How do we use the media? Do we watch or read the news to gain information? Do we watch TV to relax from the hard day's work? Do we read articles from the internet to talk about the subject with our peers? Do we close our ears by listening to music in public to avoid from being talked to? All of these questions relate to the uses and gratification of the media. As you can see, the media has long served us with an array of ways to benefit ourselves. What and how people interact with the media will be discussed in today's post.
One of the reasons why people use the media is due to cognition. Cognition refers to an act of curiosity to know something. There are two types cognitive functions. The first is to keep up with the current info of events in our daily lives, and the other is to learn or know something new. Basically, people who reads the newspaper or an online article are either trying to keep up with the current news, or are trying to learn something new. For example, a person who is curious about an exotic murder case will keep on using the media to keep up with the current updates. On the other hand, a person who is curious of the ways to do simple programming will surf the net or get a book to learn about it.
A source of diversion is also the reason why people use the media. Diversion can take many forms. Stimulation, relaxation and emotional release. Here are a few examples to explain each diversion:
One of the reasons why people use the media is due to cognition. Cognition refers to an act of curiosity to know something. There are two types cognitive functions. The first is to keep up with the current info of events in our daily lives, and the other is to learn or know something new. Basically, people who reads the newspaper or an online article are either trying to keep up with the current news, or are trying to learn something new. For example, a person who is curious about an exotic murder case will keep on using the media to keep up with the current updates. On the other hand, a person who is curious of the ways to do simple programming will surf the net or get a book to learn about it.
A source of diversion is also the reason why people use the media. Diversion can take many forms. Stimulation, relaxation and emotional release. Here are a few examples to explain each diversion:
- A bored office worker surfs the internet in class to log into his Facebook. This is diversion is called stimulation.
- A tired man goes home and sits on the couch watching his favourite game. This diversion is called relaxation.
- A sad woman who just broke up with her lover is watching a sad romantic movie to cry her heart out. This diversion is called emotional release.
Moving on, the media is also used by people as a social utility. There are two ways to use this as a social utility, mainly as a conversational currency (Things people talk about in a conversation), and parasocial relationship (Using the media to overcome loneliness, eg: Listening to radio while driving back home alone).
Last but not least, the media is also used by people to cocoon themselves from the others. The media is also used by people as a barrier from doing certain jobs or chores, and also to avoid from being disturbed while in a public place. This is not really socially healthy as it encourages people to become anti-social and lazy. These issues will lead to social problems and lack of productivity.
In conclusion, the media is beneficial in many ways and are also not, depending on how we consume the media. The industry is not responsible if we are lazy, or if we have less friends because at the end of the day, it is us who has the power to control what and how much we consume.
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