Serial Fiction on TV: A Quantitative and Qualitative Approach to Consumption by Students of the Audiovisual Communication Program. The Spanish Case

Abstract

This paper reflects on the relationship between young people and contemporary television fiction. More specifically, it analyzes the consumption trends among Audiovisual Communication students in Spain. We start from the supposed existence of a young subculture, where leisure practices are the variable of belonging. Audiovisual Communication students, in particular, oriented towards monitoring these products, are presented as a group whose use and consumption of teleseries are a sign of identity and distinction both in its quantitative dimension (times and products) and in its qualitative version (preferred fiction, evaluation of characters, their narrative features, their visuality, quality, ability to entertain). For this analysis, we will use primary, quantitative and qualitative data obtained from our own fieldwork. The analysis and interpretation of this data will allow us to offer a useful map of their consumption strategies and of the discourses surrounding them.