Exploratory study on Usage and Perception

Abstract

Mariano, S. B. (2019). ​TELE(no)VISION: An Exploratory Study On The Usage and Perception of Television By Selected Visually-Impaired Individuals. ​Unpublished Undergraduate Thesis, University of the Philippines Diliman.

This undergraduate thesis aimed to explore the utilization and perception of television by visually-impaired people. Using the Media, Meaning, and Everyday Life framework of Joke Hermes, the study revealed that the blind’s ​awareness and perspectives on television are unique and in accordance with their backgrounds and circumstances. Television was primarily seen as a source of entertainment and information. In addition, television serves as a ‘stress-reliever’, ‘a distraction from everyday life’, a medium that ‘prompts them to enter their own world’, and ‘conveys stories of people they can identify with’. Furthermore, despite their impairment, blind people manifest agency in terms of adjustment and learning the operations of television mechanisms through the Orientation - Familiarization - Memorization process. Being able to “watch” with their ears, they gave great significance to their sense of hearing and aural descriptions. Accordingly, their sense of hearing and television’s aural descriptions influence their body positions and program preferences Finally, this study asserts that the blind people are capable of watching television and doing other activities independently, given the proper education and training they need to better navigate society .