The theory says that the audiences that are viewing media are seen as active. Blumer & McQuail suggest that people use the media to meet particular needs that they may have. these needs could be Biological, Psychological or Social. They argue that it is "not what do the media do to people? but what do the media do with people"
Diversion
according to Watson (2008) we often use the media to escape from routines or to escape our problems/stresses.
some people may use the media as a way of making up for the lack of something in their own personal life. for example. people may gossip over the recent events in a soap to make up for the lack of gossip in our own lives.
Personal Relationship
According to Watson, we tend to know more about the characters in our soaps than we do our own neighbours.
the mass media can be used to compensate for the lack of community spirit in our lives.
Personal Identity
we may use the media to help us cope with parts of our identity which we are unsure.
for example, if someone is going through a divorce and they are struggling, they may want to watch a film that has divorce in to either help them or satisfy them.
Surveillance
people may use the media to obtain information about the social world.
the recent increase in online blogging and websites where people can add their own knowledge such as wikipedia. this is a good example of this.
Diversion
according to Watson (2008) we often use the media to escape from routines or to escape our problems/stresses.
some people may use the media as a way of making up for the lack of something in their own personal life. for example. people may gossip over the recent events in a soap to make up for the lack of gossip in our own lives.
Personal Relationship
According to Watson, we tend to know more about the characters in our soaps than we do our own neighbours.
the mass media can be used to compensate for the lack of community spirit in our lives.
Personal Identity
we may use the media to help us cope with parts of our identity which we are unsure.
for example, if someone is going through a divorce and they are struggling, they may want to watch a film that has divorce in to either help them or satisfy them.
Surveillance
people may use the media to obtain information about the social world.
the recent increase in online blogging and websites where people can add their own knowledge such as wikipedia. this is a good example of this.
Using McQuail's categories to explain why i watch Merlin I currently watch a lot of merlin on the television. I would probably watch this due to the fact it is diversion. Due to the fact that it is set such a long time ago, and there is a huge amount of magic involved, it lets me escape from reality and get a sense of fiction. it feels like i get to experience what the characters are experiencing, even though i cant do magic like the characters. Also, when living in a quite place where i do, i may watch it for personal relationships as there is no one in my neighbourhood to talk to. |