An exploration of how one of my favorite television shows, Bones, uses social media to connect with its target audience.
I don’t find it easy to define Bones’ target audience. The show itself is rated TV-14 (International Movie Databse, n.d.), meaning that it is appropriate for those aged 14 and older. The show has hefty amounts of sexual references, gore (mainly in the form of decomposed bodies), some moderate profanity, social alcohol use, references to drug use, and horror-type scenes (International Movie Databse, n.d.). Given all these factors, I often wonder if the show is suitable for even 14-year-olds, as the gory scenes are definitely not for the weak of stomach. I do think, however, that the show’s humor, intellect and so on rescue it from the ability to give its viewers nightmares. The show is also an equalizing mixture of erudition and easily understandable language to ensure broader appeal than those who have some higher education. The use of Agent Booth to “translate” much of the scientific terms and jargon has the same aim: to gather those whose vocabulary falls short of such terms into the audience. Bones seems to target a female-dominant audience with its strong, intelligent female leads, all with well-developed storylines, romantic and family-oriented themes (all three female leads become mothers, and are often shown trying hard to juggle the demands of family, work and social lives). The show’s target audience, then, seems to be predominantly college-educated working women with a child or children.
Historically, more women than men have used social media, and though the gap has narrowed drastically (Anderson, 2015), it can be argued that the higher percentage of women factored into Bones’ early use of social media (the show debuted in 2005). The types of social media contact Bones engages in include Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/Bones/) and Pinterest (https://www.pinterest.com/bonesonfox/) (also Twitter and Instagram).
Bones staff updates the Facebook page approximately every few hours (including responses to fan posts and messages), and since the show is in its final season, the page attempts to drive an emotional connection between the show and its audience by posting artfully stitched-together video clips of romantic, sweet and heartfelt moments of the show, clearly aimed at its female audience. A stereotypical view, but at least anecdotally supported by the sheer number of responses that appear to be from female fans.
According to the Pew Research Center (Duggan, Ellison, Lampe, Lenhart, Madden, 2015), the percentage of female users of Pinterest far outstrips their male counterparts (42% to 13%), and Bones’ Pinterest page seems to cater to its female fans by posting more heartstring-pulling photos than any other variety, grouped in folders with names like “Partners for Life,” “The Smallest Squint,” and “At Last.” I find it significant that a quick look at the “followers” page seems to contain nearly exclusively women’s names.
Both the Facebook and Pinterest fan pages signify that Bones is indeed connecting with a significant female audience. What is less clear, however, is whether or not Bones is connecting with those women who work outside the home and/or have families. I was not able to find a study that delved further into these demographics, but it would be a very relevant study to undertake, especially since shows such as Bones and CSI are credited with driving up female participation in forensic science (Chandler, 2012), and such a study would hopefully uncover insights as to how these shows may have affected the expectations of a work/life balance among female viewers.
References:
Anderson, M. (2015, 08 28). Men catch up with women on overall social media use. Retrieved from Pew Research Center: http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/08/28/men-catch-up-with-women-on-overall-social-media-use/
Chandler, M. A. (2012, August 2). Women at forefront of booming forensic science field. Retrieved February 2017, 2017, from The Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/magazine/women-at-forefront-of-booming-forensic-science-field/2012/07/27/gJQAkASRPX_story.html?utm_term=.28929048f78a
Duggan, M. E. (2015, January 9). Demographics of Key Social Networking Platforms. Retrieved from Pew Research Center: http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/01/09/demographics-of-key-social-networking-platforms-2/
International Movie Databse. (n.d.). Parents Guide for “Bones”. Retrieved 02 08, 2015, from IMDB.com: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0460627/parentalguide?ref_=tt_stry_pg