Blog Post 7

What is meant by uses and gratifications? Which uses and gratifications do you think are the most important for people today?

As humans, we all have needs and desires. They can stem from a range of things: anything for a need for love and companionship, to a desire to be amused after a long day at work, or many more. People search for things to find fulfilment. Without knowing it, many people turn to the media to meet their needs. They then feel gratified for a while because the media met a need. Having found an outlet, people will keep returning to the source that gave them a bit of fulfilment.

Just about any of the gratifications list in the book are important. Since everyone is so different and each one has a multitude of needs and desires at any one given point, it’s hard to point to just a handful of gratifications to encompass the whole of society. One gratification I could almost see common to most people, though, is the desire to find amusement/entertainment. With the prevalence of media in today’s culture and the booming entertainment industry, it’s not hard to guess that many people would want that gratification. With the ever-changing and advancing technology of today, we have crammed more into the day. Every moment we need to fill. This need to constantly be going is causing stress and exhaustion in people. So often we just need a moment to step back and relax. That’s why so many people turn to media for their enjoyment. They need a release from the craziness always swirling around them.