My Media Consumption

To further understand Blumler and Katz’s theory of Uses and Gratification we created collages of the media we consume. By doing this, it became apparent that as well as being a consumer I’m also a prosumer. This means that as well as consuming media, I also create it. This can be done through instagram or facebook posts or even posts on this blog.

Another thing we learnt from the collage exercise was which categories of the Uses and Gratification theory were most prevalent in our interests; and also which categories our biggest interests fell into which was often more than one. For example, Amy Winehouse fell into both Entertainment ans Personal Identity because the genre of music you listen to often also says a lot about you. Another example of this is a TV series like ‘Peaky Blinders’ which, as well as being entertainment is also a spark for Social Interaction; another category, by being a show that lots of people watch and are very invested in.

Blumler and Katz’s theory will help me produce my own piece of media, in the form of my music magazine, by directing what I should add in order to make it a successful piece of text. This means I need to focus on my magazine being entertaining, relatable, conversation-worthy and informative in order to cover all the categories of Uses and Gratification.