Its is an active audience theory that focuses on 'what people do with the media' rather than what the media does to people.
The uses and gratification theory is split into four main groups called;
1- Surveillance
2- Personal Relationship
3- Diversion
4- Personal Identity
There is several needs and gratification for people these are:
Cognitive needs:
People use media for acquiring knowledge, information etc. Different people have different media needs these could be knowledge so they will watch quiz programmes on Tv, or search engines to find out information. Particularly for the internet search engine they can browse for nay topic under the run with no time restriction.
Affective needs:
It includes all kinds of emotions, pleasure and other moods of people. People use media like television to satisfy their emotional needs.
Personal integrative needs:
'this is the self-esteem need. People use media to reassure their status, gain credibility and stabilise. So people watch Tv and assure themselves that they have a status in society for example people get to improve their status by watching media advertisements which can make people buy these products, so poeple are changing their lifestyle and the media helps them do so.
Social integrative needs:
It encompasses the need to socialize with family, friends and relations in the society. People now use social networking sites to satisfy their needs. Another example is if your friend is watching a programme then you watch it so you have topics to discuss.
Tension free needs:
People sometime use the media as a means of escapism and to relieve from tension. For example people ted to relax watching Tv, listening to radio and for satisfying their need for entertainment there by relaxing from all the tension, people watch films.
One criticism of uses and gratification theory is that it does not consider the power of the media. One positive thing is that it explains how the media can play within out day to day lives.
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