Chapter 2 Notes: Why People Use Media

Media consumption is a ubiquitous part of modern life.
People use media in highly individualized ways, influenced by their experiences and beliefs.
Our attitudes are based on our experiences
It's often difficult to appreciate media's profound role in our daily routines due to its constant presence.

Smartphones are nearly universal among Americans across demographics.
97% of adults use smartphones to consume and create content, often subconsciously.
Activities like texting, creating videos, and sharing content are forms of media creation.
In 2022, 5.4 billion people (68% of the world's population) were internet users, primarily on mobile devices.
Many in Africa and Asia remain unconnected, missing opportunities for jobs, business, and services to escape poverty.
Mediatization: The concept that media and everyday life are deeply intertwined, influencing relationships, politics, business, culture, sports, and education.
Media's influence is complex and requires examination over decades due to rapid changes.
Masking with media is common, for example while watching TV while cooking or listen to music in the car when you drive.
People are not glued to the screen.

Companies like Nielsen use representative demographic samples to infer media use trends.
Sophisticated sampling and statistics that carefully measure a small group of people's media use to infer the behavior of a larger population.
Book buying is increasing, but reading books is on the decline between 2002 and 2016.
College graduates read about six fewer books in 2021 than they did in 2002.
People over 50 watch the most TV.
In 2023, only 25% of TV viewing is on broadcast channels, a historical low.
As of December 2022, there were over 821,000 titles across streaming platforms, compared to 231,000 on traditional cable/broadcast.
One in three households accesses media only through the internet, a growing trend.
Streaming services account for nearly 40% of overall viewing, outpacing cable TV.
Younger audiences (24 and under) use streaming services the most, watching less live TV.
People spent an average of 37 minutes per day on the internet on their tablets and 128 minutes (more than 2 hours) on their smartphones Q4 2022.
During Q1, total live TV viewing clocks in at 173 minutes per day.
Live TV viewing decreases in Q3 to 159 minutes.

Smartphones are indispensable for most people.
People are often unaware of how much time they spend on their phones.
Researchers found users touch their smartphones an average of 2,617 times daily, with 87% checking them between midnight and 5:00 am (DScout, 2016).
Most people use smartphones for short bursts throughout the day.
Studies show people use smartphones for over 4 hours and 48 minutes daily, up 30% since 2019 (Wakefield, 2022).
Android users can use the Digital Wellbeing app and iPhone users can use the ScreenTime tool to monitor device usage.
These tools provide detailed information on app usage, categories, and device pickups.
Google Analytics for website owners shows visitor data (views, time spent).
YouTube channels provide viewer analytics (view duration, drop-off points).
Heatmaps visualize user interaction (clicks, taps, scrolls) on a page.
Tools like Semrush track website traffic, even on competitors' sites.
Various digital platforms measure media usage time, but this data is proprietary.
Data is referred to as the central commodity of the internet.
Technology giants use collected data to predict user behavior.
Digital platforms profit from user data, including location, online searches, and transaction history.

Reasons for using media remain consistent despite media changes.
In the 19th century, poetry offered reflection, and fiction provided escape.
Examples of popular books in the 1830s: The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Frankenstein, Oliver Twist.
Media connects people, satisfying emotional, intellectual, and social needs.
Celebrity authors like Charles Dickens were mobbed by fans, creating a community of readers.
Reading could transport individuals to different cultures and provide insights into social issues.
Media studies scholars have developed a typology to depict the different ways people use media.
In 1972, researchers Jay Blumler, Joseph Brown, and Denis McQuail identified four uses of media: diversion, support for personal relationships, expression of personal identity, and surveillance.
Uses and Gratifications Theory: The medium providing the most satisfaction will be used more often.

Emotional Needs
- Media is used to experience feelings like happiness, fear, excitement, or horror, providing pleasure.
- People use media for catharsis or escape from real-world stresses.
Informational Needs
- Media supports thinking and action in the world.
- Media use supports lifelong learning.
- Surveillance: Monitoring events locally, nationally, and globally for awareness and decision-making.
Social Needs
- Identity: Promoting personal identity or expressing priorities and interests.
- Power: Influencing others or being influenced.

Media decisions are driven by these uses and gratifications.
Shared media experiences can activate nostalgic emotions.
Individual motivations for media use vary across the lifespan and align with identity and community roles.
Patterns are often learned in childhood.
Examples:
- Playing video games with friends to deepen social cohesion.
- Listening to music alone to manage moods and emotions.
- Using Google to find answers and gain information.
- Scrolling through social media when bored to fill time and experience various emotions.
Attentiveness to media content varies based on context and situation.
Media choices are often dictated by context and circumstance rather than individual preference.

Movies provide an escape, displacing reality with vivid colors, action, and sound.