Uses and Gratifications

Why do you use media ?

The question is hard to answer, when its originally asked, because i never really thought about why i use the media i do. After some thought however it was easy,

I use Facebook to keep connected with old friends such as buds from high-school i wouldn't normally keep in touch with, and of course the few family members who have created an account.

I use Instagram to also stay connected with friends, but to stay in touch with people i don't know, such as aqantices from work/classes/friends of friends/ and of course celebrities.

I use Twitter as a way to pass the time, i use to post on it, but now its mostly for something to scroll through when i'm  bored, waiting for class to start, or i cant fall asleep.

& I use Snapchat to really be nosy and to show off, i never really thought of this one until today, but the main reason i even check snapchat is to see what my closest friends are doing at that moment, or something funny they did last night, what are they eating, etc. and those reasons are the same reasons i post things over snapchat, i want my friends to see how my nights going, when  i put up my christmas tree, how my favourite cat is sleeping.

So, the question of "Why someone uses media?" is a main question of the theory Uses and Gratifications.


Explaining Uses and Gratifications 

Uses and Gratifications is the theory that poses a conscious choice and a unconscious effect.

which means that it attempts to explain the uses and functions of the media for individuals, groups, and society in general.

It presents the use of Media in terms of the gratification of social or psychological needs of the individual. (Blumler & Katz)

There are 3 objectives in developing uses and gratifications theory: 

1) to explain how individuals use mass communication to gratify their needs. “What do people do with the media”. 
2) to discover underlying motives for individuals’ media use. 
3) to identify the positive and the negative consequences of individual media use.

At the core of uses and gratifications theory lies the assumption that audience members actively seek out the mass media to satisfy individual needs.


In the article, Uses and Gratifications is defined as:
The social and psychological origins of needs, which generate expectations. The mass media or other sources, which lead to differential patterns of media exposure, (or engagement in other activities) resulting in need gratification's. Other consequences, perhaps mostly unintended ones.

 Uses and Gratification's sees the audiences as:
-Active (they use media)
-selective (with which media)
-ritualized (have routines with media)
-self aware (conscious of actions)

The article creates MAIN as based gratifications 
Modality
Agency 
Interactivity
                                                      Navigability 

Technology is a fairly new thing in relation to the history of uses and gratifications, the theory was first introduced in 1940s and has been worked and tweaked on every since, due to the increase in technology and therefore the increase in needs of media. 

in Lecture we talked about what the gratification's and needs are in "sop operas" as an example of older media. 
As we assumed that older audiences would have began their media experience with sop operas or even use this as a form of media still. And we answered the Question, "what needs and gratifications are meet with this media form and why?"
We came up with, the  gratification of avoidance, to escape their own reality,
A Diversion, to be entertaining to fill the day, and finally Social, something to talk with others.

& the main point we gathered from this, is the potential for overlap, between old media needs and gratifications, and new medias needs and gratification's. Sundar and Limperos ASK Or do we seek and obtain new gratifications from new technologies, perhaps do new media create new needs, which they then proceed to gratify.

And my thoughts, is both i think that we use new media for the same reasons old media was used for, mainly for something to fill a void (pass the time) to entertain, and for something to talk about with others. However as new media is created i believe new needs are also made in relation to old ones. for example, Facebook before there wasent a Need t post your family photos online for all your friends to see, or a need to look at your neighbours selfies, but now there is and along with that Facebook serves the need if passing time, of entertainment and something to talk about, "hey did you see amanadas relationship status?"

Audiences in the news: Teenage media sensation speaks out,  how her need for followers, likes and approval, has made her depressed. and how her new need is to be taken off, to show the world the real stories behind her "glamours life" and how she will be off social media till the time comes.

This video is an excellent example of how your needs and gratifications can change towards media, and to ask the question, which i believe will be a new look in to the theory uses and gratifications, is your need for you, or is your "need and gratification's" on social media meet and decided by other people.