Television and patterns of behavior of young Salvadorans

Abstract

This paper is the result of a descriptive correlational research, conducted among 1,207 young Salvadorans, in order to determine whether a relationship exists between television consumption habits and patterns of behavior. The results point to television as the dominant medium seeking specially entertainment followed by the Internet in a strong second place. However, this preference for television, even when the data allow us to perceive an association between consumption and the way young people speak, act, look or think, fail to establish statistical correlations, which should make us turn our eyes to the facts that the receivers have an active role, that the influence of television isn’t a unidimensional variable, and that social interactions and context must be considered in depth. For this it is necessary to resort to other approaches in research, to qualitative study. However, the adoption of strategies for media education, especially for television consumption, is an unavoidable necessity.