BLOG POST: WEEK 6

This week's content took quite a turn and proposed many different things than the content studied within the past weeks of my audience studies course. This week focused on the uses and gratifications approach to look at audiences and how/why they choose and interact with certain media sources.

Uses and gratifications propose that the audience actively choose media channels and content to suit their own needs at a particular moment (Sullivan). When it comes to audience activity, uses and gratifications take a very functional perspective, which looks to understand why people do what they do (Sullivan). Opposite of the last theories we looked at within this course, functional theory “considers individuals to be rational, decision-making creatures whose actions can be understood within particular social contexts” (Sullivan). There are five basic assumptions of the uses and gratifications approach (Katz, Blumler, & Gurevitch, 1974, p. 21): 1) The audience is considered active, and media use is directed toward particular goals of the individual, 2) The audience member takes the lead in linking needed gratification with specific media choices. In other words, the individual selects different types of media to satisfy a particular need or desire, 3) Mass media compete with other sources of need satisfaction. If you were looking to relax, for example, you could watch TV, play Xbox 360, or have a conversation with a friend, 4) Audience members are aware of their own individual needs and motivations in selecting certain media and can report their needs accurately to media researchers when asked, and 5) Scholars using the U&G approach do not make value judgments about peoples’ media choices. Instead, they try to understand the audiences’ orientation to certain media on their terms.

Many (if not all) of the audience experiences I have had within my life relate to the five basic assumptions listed above. Most recently, I have been demonstrating the first basic assumption which states that “the audience is considered active, and media use is directed toward particular goals of the individual” (Katz, Blumler, & Gurevitch, 1974, p. 21; Sullivan). I say this because I have been watching more YouTube videos than normal, as ever since COVID has started I have been using them for workout help inspiration. I have been working out at the same time as I am watching these videos, with some very specific goals in mind. The fitness goals that I have for myself are to tone my abs and grow my glutes. These workout videos have been helping me meet several fitness goals as well as entertainment goals, seeing as I also workout for something productive to do throughout the day. This use of media also fits in with the second assumption which states that “the audience member takes the lead in linking needed gratification with specific media choices. In other words, the individual selects different types of media to satisfy a particular need or desire” (Katz, Blumler, & Gurevitch, 1974, p. 21; Sullivan). I purposefully selected certain media in the form of online workout videos to help me satisfy the desire that I have to be fit. Below I have attached a screenshot of the YouTube video that I follow along to at home.

The last approach that stood out to me was the third approach which states that “Mass media compete with other sources of need satisfaction. If you were looking to relax, for example, you could watch TV, play Xbox 360, or have a conversation with a friend” (Katz, Blumler, & Gurevitch, 1974, p. 21; Sullivan). This third assumption of the uses and gratifications approach relates the most to my life, as if I am not using media for working out, it is almost guaranteed that I am using it for entertainment while relaxing. In fact, on my days off from school, work, and working out, my favourite thing to do before bed is watching videos on YouTube.

Since the Uses and Gratifications approach focuses on the wants and needs of audience members, it is important to have a baseline foundation of what a person's needs are. Maslow outlined a “basic need hierarchy as the foundation for the motivation of all human beings, beginning with “physiological drives” that are necessary to maintain homeostasis (“the body’s automatic efforts to maintain a constant, normal state of the bloodstream”; 1970, p. 15). Once basic survival needs (food, water, and shelter) are met, Maslow argued that a new “higher-order” of needs would emerge for the individual (Sullivan). From highest to lowest, Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs are ordered as follows: Self-actualization, Esteem, Love and belonging, Safety needs and Physiological needs.

As Maslow's theory suggests, “gratifications are critical to the understanding of needs because human beings are continually assessing whether or not their particular needs have been met,” and if not, “then one will seek out a new source of gratification” (Sullivan). As audience members, I am sure this is something that we can all relate to. I relate to this concept because if I am engaging in some form of content and it doesn’t suit my needs, I do not hesitate to move onto another form of media that better suits my needs. This can be dangerous for media producers because if they are not focusing on catering to the needs of their audience, their ratings and views will plummet. This is because audiences have agency when it comes to ratings, target marketing, and views as they make conscious decisions about what they watch and why.

As mentioned before, media as functional is an extremely important aspect of how audience members choose the media they want to engage in. There are six main points within media as functional that explain why people choose to engage in the media that they do, which are: 1) Gratification sought, 2) Gratification obtained, 3) Instrumental, 4) Ritualized, 5) Structural, and 6) Relational.

Before COVID I always participated in the structural aspect of media as functional. This aspect says that media can be used as background noise as a sense of companionship. As a student, it’s no secret that homework is a large part of my life. I would even say that it usually consumes my life and free time, leading me to try and relax while doing it. In hopes to relax while doing homework, I usually watch podcasts on my television. After reading the assigned works from this week, I can now see that this is because it offers a sense of companionship while I am trying to complete my homework. Below is an image of the YouTubers/Podcasters I listen to while doing my homework. They have a podcast called "Zane & Heath Unfiltered."

After COVID, I noticed a change in the way I consume media, especially with my roommates. Before COVID I never kept up with TV shows and series, but after COVID how I consume media changed. I have never been the kind of person to keep up with shows like the Bachelorette, but since COVID I have been spending more time with my roommates and they asked me to watch it with them. So every Wednesday when the Bachelorette comes on the Citytv website, we all hang out together and watch it. This audience experience can also be related to the relational aspect of media as functional, seeing as we all come together to watch the show and laugh, while discussing the events that took place.

Most of the time, the media that I consume on social media is to fulfill needs such as surveillance or entertainment. Before bed, I watch YouTube videos to fulfill the same two needs. After COVID, my needs slightly changed as they now incorporate the need for socialization. Like I said before I never kept up with the Bachelor and Bachelorette TV series, but my new need for socialization increased as I wanted to join my roommates for their annual bachelorette viewings.

After the readings, it is clear to see that uses and gratifications are about the conscious choice of the audience members. These readings and theories were extremely different from last week's content, which focused on the audience members as subjects. This week's content explored how many conscious decisions audience members make when it comes to the media they consume and why or why not they want to continue consuming it. After reading this week's content it is safe to say that I now view my position as an audience member very differently. I encourage all readers to look into uses and gratifications to get a better understanding of their needs as audience members. This may help audience members develop a better understanding of their needs as audience members, possibly leading them to change their interests and needs.