Blog Post #7 - Uses and Gratifications

The uses and gratifications paradigm relies on the assumption that media consumers are not just passive viewers, but that they utilize the media shown to them by certain personal uses or gratifications. That is to say that one individual may not typically be a "South Park" viewer, but perhaps South Park's cartoonish style and perverse language made them feel like a kid again, so that person watches South Park when they are overwhelmed with life's turmoil. Other examples of this could be if someone had just been broken up with and watched romantic movies as a type of solace to make them feel as though there was love in their life. There are many ways to consume media in a non-passive manner, and in honesty, almost all of us do this subconsciously. This theory then comes into direct conflict however with the theory of "Strong Media Effects" which states that the media's agenda and issue creation (through priming and framing) are what drive the viewers to watch media, and influences what is important to the viewers. However obviously, the uses and gratifications theory negates that assumption.