Blumler and Katz: Uses and gratification

Blumler and Katz: Uses and gratification

The study of uses and gratification by Blumler and Katz is the study of why people buy things how they gain gratification from them. They categorize their study into four concepts:
'Escapism' the idea that we use books, movies and other forms of media such as Role playing games, to escape the reality of the real world. Secondly 'Personal Relationship' the idea that a relationship is developed with the fictional characters and the receivers. 'Personal identity' is the concept that the receivers' identity is influenced by the fiction characters such as the impact of a role model. Lastly the concept of 'surveillance' this is gaining an understanding of reality through these medias, however certain medias can lead to a distorted view for example watching biased news stations.