In 1977, 73,307,000 households in the United States had at least one television set (Arbitron Company, 1978), which accounts for all but about 2 percent of households. In a 1974 Gallup Opinion Index Survey, 46 percent of the population reported television as their favorite leisure-time activity. Reading ranked second, with 14 percent (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1977). The television set in an average household is on about seven hours a day. Television ranks as the most pervasive leisure-time activity in the United States.

Its importance has made it the subject of a substantial literature, ranging from articles in popular magazines to the most erudite of academic treatises. The vast majority of published work is about program content, viewing behavior, and/or criticism. Surprisingly little has been published regarding the general role of the medium in the lives of its audience. The two principal works are monographs by Steiner (1963) and Bower (1973).