Uses and Gratifications of Home Videos among the Nigerian Teenage Audience: Implications for Cultural Development and Sustainability

Abstract

The fall out of the introduction of the video cassette recorder (VCR) in the mid-1970s has been the proliferation of home video films. And the dominant audience of this unique medium today is found among children and teenagers, which have employed it for various purposes. This work studies the gratifications sought by teenagers in Enugu-North Local Government Area of Enugu State in the home video films they watch. Using the survey research design and a population of 200 this work found that the preponderant of the population use home video for diversion and relaxation, while a sizable number use it to ease tension. The content and duration of watching put in this past time are different ball games. As much as 42 percent of those polled spend 3 -5 hours a day watching films. Their dominant genres are love, comedy, sex and children films. The implication of all this for cultural development and sustainability is that our youths have become captive audiences to immorality and alien culture. The researcher recommends a stricter regulation of this medium as well as training of continuous practitioners of the industry.