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Q: Using examples; critically assess how useful the Uses and Gratifications approach is in understanding Media audiences.
The Frankfurt school argued that the culture industry’s aim was to make audiences passive, uncritical and unthinking, but at the same time an opposite and more positive view emerged referred to as the “Uses and Gratifications” approach. This approach developed in the 1940’s/50’s at a university in Columbia and suggested that media audiences, far from being passive, are active and goal orientated. ... The audience is not controlled, but seen to be free to reject, use and play with media products as they choose. According to this approach, media audiences expect the media to fulfil certain needs. Choices are not forced upon the audience to buy into a particular media product, but are personal choices made in a society where many other sources, other than the media, are competing for attention. In this essay, I will look at the evidence for and against the uses and gratifications approach and conclude to what extent it is useful in understanding media audiences.
This approach argues that media use is positive because it is prosocial and gratifies individual needs and therefore, society as a whole. It is seen as a positive approach because it rejects the pessimistic views of other approaches like the Frankfurt school and isn’t interested in critiquing capitalist mass culture. Instead, in extreme cases, some theorists would go as far as to deny any influence for the media whatsoever. Obviously, this approach may seem attractive to many people because we’re more likely to want to perceive ourselves as active consumers of the media, rather than passive, inactive, unthinking and controlled as suggested by effects theorists.
Instead of asking what the media does to people, uses and gratifications approach researchers turned the question around: “what do people do with the media? ... In terms of media influence, this approach argues that the media generally confirms what people already believe and that people search for and explore media products which reflect their own personal opinions and beliefs and they reject or “screen out” ones that they do not. ... We do not consume the media in a social void; much media consumption is experienced socially, with family or friends. Media content is regularly discussed with others and this creates a flow of information.
Claims cannot be made about media audiences without evidence and data to support those claims. Research on audiences at this time was mainly based on questionnaires, interviews and focus groups and there was a faith in the audience to report honestly on media consumption.
Approximate Word count = 2066
Approximate Pages = 8.3
(250 words per page double spaced)
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