Uses and gratifications theory handout summary

• Expects the audience to be active in decision making.

• Also believes audience has a wide choice to choose from

• Blumler and Katz suggest 4 reasons why audiences may consume media texts : diversion, personal relationships, personal identity, surveillance

• Dennis mcquail had a more detailed breakdown of the blumler and Katz theory: information, learning, personal identity, integrations and social interaction, entertainment

• Richard kilborn suggested 7 main reasons for watching soaps: regular routine/reward, social interaction, individual needs, identification, escapism, moral/social issues, genre conventions

• Criticisms of U+G ----simplistic…we only have a choice of what’s on offer technically; we also may just watch a programme for the sake of it, at the end of the day.