Young People Use of Media: Motives and Benefits

Young people may be using the media actively (not passively) for a number of motives ranging from information seeking, social interaction and entertainment. Information seeking encompasses a number of issues including; finding out about relevant events and conditions in immediate surroundings, society and the world; seeking advice on practical matters or opinion and decision choices; satisfying curiosity and general interest; learning self education; and gaining a sense of security through knowledge.

Young people use the media for personal identity. The motive of personal identity may mean four different things. The four motive for personal identity includes finding reinforcement for personal values, finding models of behavior, identifying with value of others (in the media); and gaining insight into one’s self. The motive of integration and social interaction involves gaining insight into circumstances of social empathy; identifying with others and gaining a sense of belonging; finding a basis for conversation and social interaction; having a substitute for real-life companionship; helping to carry out social roles; and enabling one to connect with family, friends and society.

Entertainment as a motive for mass media use has to do with escaping or being diverted from problems, relaxing and getting intrinsic cultural or aesthetic enjoyment. Of all the motives for media use, entertainment appears the strongest for young people. Research has consistently shown that young people patronize entertainment media content more than informative and educative ones. This is the case with Bonfadelli’s research on the uses and functions of mass media for Swiss young people. Bonfadelli found out that watching television and listening to radio or records were the number one leisure activities across all the young people in the study sample. These two media fulfilled a wide range of effective, escape, and social functions for the young.

In another study entitled: “Predictors of viewing, enjoyment of reality-based and fictional crime shows”, Oliver and Armstrong (1995) found that young people more than adults were associated with reality-based viewing and enjoyment. Even in media contents that appear to have in-built cognitive issues like television news, which is primarily designed to inform and educate, young people derive entertainment motives from such content. Drew and Reeves (1980), in another study, reported that young people watch television news basically for excitement and for fun. To confirm this finding, the young people also largely indicated that the function of TV news for them was to give them something fun to watch, to show them the important things to think about, and to tell them when people do things wrong.