People have different purposes for the media.

Even the most passive media consumer would be in some way an active user. To what degree does the intended use of the product determine its actual use and effects? Anyone who believes their message is the same as the audiences message is mistaken. Audiences can interpret things differently from other audiences, who can interpret things differently than you. To believe otherwise is called intentional fallacy. What the encoder intends you to decode is never the same.

Uses and Gratification says people interpret the media, rather than just taking in what they see. Audiences are creative and help shape the meaning and significance of a particular media product. Your interpretation differs from another persons.

Media experiences are authentic. People derive very real pleasures and emotional experiences from media consumption. A girl may watch the Lakers game because she likes the team, but she could also just love Kobe Bryant.

Because people make active use of the media, we should study the uses media serve in the systems of society and individual’s lives. What uses do the media serve? What function does it play within social and psychological systems?

Blumler and Katz’s uses and gratification theory suggests that media users play an active role in choosing and using the media. Users take an active part in the communication process and are goal oriented in their media use. The theorists say that a media user seeks out a media source that best fulfils the needs of the user. Uses and gratifications assume that the user has alternate choices to satisfy their need.

Blumler seems to envision a marriage between cultural studies and the Uses and Gratifications approach, but he is not clear on what terms. Instead of asking, “What are your reasons for watching this program?,” Blumler would ask, “What about it do you find true to life?,” or “What picture of the world does it seem to convey?” (Blumler, 1979).

The current status of the Uses and Gratifications Theory is still based on Katz’s first analysis, people still use media for many different purposes — but the Uses and Gratifications approach is still extremely valid as technology moves the universe into an electronic information age. People have more options now, and they will continue to have the pick of the media to satisfy their specific needs. Advances in media technology, such as video-cassette recording (VCR), cable programming and the Internet (world wide web, e-mail, chat-rooms) have allowed consumers to be in more control of the media. Specific research in these areas is crucial for media planners as they should be monitoring the position and direction of the audiences (Severin and Tankard, 1997).

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