Uses and Gratifications Theory

Deshaun Watson

What is it?

Approach to understanding why and how people actively seek out specific media to satisfy specific needs.

Who uses it?

Mass communication attempts to explain the uses and the functions of the media for individuals, groups, and society in general.

What’s the point?Media source they are using to fill a void or satisfy a need they are having.

Those needs can be relaxing, passing time/bored, entertainment and need a laugh, communicating with friends, emotional feelings, or just staying up to date with today’s popular culture.

What the critics are saying..

There are too many different meanings associated with the terms “audience motives,” “uses,” and “gratifications” which has slowed unified theoretical development in this area.

Other researchers say that this theory is not represented as a single theory. They call it the umbrella concept in which several theories reside.

The uses and gratifications theory’s open questionnaires are not reliable for true data use.

What else about Uses and Gratifications..

There are three 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.