Transcript Uses And Gratifications Theory

Uses And Gratifications Theory
CHARLIE MATENGU
200508105
COMMUNICATION THEORY
AND
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
History and Orientation
 Uses and Gratification theory originated in the
1970s,
 As a reaction to traditional mass communication
research emphasizing the sender and the message.
stressing active audience and user instead.
 Psychological orientation taking needs motives and
gratifications of media users as the main point of
departure.
Exponents of the theory
 Blumler and Katz believe that there is not merely one way that the
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populace uses media.
Instead, they believe there are as many reasons for using the media,
as there are media users.
According to the theory, media consumers have a free will to decide
how they will use the media and how it will effect them.
Blumler and Katz values are clearly seen by the fact that they believe
that media consumers can choose the influence media has on them
as well as the idea that users choose media alternatives merely as a
means to and end.
Uses and gratification is the optimist’s view of the media.
The theory takes out the possibility that the media can have an
unconscious influence over our lives and how we view the world.
The idea that we simply use the media to satisfy a given need does
not seem to fully recognize the power of the media in today’s
society.
Core Assumptions and Statements
 Core: Uses and gratifications theory attempts to explain
the uses and functions of the media for individuals,
groups, and society in general.
 There are three objectives in developing uses and
gratifications theory:
 To explain how individuals use mass communication to
gratify their needs. “What do people do with the media”.
Continued
 To discover underlying motives for individuals’
media use.
 To
identify the positive and the negative
consequences of individual media use. At the core of
uses and gratifications theory lays the assumption
that audience members actively seek out the mass
media to satisfy individual needs.
Statement:
 A medium will be used more when the existing
motives to use the medium leads to more satisfaction
Conceptual Model
Favorite Methods
 Qualitative
and quantitative questionnaires and
observations among individual users of media.
 Demographics, usage patterns, rating scales of
needs, motivation and gratification
Example
 Leung, L. & Wei, R. (2000). More than just talk on
the move: Uses and Gratifications of the Cellular
Phone, Journalism & Mass Communication
Quarterly, 77(2), 308-320.
 Mobility, immediacy and instrumentality are found
to be the strongest instrumental motives in
predicting the use of cellular phones, followed by
intrinsic factors such as affection/sociability. This is
based on survey research in Hong Kong 1999.
References
 Boer, C. de & S. Brennecke (1999/2003). Uses and
Gratifications benadering. In: Boer, C. de & S. Brennecke,
Media en publiek, Theorieën over media-impact (97-115).
Amsterdam: Boom.
 McQuail, D. (2001). With More Handsight: Conceptual
Problems and Some Ways Forward for Media Use
Research. Communications, 26(4), 337-350.
 See also Mass Media, Communication and Information
Technology
I Thank You.