Life stage and motives for television use

Do motives for using TV vary by viewer's age? Mass communication literature suggests that TV plays an important role in the life of younger and older persons in American society, but has not investigated how motives for viewing vary by age of the viewer or what needs are satisfied by viewing. A systematic random sample of telephone households in the Carbondale, DeSoto, and Murphysboro area of Southern Illinois provided 140 interviews with adults aged eighteen to eighty-seven. Life stage was related to five motives for using TV (to learn things, to forget, to overcome loneliness, to pass time when bored, and to find something to talk about). All but the forget/bored motive were positively correlated with age.