Uses and gratifications
This theory assumes an active audience which chooses the texts it consumes and where individuals have differing reasongs for consuming these texts.
Blulmer and Katz:
Blulmer and Katz:
- Diversion - escape from everyday problems and routine
- Personal relationships - using the media for emotional and other interaction
- Personal identity - constructing their own identity from characters in media texts and learning behaviour and values
- Surveillance - information gathering
Denis McQuail
- Information - finding out about events, seeking advie, general interest
- Learning - self-education, confidence through gaining knowledge
- Personal identity - finding reinforcement for personal values, models of behaviour, celebrity identification, gaining insight into oneself
- Integration and social interaction - gaining insight into circumstances of others, sense of belonging, social interactiom, companionship
- Entertainment - escaping problems, relaxing, filling time, emotional release, sexual arousal
Richard Kilborn suggests the following reasons people watch soaps:
- regular routine
- social and personal interaction
- sulfilling individual needs
- identification with characters
- escapsit fantasy
- focus on topical, moral and social issues
- appreciation of genre conventions
Criticisms of uses and gratifications theory:
- simplistic
- the texts that the audience consume choose from what is available
