Users and gratification theory

1. Users and gratification theory Lee Saint

2. Escapism • we often use the media to escape from routines or from our problems and stresses, (Watson 2008) • others may use the media to make up for something they are missing out on in there own personal lives, like friendship or even fun.

3. Personal relationships • Watson has also said that the mass media can be used to compensate for the lack of community spirit in our lives and that we now more about characters in soaps then we do about our own neighbours. • use there “relationship” with on screen characters to fulfill the need for friendship and/or love.

4. Personal identity • we may also use the media to help us cope with certain things we are unsure with in our own identity. • Meaning we turn to the media and certain products like soaps, so we can relate to there problems like teenage pregnancy or suspecting that they may be gay.

5. surveillance • people may now use the media to obtain information about the world, particularly the social world. • As the internet is filled with websites like Wikipedia where they can be edited and let people express there own opinions or knowledge. This is a good example of surveillance.

6. Escapism • East enders may be used to fill a gap in someone's life like the lack of human interaction, or to escape there own mundane lives and live through someone else instead 3. PERSONAL IDENITY Due to the storylines usually incorporating things that the average person may have to go through people may use the characters experiences as advice and use this when confronting something with there identity. 4. SURVEILLANCE East enders isn't the best place to learn about the social world but it can show you and teach people about interacting with rather then common knowledge for example. 2. PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS Due to the number of different characters on eastenders and how it is shown, people will grow certain relationships with characters to fill a need for relationships or community spirit

7. Escapism • Use the odd experience that the contestant have to go through to fill something they are missing out on which may be human interaction and/or relationships or even use it just to entertain as there is nothing else to do. 3. PERSONAL IDENITY Use the contestants stories and how different they can be to help cope with something they are struggling with which one of the contestants may be going through or has gone through before. 4. SURVEILLANCE Learn how to interact with different people who all have different opinions, belief and find it hard to mingle with some one who is completely different to them. 2. PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS Due to the odd people found on the show people may support certain contestant and root for them, believing they have some sort of relationship and/or connection.

8. Escapism • people may use the site to escape from there own lives and use the experiences of others to make there's seem more interesting. Like searching through holiday pictures or reading certain statuses. Making them feel closer to someone they may have never talked to. 3. PERSONAL IDENITY Use the experiences of there friends or people they have seen on the site to help cope with there own personal problems, hoping that someone may have the answers they are looking for. 2. PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS Use the site to interact with others with out direct contact. Use the site to create relationships with any number of people, filling a void which they feel is empty. 4. SURVEILLANCE May use the site to learn about there friends, find out what they like, dislike and what opinions they have. This can make someone much more intelligent when it comes to people and how to interact.