The media effects theory we studied this week was uses and gratifications. The uses and gratifications approach assumes that individual differences among audience members cause each person to seek out different messages, use those messages differently, and respond to them uniquely (Bryant, Thompson, and Finklea, p.122, 2013). My definition of uses and gratifications is that people use various forms of media for different things that they react to in their own way. Uses and gratifications is a interesting theory because it's so personal and varies between each person. One idea I found interesting was that a person's social and psychological makeup is as responsible for media uses and effects as are the media messages themselves (Bryant,
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The personality of various individuals has an effect on what they watch and what shows up on their social media feeds. Therefore, that has an effect on the person just as the media message itself does. Another idea that I found interesting was the gratification-seeking and audience activity model because particular kinds of gratifications sought by the viewer, as well as the viewers' attitude, determine the viewer's attention to the content of those messages (Bryant, et al, p.124). I think this is interesting because I can relate it to my life in many forms of media, such as TV shows, social media, and music. There are certain TV shows that members of my family will put on and I won't be interested so I turn to my phone for entertainment. Also, I constantly flip through radio stations if the songs I don't like are playing. I find it interesting that as soon as we aren't interested in something from the media that we seek out another form of media to entertain ourselves and find gratification. The third idea that I found interesting was the uses and dependency model because it proposes that certain elements in a media system cause people to use and depend upon the …show more content…
The results showed that students were mostly embarrassed to admit the amount of time they actually spent watching reality TV shows, and that it was an excellent escape from the pressures of life as well as live vicariously through the lives of people featured in the programs (Bryant, et al, p.131). This study reminded me of escapism because the students would use television programs to forget reality and the stress of life. Uses and gratifications applies to a current new media problem because of iphones and the media that comes with them. Majority of people have some version of the iphone, which comes with the ability to access social media, music, games, and movies/television, etc. with the touch of a button. In today's society, we depend on our phones to communicate with others via text, call, video chat, or instant messaging. Also, we depend on them for information, entertainment, escapism, play, and other societal factors. Without our phones, we feel lost, get upset, or even feel anxiety about not having that connectivity to the world around us that we feel our phones give
The personality of various individuals has an effect on what they watch and what shows up on their social media feeds. Therefore, that has an effect on the person just as the media message itself does. Another idea that I found interesting was the gratification-seeking and audience activity model because particular kinds of gratifications sought by the viewer, as well as the viewers' attitude, determine the viewer's attention to the content of those messages (Bryant, et al, p.124). I think this is interesting because I can relate it to my life in many forms of media, such as TV shows, social media, and music. There are certain TV shows that members of my family will put on and I won't be interested so I turn to my phone for entertainment. Also, I constantly flip through radio stations if the songs I don't like are playing. I find it interesting that as soon as we aren't interested in something from the media that we seek out another form of media to entertain ourselves and find gratification. The third idea that I found interesting was the uses and dependency model because it proposes that certain elements in a media system cause people to use and depend upon the …show more content…
The results showed that students were mostly embarrassed to admit the amount of time they actually spent watching reality TV shows, and that it was an excellent escape from the pressures of life as well as live vicariously through the lives of people featured in the programs (Bryant, et al, p.131). This study reminded me of escapism because the students would use television programs to forget reality and the stress of life. Uses and gratifications applies to a current new media problem because of iphones and the media that comes with them. Majority of people have some version of the iphone, which comes with the ability to access social media, music, games, and movies/television, etc. with the touch of a button. In today's society, we depend on our phones to communicate with others via text, call, video chat, or instant messaging. Also, we depend on them for information, entertainment, escapism, play, and other societal factors. Without our phones, we feel lost, get upset, or even feel anxiety about not having that connectivity to the world around us that we feel our phones give