Media diary - Week 5

Media diary: Week 5 - Uses & Gratifications

Music-

In this instance, this week I mostly consumed media privately through my iPod. In my opinion, this fulfills the following uses and gratifications-

Escapism/Entertainment - I feel it fulfills my needs for entertainment and escapism as quite often, and in this case, I listen to music just to relax, calm and occupy myself. I listened to a variety of music as it was on 'shuffle' mode and I feel that my varied music tastes help me get a sense of escapism, as I am in my own little world, in a way, with all the music I like and my thoughts. This is good because I could be listening to one song, for instance Wide Awake by Katy Perry, that gives you both a fantasy feel and a feel of reality at the same time. The sense of escapism is obvious but so is the reality in the song. This not only gives me escapism, but also entertainment as I can really listen to the lyrics and, most if the time with songs I like, know what they mean.

Personal Identity - Music is a huge media text when it comes to personal identity. Not only can people relate to the lyrics, but they can also find a sense of belonging within the 'fandom' of a particular artist or genre. This is very true in my case; the songs I listen to most frequently are those of Katy Perry, Taylor Swift and Hot Chelle Rae. When I became a fan of their music, I immediately became a member of the 'fandom'. This, as well as listening to the songs as often as I do, allows me to feel secure and know that they're are so many other people in the world who share these same interests that I do. 

Social Interaction - For as long as it's been around, music has been a huge part of social gatherings; previously the only way we could access music was through actually watching an artist live. Now however, it is on much more open social platforms. The likes of iTunes and YouTube sell and promote music to the public, whilst Twitter and Facebook can promote the artist or the songs to their fans as well as people who are searching for new music. Although in this case I didn't share my music with a group, I kept it to myself, I still enable people to know what I'm listening to, somehow subconsciously without thinking. I may tweet lyrics which lets my followers know what I'm listening to, or often a song will make me think of something which I will then share with whoever I'm with at that time. As well as this, everyone talks about music; Music awards are on many times a year; the music charts are a big talking point, as are 'which artist is better' debates which are essentially never ending. No matter how you consume it, music will always be social and shared in one way or another.

Television news-

I consume the news on television every morning before college. I don't usually pay attention but you still get some of the points through subconsciously. In my opinion it fulfils the following uses and gratifications-

Escapism/Entertainment - In a way, with modern day 'breakfast programs', we can be entertained by the news. Obviously most news makes it to the TV as it is a big event, not necessarily a good one. However, during the Olympics the news was taken up with the euphoria of winning medal after medal, the Olympians providing interviews, proving the news can be a source of entertainment; like a chat show at times. However, I don't feel it aids escapism, as we are shown the world for what it is really like during the news. It isn't fictional, we can't escape the real world when watching what is going on in it. 

Social Interaction - The news is everywhere. Every minute somewhere, news is made, whether it be local or national. It's means that every minute, the news is being broken somewhere. Nowadays, using an example I used for music, Twitter can actually be better than news websites for finding the news. Millions of people all tweeting at the same time about one event means you can't not find out one way or another. Because of social networking, the news and everything surrounding it has become a much more social thing. News programs even use the likes of twitter to break news as well as take views from the public. Twitter users can talk to people from all over the world and gain their views on the matters. This actually makes news, no matter if it's good or bad, a huge stage for social interaction.