Answer me this question: why are you watching this video now? And why are
you using all the media like...all the time? Let's find out, with people also ask.
Hi, I am Shao, Welcome to what people also ask, where I search
something seemingly obvious on Google
and share with you some of its PAAs, aka People Also Ask,
which is a feature telling you what people are searching on Google that relates to your query.
Today's keyword is Use and Gratification Theory. We will talk about what is Use and
Gratification Theory, when did it started, and some examples of UGT in PR and Social Media.
So the first PAA is What is uses and gratification theory?
The answer is extracted from an article titled "Uses and Gratifications Theory"
published by Businesstopia, which is a website about business and communication.
This article explained that uses and gratification theory is an opposing theory to the magic bullet
theory aka hypodermic needle model because UGT assumes that the public is active,
while the magic bullet theory assumes that the audience is passive and helpless.
According to UGT, the audience is said to have full control over the effect of
media on them as the media can be chosen by the audience themselves,
and there are five basic areas of human gratifications. They are as follows:
1.Affective needs
Affective needs refer to the emotional satisfaction and pleasure people
derive from using media. People identify with the characters in
the media and empathize with the emotions they display.
2.Cognitive needs
People use media to get information and fulfill their mental and intellectual needs. Like People
utilize both analog and digital media to learn about news and keep up with current events.
They also use the media like online courses to learn a variety of subjects.
3.Social integrative needs
Social integrative need is a person's need to interact with others,
such as family and friends. People utilize social networking sites like Facebook,
MySpace, and Twitter to mingle and interact with others. People also use media to improve their
social relationships by searching subjects to discuss with their friends and family.
4.Personal integrative needs
Believe it or not, media consumption help humans in the formation and consolidation of
their identity. Like you might watch advertising and learn about current trends in order to adapt
your lifestyle and blend in with others. During media consumption, we also tend to see characters
with characteristics that appeal to us as role models, and we begin to emulate their actions.
5.Tension-free needs
People may have many tensions in their lives they do not want to face,
so they turn to the media for relief.
As a person who lives in modern society, you might think this theory is just stating the obvious,
but you know what, back to 1940s it was Not that obvious. Let's talk about our next PAA:
When did the Uses and gratification theory start?
The answer is extracted from an article titled "What Is Uses
and Gratifications Theory? Definition and Examples" published by ThoughtCo,
which is a website providing information about science, math, and humanities.
According to this article, Uses and gratifications was first introduced in the 1940s as researchers
looked into why people choose to consume different types of media.
Then, in the 1970s, researchers turned their attention to the outcomes of media
use and the social and psychological needs that media gratified. Today, the theory is
often credited to communications professor Jay Blumler and sociologist Elihu Katz's work in 1974.
Another interesting thing this article mentioned is a 2004 study published in
the journal CyberPsychology & Behavior on uses and gratifications of the internet.
This research found seven gratifications for media use ,which are different from the traditional five
basic areas of media gratifications defined by previous researchers, these 7 areas are:
1.information seeking
2.aesthetic experience 3.monetary compensation
4.diversion 5.personal status
6.relationship maintenance, and 7.virtual community.
The virtual community need is especially interesting because it could be considered
a new gratification as it can only be done using relatively new technology and media.
We know nowadays because of the emergence of social media and
search engine, UGT actually has become even more relevant than before, but
What are some examples of use and gratification theory in public relations and social media?
This question was answered by an article titled "Analyzing the Theory:
Uses and Gratifications in Public Relations" written by Elizabeth
Molek and Hannah Morrissey published on Penn State University's website.
Since this study was published in 2020,
it has provided numerous real-world and current examples of how uses and
gratification theory might be utilized in social media and public relations today.
One example is GoPro's social media campaigns on Instagram. GoPro is a
camera firm selling cameras specializing in capturing moments in sports and adventurous
situations. GoPro’s Instagram features daily “photos of the day and videos of the day”.
Here's how it work, GoPro chooses one user submission of content like a photo of
skydiving or video of snorkeling to share on their Instagram account – and the caption will
tag the user who sent in the submission while also mentioning the model of the GoPro camera in use.
By republishing user’s photos and tagging them in these posts , GoPro is able to satisfy user’s
personal integrative needs at the same time satisfy the audience's tension-free needs,
by providing exciting contents. Everyone wins!
It is just one example analyzed by this article, I highly recommend reading the whole paper yourself.
All right, let's recap:
Today we learned the concept of Uses and Gratification Theory,
five basic areas of human gratifications,
A little history about UGT and seven gratifications for media use defined by a 2004
research, and we also learned how UGT might be useful in today's world of social media and public relations.
If you made it to the end of the video, chances are that you enjoy learning what people also
ask on Google. But let's face it, reading PAA yourself will be a pain. So here's the deal,
I will do the reading for you and upload a video compiling some fun PAAs once a week,
all you have to do is to hit the subscribe button and the bell icon
so you won't miss any PAA report that I compile. So just do it right now. Bye!