Little is known about married couples and the role of television in their relationship and Margaret O. Fincane and Cary W. Horvath have set out in the article, Lazy Leisure: A qualitative investigation of the relational uses of television in marriage, to find out more. As stated by Haslett & Alexander (1998), television has always provided viewers with a common social reality that interpersonal communication can build upon. Many investigative studies in the past have focused around parent-child coviewing and have never ventured toward the types of communications that build around television viewed between married couples. Communication researchers don't know why, but do know that couples evaluate television as a positive part of their lives. According to Harris (1994), television is a form of entertainment comprising almost half of our leisure time, the relationships that are built in the home while watching television are important. .
Television as Interaction.
Television has always been viewed as a negative influence in the home that tears a family apart due to the lack of interaction while watching. Researchers believe that watching television is an interactive type of reaction. For example, Kubey (1990), found that watching television at home with someone else can build such emotions as anger, laughter or sadness that are found as more pleasurable than watching solo. Gantz (1985), found that couples who reported higher marital satisfaction perceived television as a shared activity and did not seem to cause problems in the relationship. The shared activity provides a common bond for the couples. Gantz (1985), noted "coviewing, even without communication interaction, may be sufficient to reinforce the sense of togetherness valued in close relationships" (p. 75). .
Lull's Typology.
Lull (1980) utilized the uses-and-gratification literature and an ethnographic study of 200 families to develop a typology of the social uses of television.