Favorite Concept

There were so many interesting concepts that we learned about in this course. However, my favorite would have to be the Uses and Gratifications theory. For one thing, I enjoyed reading that article. I thought that the study that was conducted was very interesting and insightful. The idea of the Uses and Gratifications theory is that people use mass media and other forms of communication to fulfill their needs and wants. The theory looks at people’s motives to communicate and the consequences of such behavior. I just find this theory very interesting. The article proposed that people use social networking sites to “experience selective, efficient, and immediate contact with others for the (mediated) interpersonal communication satisfaction and as an ongoing way to seek the approval and support of other people.” I think that they are absolutely right. Social networking sites are great places for people to enhance relationships. There is a level of immediacy that motivates people to use social networking sites. Before reading this article I hadn’t really thought about Uses and Gratifications theory. I remember learning about it a while ago but this article really helped me understand it. It also related the concept to social media, which I found very interesting.