Social Media, TV Ratings

and Viewership
Paper by Ariana Fernandez
Harper's Choice Middle School

Table of Contents
Introduction.Page 3
Question 1: What is Social Media?.....Page 4
Question 2: How Often Do People Use Social Media?..Page 5
Question 3: How Does Social Media Affect the Mind?Page 7
Question 4: What Makes a Person Want to Watch a TV Show?Page 9
Question 5: How has Social Media affected TV ratings and viewership?Page 11

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ConclusionPage 12

Introduction
Social media is used frequently among teenagers, and people of all ages. Social media
can even influence your opinion of something or someone, or in this case TV show popularity.
Many people are affected by social media including directors, actors, and even the common
people. Social media can make an impact on TV show ratings and viewership. There are some
factors that can affect social media which can influence TV ratings and viewership like the
frequency of social media use and the components that people are looking for in a TV show.

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What is Social Media?

To understand how Social Media affects TV ratings and viewership, one must understand
what Social Media is, and what it is used for.
Social media is defined as an online website where you socialize with other people,
without having to meet up with them in real life. According to About Tech, The "social" part:
refers to interacting with other people by sharing information with them and receiving
information from them. The "media" part: refers to an instrument of communication, like the
internet (while TV, radio and newspapers are examples of more traditional forms of media).
Social media can be used for many things. Spreading awareness, socializing, setting up
events, or even for the sole purpose of gaining popularity. Some people use social media
frequently, while others may use it not so often.
Social media can also bring people together to support a cause. For example, there are
facebook pages dedicated to spreading awareness for Breast Cancer. These accounts are also
used to set up events, like 5ks for Breast Cancer awareness.
In conclusion, social media is defined as an online website where you socialize with your
friends without having to meet up physically with each other in real life. Social media is also

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multi-purpose, because it can allow you to spread awareness, socialize, set up events, or even
just gain popularity.

How Often Do People Use Social Media?

The frequency of social media use can greatly affect how many
people watch a trending TV show. If a high percentage of people use
social media frequently, it is more likely that more people will watch or
do anything trending on social media. More people are watching the
buzz (anything trending on the internet or social media) making the
probability that someone will increase the hype.
According to a study conducted in 2013 by Pew Research
Center, Facebook is the most commonly used social media on the web.
"Facebook users are highly engaged with the platform. Fully 70% say
they use Facebook daily (including 45% who do so several times a
day), a significant increase from the 63% who visited daily in August 2013. Some 17% visit
Facebook weekly, while 12% of users log on less often.
Most Facebook users are actively engaging with their networks on the site. As opposed
to simply reading or viewing content, 65% of Facebook users frequently or sometimes share,
post or comment on Facebook. (Pew Research Center, Frequency of Social Media Use). This
shows that the majority of users on some popular sites like Facebook or Instagram use their
select social media site daily, which increases the chance you can get addicted and use social

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media more frequently than the normal LinkedIn's user. This makes the average Facebook or
Instagram users more aware of the buzz since they are more active on social media and check
their feeds more often.
In conclusion, Facebook and Instagram users use social media more often than the
average LinkedIn user. This makes the average Facebook and Instagram users more likely to
spot a trending TV show and watch it.

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How does Social Media affect the mind?

To understand how social media can influence opinions, one must know how social
media affects the mind. Knowing how you can get addicted to social media could factor into
how many people use social media, and how often.
Recent studies now validate the reality of Internet Addiction Disorder (IAD). IAD can
cause tremors, shivers, nausea and anxiety in some addicts. Many professionals now consider
IAD analogous to substance abuse. They include it among other pathological behaviors such as
gambling and eating disorders. Try removing a young "gamer" from a video game in a hurry.
You will discover how difficult it is to break the attachment between the teen and the screen.
According to Psychology Today.
Many cases of social media addictions are because of over usage. Social media can be
very addicting to the young mind, because you can connect with friends and family without
taking one step outside your home. Addicts are connected to their screens; their minds trapped
for hours to the exclusion of the world around them. Addicts neglect family, work, studies,
social relationships and themselves. This is an addictive obsession that is human-centered and
screen-deep. Mind-altering media applications may be found in video games, iPods, YouTube
and other evolving communications applications. In general, these negative aspects of media
and behavior are being widely discussed simultaneously with the discussion of the beneficial
contributions media makes as an important source for positive behavioral change. Once again
from Psychology Today.

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When young people are addicted to Social media, they use it more often, making them
more likely to do something suggested on the web. Being on the web frequently increases the
chance of getting addicted which can make someone use social media more frequently.
In conclusion, a social media addiction can affect how frequently you use social media.
An internet addiction disorder, or IAD, can have long lasting behavioral effects and can also
keep someone online for extreme amount of time.

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What Makes a Person Want to Watch a TV Show?

There are several other factors that can affect whether or not someone would like to
watch a TV show. When a TV show is recommended on social media, a person is looking for
several factors that might influence them to watch the TV show. Here are some popular factors
that may influence an average person.
For most people, they are looking for a TV show with a deep, focused plotline that will
not bore them. Usually, people find a high interest in violence, and rapid-fire shooting scenes.
You never know what is going to happen, and nobody is guaranteed to be safe, making the
audience alert and focused on the TV show. People also like to see when someone is finally
served justice, they want to feel empathy for the victims. So what is it about violence and the
danger it represents that attracts people to such content? One recent study from researchers at
the University of Augsburg, Germany and the University of Wisconsin-Madison found that
people are more likely to watch movies with gory scenes and violence if they think there is
meaning or purpose behind it say, revenge or justice. Perhaps depictions of violence that are
perceived as meaningful, moving and thought-provoking can foster empathy with victims,
admiration for acts of courage and moral beauty in the face of violence, or self-reflection with
regard to violent impulses, said study author Anne Bartsch in a statement. (TIME 5 Reasons
Why TVs Top Shows Are so Addictive).
The average person also looks for great character development. This shows how the
main character may interact with the world around them, or deal with a problem. People like to
see how a character may grow off of their past experiences and look back to see how much that
person has changed. Psychologist Uri Hasson and his colleagues took fMRI images of the

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brains of viewers who watched clips from The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, Curb Your
Enthusiasm, Bang! Youre Dead and an unedited shot of Washington Square Park in New York
City. They monitored how similar the brain activity of the viewers were, in order to get a sense
of which scenes captured their attention. Only 5% of the participants shared similar reactions to
the Washington Square Park clip, 18% had the same activity patterns to Curb Your Enthusiasm,
45% had the same brain patterns to The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, but 65% had synced brain
activity in response to Alfred Hitchcocks Bang! Youre Dead. (TIME 5 Reasons Why TVs Top
Shows Are so Addictive).
Finally, people are also looking for suspense in a TV show. When an episode ends on
something unfinished or incomplete, the audience is driven to watch the next episode to find out
what happens (TIME 5 Reasons Why TVs Top Shows Are so Addictive). According to Kubey,
TV shows even use mini-cliffhangers before each commercial break to make sure the viewer
doesnt change channels. The cliffhanger makes you want to come back and ask for more, he
says. Even in the age of recording TV shows or streaming on Netflix, theres nothing like
leaving viewers hanging to keep them hooked.
In conclusion, some of the most popular things that factor into whether or not someone
will watch a trending TV show is Violence, Suspense, and a catching and focused storyline to
keep the audience entertained.

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How has Social Media affected TV viewership?

With social media being used frequently today, how does it affect TV viewership? A
study by Nielsen Inc. shows analyzed minute-by-minute tweets and for viewership for 221
television episodes and found that tweets drove up viewership to a significant degree for 29% of
the programs.
Radha Subramayam, a CEO from Nielsen Inc. says, We looked at over 250 shows over
the past couple months and we tried to put 70 different statistical provinces on it, and however
we cut the data, we always found that there was a relationship between how people are talking
about media, and how people are watching media.
Today, we live in a world shrouded by social media. 55% of moviegoers have texted
during a movie. The poll also found that an overwhelming majority of 18-to-34-year-olds using
social networks such as Facebook and Twitter while watching a movie in a theater would
actually add to their experience according to Brian Solis who specializes in the business industry.
Popular blockbuster movies like Marvels Captain America: Civil War sparked a lot of
interest, making people post a lot about the movie. On opening day, Marvel made millions and
millions of dollars on sales alone and millions of people went and saw the movie. After the huge
publicity on the web, TV commercials, sneak peaks and the actors webpages and fanpages
spreading the word, it made a huge impact on the amount of people seeing the movie on the
opening day.
In conclusion, social media can make a great impact on the popularity of a TV show
ratings and viewership.

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Conclusion
In conclusion, social media is an online website where you socialize with people you
know or may not know without having to see them in real life. Facebook and Instagram users
use social media more often than the average LinkedIn user. This makes the average Facebook
and Instagram user more likely to spot a trending TV show and watch it. Social media addiction
can affect how frequently you use social media. Some of the most popular factors that affects
whether or not someone will be watch a trending TV show is Violence, Suspense, and a catching
and focused storyline to keep the audience entertained. Social media can make a great impact on
the popularity of a TV show ratings and viewership.

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Appendix

Fernandez, Ariana. Graph of Social Media Use Frequency Social Media & TV
Ratings. Ariana Fernandez, n.d. Web. 9 May 2016. <http://goo.gl/
forms/YWie9pey2H>. A graph from a survey conducted taken by 20 people of
social media use
frequency.

Fernandez, Ariana. "Graph Likelihood Someone Would Watch a Trending TV Show"

Social Media & TV Ratings. Ariana Fernandez, n.d. Web. 9 May 2016.
<http://goo.gl/forms/JO9j4tcJTg>. A graph from a survey conducted
that was taken by 20 people on the likelihood someone would watch a
trending TV show.

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Fernandez, Ariana. "Ratings of the Trending Show." Social Media & TV Ratings. Ariana
Fernandez, n.d. Web. 9 May 2016. <http://goo.gl/forms/zxaouVFiPa>. A
graph from a survey conducted that was taken by 20 people which shows the
ratings of the trending TV show on social media.

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Bibliography
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correlation Twitter has w/ TV views according to studies conducted by
Neilson inc, and how this research might affect the media industry.
Blanc, Martin. "Twitter Inc An Accurate Measure For TV Show Interest; Nielson
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Shepatin, Stacy. "Social TV Book: An Interview with Nielsen's Jon Gibs & Radha
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company Nielson (a company associated with conducting research on the
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Radha Subramanyam.
Blanc, Martin. "Twitter Inc An Accurate Measure For TV Show Interest; Nielson
NV." Bidness ETC. Unknown, 9 Mar. 2015. Web. 10 Feb. 2016.
<http://www.bidnessetc.com/
36460-twitter-inc-an-accurate-measure-for-tv-show-interest-nielsen-nv/>.
This site provides info about the correlation between Twitter and TV
ratings. This includes statistics from a study conducted by Nielson.
Neilsen. "Social Media and TV - Who's Talking and When and What About?"
Nielsen. Nielsen, 11 Oct. 2011. Web. 11 Feb. 2016.
<http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/news/2011/
social-media-and-tv-whos-talking-when-and-what-about.html>. This website
provides statistics on who watches or talks about TV. This provides

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things like percentages of genders who talk about the tv show and where
they come from.
Boorstin, Julia. "Nielsen Research Finds Twitter Impacts TV Ratings." Cnbc.
Cnbc, 6 Aug. 2013. Web. 11 Feb. 2016. <http://www.cnbc.com/id/
100941081>. This website provides information on how Twitter has a
correlation with TV ratings according to research conducted by the company
Nielsen. This includes statistics, and evidence.
Luna, Taryn. "Social Media Play Big Roles in Movies." New York Times. New York
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movies-depend-social-media-support-for-staying-power-box-office/
mDRqLV2AaS1xqmLdFV1N5O/story.html>. This site provides evidence on how
social media affects movie ratings. It also provides information on
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Unknown. "Music, Film, TV: How Social Media Changed the Entertainment
Experience." Brian Solis. Brian Solis, 10 May 2012. Web. 11 Feb. 2016.
<http://www.briansolis.com/2012/05/
music-film-tv-how-social-media-changed-the-entertainment-experience/>.
This website provides evidence on how social media has influenced the
recent entertainment industry. This includes statistics from research
they have conducted.
Kapko, Matt. "Social Media Still Has Little Marketing Impact in Hollywood."
CIO. CIO, 9 Oct. 2014. Web. 11 Feb. 2016. <http://www.cio.com/
article/2824136/social-media/
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site actually provides evidence against the fact that social media has an
affect on the entertainment industry. This includes evidence from
interviews with actors.
Milbrath, Sam. "The Film Industry and Social Media." Hootsuite. Hootsuide, 18
July 2013. Web. 11 Feb. 2016. <http://blog.hootsuite.com/
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the film industry is using social media to promote their movies.

Sifferlin, Alexandra. "Reasons Why TVs Top Shows Are so Addictive." TIME. TIME,

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17 Jan. 2014. Web. 9 May 2016. <http://healthland.time.com/2014/01/17/

5-reasons-why-tvs-top-shows-are-so-addictive/>. A study of why TV's top
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Duggan, Maeve, et al. "Frequency of Social Media Use." Pew Research Center. Pew
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This website provides information about which social media site is used the
most and social media frequency. The website provides graphs and data
for every social media site used.

Primary
Fernandez, Ariana. Graph of Social Media Use Frequency Social Media & TV
Ratings. Ariana Fernandez, n.d. Web. 9 May 2016. <http://goo.gl/
forms/YWie9pey2H>. A graph from a survey conducted taken by 20 people of
social media use frequency.
Fernandez, Ariana. "Graph Likelihood Someone Would Watch a Trending TV Show"
Social Media & TV Ratings. Ariana Fernandez, n.d. Web. 9 May 2016.
<http://goo.gl/forms/JO9j4tcJTg>. A graph from a survey conducted
that was taken by 20 people on the likelihood someone would watch a
trending TV show.
Fernandez, Ariana. "Ratings of the Trending Show." Social Media & TV Ratings. Ariana
Fernandez, n.d. Web. 9 May 2016. <http://goo.gl/forms/zxaouVFiPa>. A
graph from a survey conducted that was taken by 20 people which shows the
ratings of the trending TV show on social media.