Uses and gratifications theory is an approach to understanding mass media and mass communication. The theory discusses how users proactively search for media that will not only meet a given need but enhance knowledge, social interactions and diversion It assumes that members of the audience are not passive but take an active role in interpreting and integrating media into their own lives. The theory also holds that audiences are responsible for choosing media to meet their needs. The approach suggests that people use the media to fulfill specific gratifications. This theory would then imply that the media compete against other information sources for viewers' gratification.

There are three main paradigms in media effects: hypodermic needle (i.e., direct, or strong effects), limited effects, and the powerful to limited effects. "Uses and gratifications" falls under the second paradigm, the limited effects, which reached its apex around 1940–1960, when studies helped realize that the first paradigm was inaccurate.

Basic model

The uses and gratifications theory follows a basic model; it is an audience-centered approach and specific to each individual or group. When an audience actively seeks out media they are seeking out a specific need, whether entertainment, merchandise, socializing, business or factual information. The theory can be seen within all aspects of media. A familiar example is the overwhelming use of Facebook and other social media sites. Uploading pictures, tagging friends, making statuses, 'liking' posts, commenting and chatting friends and family all occur with an expectation and if that expectation is not met then the gratification is not achieved. Students may want someone to study with, adults may be looking for a place to eat and teenagers may be looking for specifics on a given product. They all use social media to get input from those they trust and are familiar with and if they do not get an answer that is satisfactory then gratification does not occur.

Social situations and psychological characteristics motivate the need for media, which motivates certain expectations of that media. This expectation leads individuals to be exposed to the media that fits expectations, leading to an ultimate gratification. Individuals new to an area may look for social gatherings to acclimate and find friends while parents could want safe parks or playgrounds to bring their children. Television news, newspapers and social media sites could give these individuals and parents the answers they are looking for.

The media systems dependency theory has also been explored as an extension to the uses and gratifications approach to media, though there is a subtle difference between the two theories. People's dependency on media proves audience goals to be the origin of the dependency while the uses and gratifications approach focuses more on audience needs (Grant et al., 1998). Still, both theories agree that media use can lead to media dependency (Rubin, 1982).

The media dependency theory states that the more dependent an individual is on the media to fulfill needs, the more significant the media becomes to that person. DeFleur and Ball-Rokeach (1976) illustrate dependency as the relationship between media content, the nature of society, and the behavior of audiences. Littlejohn (2002) also explained that people will become more dependent on media that meet a number of their needs than on media that touch only a few needs. Palmgreen and Rayburn "focus on the match between the gratifications we seek and those we actually obtain from the media" (Davenport, LaRose, Straubhaar, 2010). These three combine to describe the necessity for the media to evolve in order to continue our dependence on it. If any media outlet does not alter its material when statistics, or other factual based knowledge, state that viewers are no longer satisfied in what it tells us then that media outlet will soon dissipate. Newspapers are recent examples of this. clearly states that "[news]papers must start charging for their web content in order to support print issues." The New York Times, Miami Herald, Chicago Tribune and USA Today are widely accredited and respected newspapers but only the USA Today requires the public to have an online subscription to view any article and news feed.

Dependency on a certain medium is influenced by the number of sources open to an individual and are usually more dependent on available media. The more alternatives there are for an individual the less the dependency, and influence, on a specific medium.

The hypodermic needle model

Hypodermic needle model

The hypodermic needle model is a model of communications suggesting that an intended message is directly received and wholly accepted by the receiver...

 states that viewers directly receive, and accept, intended messages. Although, it is argued that, and at times proven, that the media has selective influence on individuals. The main idea of the Uses and Gratifications model is that people are not helpless victims of powerful media outlets and techniques, rather utilize the mass media to fulfill their various needs. These needs serve as motivation for using media.

Historical Development

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 the absence of newspapers during a newspaper strike (Infante, Rancer, and Womack).). An interest in more psychological interpretations also emerged during this time In 1974, Katz, Blumler and Gurevitch realized that most Uses and Gratification studies were most concerned with: 1. The social and psychological origins of 2. needs which generate 3. expectations 4. of mass media or other sources, which lead to 5. differential patterns of media exposure (or engagement in other activities), resulting in 6. need gratifications and 7. other consequences, perhaps mostly unintended ones
   
Blumler made some interesting points why Uses and Gratifications cannot measure an active audience.  "The issue to be considered here is whether what has been thought about Uses and Gratifications Theory has been an article of faith and if it could now be converted into an empirical question such as:   How to measure an active audience?" (Blumler, 1979).

It hasn't been done for these reasons. The notion of active audience, seen in the active audience theory

Active audience theory

Active audience theory is a theory that people receive and interpret media messages in different ways, usually according to factors such as age, ethnicity, social class, etc...

, has conflated an extraordinary range of meanings, including utility, intentionality, selectivity and imperviousness to influence.

Utility — Mass communication has uses to people.

Intentionality — Media consumption is directed by prior motivation.

Selectivity — Media behavior reflects prior interests and preferences.

Imperviousness — The lessened ability of media to influence an obstinate audience

In 1948, Lasswell introduced a four-functional interpretation of the media on a macro-sociological level.  Media served the functions of surveillance, correlation, entertainment and cultural transmission for both society and individuals

In 1972, Blumler and Brown extended Lasswell's four groups 25 years later.  These included four primary factors for which one may use the media:


Diversion — Escape from routine and problems; an emotional release.

Personal Relationships — Social utility of information in conversation; substitution of media for companionship.

Personal Identity or Individual Psychology — Value reinforcement or reassurance; self-understanding, reality exploration.

Surveillance — Information about factors which might affect one or will help one do or accomplish something (Severin and Tankard, 1997)

Katz, Gurevitch and Haas (1973) saw the mass media as a means by which individuals connect or disconnect themselves with others.  They developed 35 needs taken from the largely speculative literature on the social and psychological functions of the mass media and put them into five categories:

Cognitive needs — Acquiring information, knowledge and understanding.

Affective needs — Emotion, pleasure, feelings.

Personal integrative needs — Credibility, stability, status.

Social integrative needs — Family and friends.

Tension release needs — Escape and diversion (Severin and Tankard, 1997).

Criticism

The data behind the theory is hard to extrapolate and at times is not found. How each audience, individual and group perceives a given media outlet is extremely difficult to gauge. A main argument lies in how the media, producers and editors want the material to be interpreted. News reports on a rising restaurant could be seen as a threat to local establishments but was intended as a positive note to how well the community is doing. Morley (1992) says that "creators of media content have a preferred reading that they would like the audience to take out of the text. However, the audience might reject it, or negotiate some comprise interpretation between what they think and what they text is saying, or contest what the text says with some alternative interpretation" .

"The nature of the theory underlying Uses and Gratifications research is not totally clear," (Blumler, 1979) This makes the line between gratification and satisfaction blurred, calling into question whether or not we only seek what we desire or actually enjoy it. (Palmgreen,P., and Rayburn,J.D., 1985)

"Practitioners of Uses and Gratifications research have been criticized for a formidable array of shortcomings in their outlook -- they are taxed for being crassly atheoretical, perversely eclectic, ensnared in the pitfalls of functionalism and for flirting with the positions at odds with their functionalist origins," (Blumler, 1979).

The biggest issue for the Uses and Gratifications Theory is its being non-theoretical, being vague in key concepts, and being nothing more than a data-collecting strategy (Littlejohn, 2002; Severin and Tankard, 1997; McQuail 1994).

Using this sociologically-based theory has little to no link to the benefit of psychology due to its weakness in operational definitions and weak analytical mode. It also is focused too narrowly on the individual and neglects the social structure and place of the media in that structure (Severin and Tankard, 1997).

Due to the individualistic nature of Uses and Gratification theory, it is difficult to take the information that is collected in studies. Most research relies on pure recollection of memory rather than data. (Katz, 1987). This makes self-reports complicated and immeasurable.

The Uses and Gratifications theory has been denounced by media hegemony advocates who say it goes too far in claiming that people are free to choose the media and the interpretations they want (Severin and Tankard, 1997). Audiences interpret the media in their own terms and any debate for or against this can be argued, and depending on the circumstances, won to either side. Each individuals actions and effects on those actions will depend solely on the situation. The Uses and Gratifications theory does not properly account for these natural occurrences but does hold a valid argument that each individual has unique needs for gratification and uses the media to attempt to meet these needs.