it is wondered if such a boy requires inspiration which might be got by tactful film teaching in the classroom . indeed it might be questioned what he does learn at school . his untidy , dirty , badly spelled and careless paper does not indicate much attainment . further information about viewing tastes comes out in the last two questions of the paper where the young people were asked in what way they preferred cinema to television and vice versa . again it is not easy to tabulate these written answers but they do fall into a fairly regular pattern . unfortunately 26 % do not answer the question . 23 % merely say they do not prefer television to cinema without any explanation and a small number 13 % that they do not prefer cinema to television . most of the reasons of those who prefer the cinema have already been discussed - the colour , the stars , the choice , the company and so on . the television supporters have other reasons . these are not all concerned with the content . 23 % , almost equally boys and girls , prefer to do their viewing in the comfort of their own homes . 10 % of the boys and 13 % of the girls prefer television because they do not have to wait in a queue and have a cold journey home in a bus after the show . they do not get cold and wet and even if the TV programme is not so good you feel better on a miserable night . 11 % of the young people like TV because it is cheaper , at least so far as they are concerned . they are pleased to switch it off when they do not like the programme or change to the other channel . 2 % prefer to do their viewing at home because the atmosphere is not so smoky nor so stuffy . others rising to 3 % of the 18-year-old boys prefer television as they do not require to dress up to go and see it . five secondary 15-year-old girls say the same . a 17-year-old girl civil servant , however , comments that cinema is not so compelling as TV and being away from the home it does not make you lazy . another 17-year-old at secondary school says , TV makes you lazy - most people become too lazy to make the effort to go to the cinema . another 15-year-old says , my parents know the cinema is better but they can n&apos;t be bothered going out and the TV gives them something to look at . a small number of 15/16-year-old boys who have recently started work say that TV is all right for Sunday when you can n&apos;t get into the pictures . this attitude only appears with a small percentage , about 1/5 % of the boys and not at all with the girls . other reasons for preferring TV other than the content of the programme are numerous . a 16-year-old secondary schoolgirl says , at a cinema you can not do what you want , lie on the floor , get up when you like , shout at the people you do n&apos;t like but you can with TV . this freedom in viewing is implied in a number of answers . a 14-year-old girl puts it , you get peace and quietness to do what you like , and an 18-year-old boy gets satisfaction , you can blast at the stupid things seen and know you will not be put out . a 15-year-old says , there is peace and tranquility at home - you can leave and study when inclined . another 15-year-old boy probably explains this when he says you can turn it off or go and do something else without feeling you have wasted money . television is blamed by a secondary schoolboy as anti-social and leads to unfriendliness . a girl of the same age also thinks . TV is anti-social . this aspect is also mentioned by a number of others who repeat the objections that have often been made about radio controlling the home , when the family have to be quiet when one member is listening . perhaps the most unexpected reply in this section came from a junior secondary boy of 15 , our rented TV was removed by my request six weeks before the exams in March . a considerable number , although having TV in the home , prefer watching TV in a cafe or at my mate &apos;s house or in the girl &apos;s home - it is cosier . a few older boys translate this into , it &apos;s friendlier seeing TV with a pint in the pub . others find television useful as background to other activity . a 14-year-old boy confesses , you can neck and kiss your girl in peace when dad and mum go to the pictures . another , aged 15 , finds fireside comfort with a girl when family is out . at 17 a boy claims , it is warmer at home especially if you are in alone with the girl . another aged 14 with a dirty paper says , I only watch TV when my parents have gone out so I can get peace to watch TV and my smoke . I really prefer cinema so that I can get out of the house and get rid of my moaning family . although they do not come into the enquiry proper it is interesting that two 19-year-old members of a boys &apos; youth club prefer TV because you can sit back with a pie and a pint . one feels sympathy for the 15-year-old girl who likes TV but goes to the cinema for peace and quiet compared with noise at home . - there are six children at home . actual tastes in television viewing have already been discussed in the section on favourite TV programmes . the western is popular with both sexes and all ages . sports play a large part in boys &apos; viewing . on the whole it is difficult to know who chooses the programme to be viewed . two secondary girls of 15 would rather go to the cinema to see what they like . you do n&apos;t have to watch what your parents want , e.g boxing for 2 1/2 hours or some hopeless advertising programme . because your young brother wants to see a stupid quiz programme you have to look as well . boys in different schools say , you do n&apos;t have the family quarrelling about which channel to go on . two others say , you do n&apos;t have to watch what younger children want or what parents want . a number of 14/15-year-olds seem to like the serials on television but it is not clear whether they actually mean plays , dramas or novels too long for one evening and therefore continued for a number of weeks or whether they mean a series in which the same characters appear each week . I like to be kept in suspense with serials , has to be balanced by , I just long to know what Dixon will solve next week . a considerable number of girls like television dramatisation of novels . a few girls mention that TV occasionally gives opera and ballet performances . I would never get a chance of seeing great ballet otherwise , says one 15-year-old secondary girl . several , of course , include ballet and opera among the types of film they would like to see in the cinema . some add to this but of course the public would not go . television music comes in for considerable praise and some of the musical settings are admired . TV music interludes and background music are more enjoyable than that heard in the cinema . settings for B.B.C celebrity recitals help you to understand it better . the commonest favourable criticism of television is that it provides so many programmes of an educational and instructional nature . I like to see how things are made , says a 15-year-old boy . several secondary schoolgirls comment that panorama and such programmes help them to understand some of the things we hear about at school . news programmes are popular . indeed it seems that some boys make the news broadcast a break in their homework . an 18-year-old shorthand typist likes newsreels . I would show newsreels . the decision banning the newsreel in the cinema is from my point of view absolutely wrong . many people depended on it . it is marvellous seeing and hearing from famous people what you would n&apos;t know anything about if it was n&apos;t for TV , says a 17-year-old student . the immediacy which is usually claimed for TV does not seem to be a point in its favour for young people except with sports programmes . a girl civil servant of 17 likes TV for showing older films that we would like to see but were in circulation when we were too young to appreciate them . the nature programmes of TV like look , zoo quest , safari , etc , all have those who like them and look forward to them . what a pity the nature programmes can not be in colour . the commentator speaks of the beautiful reds and greens but we just see black and white and grey . for this reason we find a considerable number preferring the Disney series of nature films and asking for more . another section of the young people like the dancing programmes . the white heather club receives more votes than the kilt is my delight and the more formal country dance items . rock&apos;n&apos;roll programmes have a good following of the younger age groups and the various stars who have programmes receive votes . Tony Hancock is the most popular and Terry-Thomas the least . magicians and illusionists seem to intrigue but some of the variety acts are described as corny . plays are more popular with girls than with boys . 4 . summary and conclusion . the tastes of adolescents seem to be affected by their intelligence and their school education . there would appear to be great opportunity for teachers and others to inspire their young charges in the junior secondary school and in further education establishments to appreciate what they see at the cinema or on the television screen . there seems also a need for such inspiration in youth organisations of all types , not excluding those which have some form of religious background . although the need is not so evident in the case of children attending senior secondary schools whose parents appear to a greater extent to influence their choice of cinema and television programme , nevertheless inspiration in the best types of visual material is just as necessary as instruction in literary , art and musical appreciation . the majority still look at films and television for entertainment . they seek to enjoy themselves . family pictures are required , appealing to the higher instincts of the young people . too many existing films are condemned by the young people themselves for their appeal to the baser nature of man and the makers and exhibitors are criticised for handling them . it is clear that the enormous sums of money spent on advertising films and their stars influence many young people in their choice of picture , but it is encouraging that the young people are not much influenced by the films or by the advertisements to lead a life other than that which happens to be theirs . a problem exists for the censor in looking after the morals of the adolescents . an X certificate assures a good house , according to the young people . the majority look at the category of a film before attending the cinema ( table 5 ) . it is a matter for serious examination how so many under-age are able to see X films . perhaps the regulations are not strict enough : perhaps they are too difficult to implement . perhaps too many cinemas in a city are showing too many X films : perhaps the film makers are failing to produce universally suitable films in the numbers required for the existing houses . the cinema is still a popular place of entertainment for adolescents . about the same number attend once per week as attended thirty years ago , although fewer attend oftener ( table 4 ) . the star and the type of film are the principal attractions for attending the cinema in 1960 ( table 6 ) . information about the films is obtained more from newspaper reports than from film magazines ( tables 7 and 8 ) although nearly half the adolescents do not bother about either . comedy films are most popular at all ages with crime and detection films in second place ( table 10 ) . 