Music Magazine Task - Uses and Gratification Theory

The uses and Gratifications theory is a theory that people seek certain media institutions as a means of escape, an emotional blanket or diversion. The theory identifies that audiences are responsible for choosing the type of media outlet or institution they seek to fulfil special gratifications. As it is the audience themselves that hold the most power it is up to the producers to create a type of media that will be bought, this is determined by help of demographical research. This model of research shows that audiences have very specific wants and needs.

Blulmer and Katz (1974), two main researchers of the uses and gratifications theory, discovered what they believe to be the four main reasons for media consumption. The reasons they found were diversion, personal relationships, personal identity and surveillance. These four were identified because, diversion would be a means of getting away from the stresses of everyday life, personal relationships would be there to offer primary socialisation on how to construct relationships between people and families, personal identity offers lessons on norms, values and behaviour and finally surveillance, i.e. weather, news, offers and bargains.

The theory has become quite dated in itself since the development of things like games consoles, the internet and social networking. Researchers decided the four main reasons for social networking were information, socializing, self-seeking and entertainment.