The Bridget Jones Effect: The Relationship Between Exposure to Romantic Media Contents and Fear of Being Single Among Emerging Adults

Based on cultivation theory, this study examines whether an individual's exposure to romantic media contents would be significantly related to their fear of being single. Analyses on a cross-sectional sample of 18- to 25-year olds (N = 821) did not show a significant overall relationship betwee...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Psychology of popular media culture 2019-04, Vol.8 (2), p.159-169
Main Authors: Timmermans, Elisabeth, Coenen, Lennert, Van den Bulck, Jan
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Audiences
Emerging Adulthood
Fear
Female
Human
Male
Mass Media
Media Exposure
Romance
Single Persons
Television
Test Construction
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Summary:Based on cultivation theory, this study examines whether an individual's exposure to romantic media contents would be significantly related to their fear of being single. Analyses on a cross-sectional sample of 18- to 25-year olds (N = 821) did not show a significant overall relationship between exposure to romantic media contents and fear of being single, but moderation results indicated that this relationship did exist for women who were single themselves. Suggesting that romantic media contents might contribute to the fear of being single only for specific members of this genre's audience, these findings could have general implications for theorizing on cultivation-type media effects. Public Policy Relevance Statement The fear of being single holds implications for people's well-being and relationship choices. Because single women, in particular, are often portrayed as needy and unsuccessful in popular romantic-themed TV shows, our study shows that especially single female emerging adults are susceptible to an increased fear of being single after exposure to such content.
ISSN:2160-4134
2160-4142
DOI:10.1037/ppm0000175