CHICAGO, March 14 (Xinhua) -- When and where you were born can influence the type of media you choose to follow, a recent regional study says.
The study by Northwestern University researchers focuses on the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, where the summers are mostly unbearably hot, forcing people to stay indoor and cover themselves up.
"The more summer months people born in the MENA region experience in the first half year of their life, the more we would expect them to use and prefer entertaining media content," researcher Klaus Schoenbach said.
"This relationship is stronger in countries with higher average summer temperatures. The duration of summer correlates with more media use later in life to compensate for a lack of cheerfulness and liveliness."
Individuals who have experienced more and relatively hotter summer months directly after birth more often prefer entertaining genres such as comedy and drama, both on TV and online. Younger respondents also tended to watch films on DVD more frequently and did not name religious and spiritual programs as their favorites.
The study however adds that the impact of climate during the first six months in a person's life fades with age.
"This study provides new evidence of how temperaments come about that lead to specific media behaviors, thus helping to expand and refine (the) mood-management theory," Schoenbach said.
The study was published in the scholarly journal Communications.