Uses and Gratifications

In 1948 Lasswell suggested that audiences use the media for a variety of reasons but each individual has their own personal use for the media. Lasswell theory was that the mass audience chose to interpret the media in four different. They four ways they may interpreted the media was for surveillance, correlation, entertainment and cultural transmission.

·         Blulmer and Katz carried on from this theory and produced their own in 1974, there research showed that individuals may you use the text for the following purposes:

-          Diversion - escape from everyday problems and routine.

-          Personal Relationships - using the media for emotional and other interaction, e.g. substituting soap operas for family life

-          Personal Identity - finding yourself reflected in texts, learning behaviour and values from texts

-          Surveillance - Information which could be useful for living e.g. weather reports, financial news, holiday bargains