Diversion, is the first idea that relates to a form of escape and relief, or a release from the pressures of everyday life. This may either be a frustrating day at work or even a problematic relationship. The types of media that may provide this escape vary from just surfing Facebook to check up on your friends, to listening to radio or Youtube to create a relaxing atmosphere. The second is Surveillance which presents the idea that people want to know what is 'going on' in the world at the moment, this may be to fill in other friends or maybe just for self preservation. This is preferably done by either broadsheet newspapers, gossip magazines and of course T.V, however this is also done nowadays by the power of Facebook and sporting sites like Sky Sports.
The last of the concepts are Personal and Personal Identity. The personal aspect of the theory is that generally yourself or the consumers of media often compare their life with the scenarios or lifestyles of people they see in media, such as celebrities or real life stories, which can create a sense of realism. The last concept, being Personal Identity is the theory that media itself can help create a definitive perspective on ones view of the world and allow you to convey your own ideas and put them forth to even allow other people to create their opinions, thus allowing media, to flow from one another to influence others, for example if you are to see a hooded teenager, instantly you may feel insecure because of how they are portrayed in the press.
The analysis of the two magazine publications we studied in class, being NME and Top Of The Pops and any publication or media, will have target a specific concept in the uses and gratification theory, one more than the other to benefit the needs of their audience. NME in which was the first magazine I studied had a clear outline on which of the concepts they had focused on the most.
This being Surveillance. The information and articles in the publication gave a clear indication that they wanted to allow their audience to know what was going on around the music world and preferably gigs or concerts as most of the adverts featured in the magazine were to do with concerts. NME also had a full A-Z guide of gigs which would appeal to the average gig attender. I believe that they focused least diversion and the personal aspects as the articles were very long and arduous and they did not really give a clear insight into the celebrities or characters interviewed. However, I believe they did pay attention to the Personal Identity part of the theory as the articles almost wanted another opinion or for the reader to think of their own.
The second of the magazines analysed which was Top Of The Pops, also held a clear outline on which concepts they took more seriously. Being a magazine aimed a younger more specific target audience, it was very likely that they looked more deeply into Diversion and Personal aspects, although maintaining a surveillance theme throughout. As young teenage girls life may be strenuous at times and this magazine does exactly what it should do in providing an escape from everyday lives, giving an insight on other peoples lives. Which in turn leads to the personal aspect of the theory as many teenage girls like to relate themselves to a certain idol or a well known figure in the media world. Although the surveillance theory is not so hard hitting on this publication, it is still seen clearly as it is a gossip magazine, therefore it held many breaking stories about the private lives of celebrities or footballers, and allowed the audience to be filled in on what was going on with the big and most influential people of today.
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