial, and that they were only performing instead of showing their real selves, which was the main focus of the show. Respondents also linked their liking the show to the fact that for two editions running, a Nigerian, Ikechukwu Osakioduwa, had been the host (Big Brother) of the show. This answers the second research question.

Research Question Three: To what extent does the show influence social behaviour amongst University of Lagos students? Answering this research question are the responses displayed in Table 6 and 7. In Table 6, it can be seen that just a small majority of the respondents opined that watching BBA has an impact on the social behaviours of its audience, with 56 responses in the affirmative, and the majority, 68 respondents answering

otherwise, while Table 7 shows that respondents shared the view

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that the show did not exactly have a strong influence on social behaviour because the contestants were in the same age-grade as the contestants and so whatever was displayed in the house was what already obtained.

Research Question Four: To what extent does the show influence sexual behaviour amongst University of Lagos students? Majority of the respondents agreed that the sexual content of the show (which included the shower hour and the sexual escapades of the contesting housemates) had some level of impacts on its respondents, with 67 responses in agreement, while 57

disagreed. The general summary from the responses on the extent of sexual influence of the show was that sex was a strong driving force, and any sexual persuasion, especially through television, was rather strong, which was something that was prevalent during the show, especially through the manner of dressing of the female housemates (one respondent even noted that if given the chance, he would love to sleep with Karen Igho because of the way she always wore clothes that revealed her cleavage).

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Chapter Five Summary and conclusions

Summary The objective of this study was to, amongst other things, determine the extent to which University of Lagos students watched Big Brother Africa reality show, and the influence this exposure has had on their social and sexual behaviour. It drew its basis from the assertion that television has a strong influence on the sexual and social behaviour of young people, and reality television shows, being attempts at showing how people lead their normal lives, is one of the strongest influencing television content. Theories including social categories and cultivation were the theoretical constructs of the study, while relevant literatures on television and behaviour as well as the social impact of television, especially on young people were reviewed and discussed in line with the studys objectives.

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Survey

was

deployed

as

the

research

design,

and

124

respondents was the final sample from which the findings of the study were reached. Findings included that there is a high level of viewership and popularity of the Big Brother Africa show amongst University of Lagos students, which could be a function of the success of Nigerians in the competition, winning it in the last three editions, the age grade of the respondents, and their sex, as more female respondents answered the research instrument; and that the most preferred segments of the show included the Shower Hour and the daily tasks. Other findings included that there was no strong link between the social behaviour of University of Lagos students and the fact that they watch and like Big Brother Africa, as most respondents denied replicating actions and mannerisms they have seen displayed on the show. In reverse, the study found that there is a relationship between exposure to the Big Brother Africa shows sexual content and sexual behaviour of University of Lagos students.

Conclusion

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As is the case with other studies which attempt to find a relationship between television exposure and socio-sexual

behaviour of young people, this study maintains that though it is rather difficult to establish a strong, direct relationship between the two variables, there is enough evidence to suggest that exposure to television and its various contents forms a part of the socialization process of young people. Hence, there is a strong need to ensure television programmes are conceived and produced, not just to meet entertainment targets, but also to ensure that such programmes take into consideration the longterm social implications of the type of programmes that are broadcasted.

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