But this may be because there is less violence on British television than in the USA, and Condry suggests that there may be a critical level of the televisual distortion of social reality before it is reflected in the attitudes of viewers. Or it may be that Britain has a more diverse media culture. More recent theories stressing the active viewer downplay the power of television to influence viewers which is assumed by cultivation theory. Cultivation theory focuses on the amount of television viewing or 'exposure', and does not allow for differences in the ways in which viewers interpret television realities. Viewers do not necessarily passively accept as 'real' what they see on television.
Television programmes are open to varying interpretations.
The degree of identification with characters by viewers may play a part. Motivations to view also vary greatly. Cultivation theorists tend to ignore the importance of the social dynamics of television use. Interacting factors such as developmental stages, viewing experience, general knowledge, gender, ethnicity, viewing contexts, family attitudes and socio-economic background all contribute to shaping the ways in which television is interpreted by viewers. When the viewer has some direct lived experience of the subject matter this may tend to reduce any cultivation effect.