The Uses and Gratifications Theory suggests that audiences actively seek out specific media to fulfill needs, rather than media directly influencing audiences. It proposes that media use fulfills needs of identity, education, entertainment, and social interaction. While it provides insights, it has been criticized for ignoring media's unconscious influence and not holding media accountable for its content. The theory evolved over three stages from the 1940s by examining why audiences select certain media and connecting motivations to gratifications received.

1. Audience uses
and
Gratifications
Theory

2. WHAT IT IS
 The theory suggests that the audience
determines what to do with the media rather
than the audience influencing the audience
directly.
 When an audience actively seeks the media,
they want to gratify a need - the message of
the media is not being

3. BASIC MODEL
 It is suggested that uses and gratifications theory has to
fulfill one of the following when choosing a form of media:
 Identity – being able to recognise the product or person in
front of you, role models that reflect similar values to yours,
aspiration to be someone else.
 Educate – being able to acquire information, knowledge
and understanding.
 Entertain – what you are consuming should give enjoyment
 Social interaction – the ability for the media products to
produce a topic of conversation between other people.

4.  The Uses and Gratification theory can be seen in cases
such as personal music selection; as we select music to
not only fit a particular mood, but also in attempts to
show empowerment or other socially conscience
motives. There are many different types of music and
we choose from them to fulfill a particular need.

5. CRITICISM
 Many people have criticised this theory as they
believe the public has no control over the media and
what it produces. It can also be said to be too kind to
the media as they do not take responsibility for what
they produce.
 They theory takes out the possibility that the media
can have an unconscious influence over our lives. The
idea s that we simply use the media to satisfy a given
need does not seem to fully recognise the power of
the media in society.

6. HISTORY
 Beginning in the 1940s, researchers began seeing
patterns under the perspective of the uses and
gratifications theory in radio listeners. Early research
was concerned with topics such as children’s use of
comics and not using newspapers during a
newspaper strike. In 1948, Lasswell introduced a a
four functioning interpretation of the media. Media
served the functions of surveillance, correlation,
entertainment and cultural transmission for both
society and individuals.

7. STAGE 1
 In 1944 Herta Herzog began to look at the earliest forms of uses and
gratifications with her work classifying the reasons why people
chose specific types of media. The three gratifications categories,
based on why people listened to soap operas were: emotional,
wishful thinking and learning.
 In 1970 Abraham Maslow suggested that uses and gratifications
theory was an extension of the needs and motivation theory. The
basis for his argument was that people actively looked to satisfy their
needs based on a hierarchy.
 In 1954 Wilbur Schramm developed the fraction of selection, a
formula for determining which form of mass media an individual
would select. The formula helped to decide the amount of
gratification an individual would expect to gain.

8. STAGE 2
 In 1969 Jay Blumler and Denis McQuail studied the 1964
election in the United Kingdom by examining peoples
motives for watching certain political programs on
television.
 In 1972 Jay Blumler, Dennis McQuail and Joseph Brown
suggested that the uses of different types of media could
be grouped into 4 categories. The 4 categories were:
division, personal relationships, personal identity and
surveillance.
 In 1973-74 they were joined by Elihu Katz, Michael
Gurevitch and Hadassah Haas, in their media exploration.
The research began to show how people saw the mass
media.

9. STAGE 3
 The most recent interest is the link between the reason
why media is used and the achieved gratification.
 Researchers are developing the theory to be more
predictive and explanatory by connecting the needs, goals,
benefits and consequences of media consumption and use
along with individual factors.
 The research of Katz, Blumler and Gurevitch that was built
on Herzog’s research and caused a shift from how the
media influences people to how audiences use the media.