Audience theory explanation

Audience theory is an element of thinking that developed within academic literary theory and cultural studies.
Active audiences:
Users and gratifications- Blumler and Katz, 1924:
    •    Diversion (escapism)-audience uses media as emotional release, diverting them from everyday  pressure
    •    Personal relationships- audience needs companionship with know TV characters or programmes as well as the interaction with others who watch it
    •    Personal identity- compare one's won life to a characters life (relatable) therefore gaining perspective on one's own life
    •    Surveillance- given the opportunity to see what else is happening in the world.

Passive audiences:
Hypodermic syringe theory, 1923:
    •    The FrankFurt School, set up in 1923, were concerned about the possible effects of mass media. They proposed the ‘effects’ model, which considered society to be composed of isolated individuals who were susceptible to media messages. The FrankFrurt School envisioned the media as a hypodermic syringe.
    •    TV and video games act on audiences like a direct drug injection. The audience is seen as passive and addictive. The media makers ‘inject’ a kind of ‘instant fix’ into the viewer. This theory places emphasis on the importance of the text as influencing the audience.