Cultivating a career: Effects of television binge-watching and character identification on college students’ goal occupations

Abstract

This paper focuses on the effects that heavy television viewing can have on viewers’ life choices. Specifically, it investigates how television can influence their desires to be like favorite characters and to obtain a goal occupation that aligns with that of their favorite characters. This study surveyed undergraduate students at Indiana University to see if their favorite characters on popular career-based television shows could have influenced their major and career choice. Respondents were also surveyed to see if the act of binge watching heightened the likelihood of a viewer’s goal occupation that corresponding with the career of their favorite character. The results showed that there was some correspondence between favorite characters’ careers and viewers’ goal occupations. However, the results showed no significant difference in the effects of binge watching.