Uses and Gratification Theory
- Feb 2, 2017
- 2 min read
Most of the theories on media explained about the effects media had on people. It is the theory which explains of how people use media for their need and gratification. In other words, this theory states what people do with media rather than what media does to people.
Uses and Gratification Theory, was proposed by Elihu Katz, seeks to understand why people seek out the media that they do and what they use it for. UGT differs from other media effect theories in that it assumes that individuals have power over their media usage, rather than positioning individuals as passive consumers of media. It explores how individuals deliberately seek out media to fulfill certain needs or goals such as entertainment, relaxation, or socializing.
There are several needs and gratification for people to be categorized into five categories.
Cognitive needs
In Cognitive needs, people use media for acquiring knowledge, information etc.
Affective needs
It includes all kinds of emotions, pleasure and other moods of the people. People use media like television to satisfy their emotional needs.
Personal Integrative needs
People use media to reassure their status, gain credibility and stabilize so people watch TV and assure themselves that they have a status in society.
Social Integrative needs
It encompasses the need to socialize with family, friends and relations in the society. People do not seem to have social gathering in weekend, instead they do such social interaction using media like the social networking sites like my space, Facebook, twitter, etc. to satisfy their need.
Tension free needs
People tend to relax watching TV, listening to radio and for satisfying their need for entertainment there by relaxing from all the tension, people watch films, films on TV, etc.
According to Uses and Gratification Theory, it is not so people make use of the media for their specific needs. This theory can be said to have a user/audience-centered approach .Even for communication, people refer to the media for the topic they discuss with themselves. They gain more knowledge and that is knowledge is got by using media for reference.
References:
:Retrieved from http://communicationtheory.org/uses-and-gratification-theory/
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