June 5, 2015
Why We Watch Them Sing and Dance: The Uses and Gratifications of Talent-Based Reality Television
Interesting that “American Idol” is used as part of the rationale of the observation, given the show has recently announced its final season. Does this mean the end of this phenomena, or has this particular program been replaced by others on the rise, e.g. The Voice, America’s Got Talent?
What about some of the original 90s reality TV? Road Rules and Real World from MTV?
Not surprising that American Idol produced the highest respondent rate of schadenfreude. However, to my observation above, with the format of The Voice different than American Idol, is schadenfreude still a factor in successful talent-based reality TV programming?
Understanding Generation Y and their use of social media: a review and research agenda
Considered first digital native generation. Personally, I’m a member of Gen Y. Are we really more narcissistic? I tend to think we fall into a mini sub-generation which was recently described as the “Oregon Trail generation” http://mashable.com/2015/05/21/oregon-trail-generation/ I tend to identify more with this definition, as having one foot in both worlds, being traditional in my approach but activating technology and new. I’ve had some form of blog since 2003 and joined Facebook in 2004 as an undergrad when you still had to be a student.
Interesting; “53% active social media users follow a brand rather than actively contribute content about the brand.”
I’ve probably been described as this: “ Gen Y is often characterized as being more skeptical, blunt, and impatient relative to their predecessors – arguably, due to being raised in an environment of information transparency and dominated by technologies that offer instant gratification.”
This is fairly significant for a brand/company: “ after joining an online community – customers increased their online purchases by 37 percent and their offline purchases by nine percent.”
I used LinkedIn to review a candidate for me team this week. Should a potential employer be allowed to ask as part of the interview and vetting process, to be “friends” or “connected” with a candidate on their personal, or even professional, social networks? “ Members of Gen Y expect firms to respect their desire to keep their private and working lives separate and to not be judged on the basis of their online identities (Abril et al. , 2012). However, monitoring employees’ social media persona and using the information found are likely to become the norm unless regulations restrict it”
Tweet this: A uses and gratifications perspective on how active Twitter use gratifies a need to connect with others
Kind of a given, but nice to revisit, “In other words, if people have a need to connect with other people, they will seek to gratify it.”
People who use Twitter are looking for a U&G result of interacting within a community. I’m not entirely sure I agree to the approach that the researcher took with such a small sampling of users that were culled from Twitter itself.
#IfTheyGunnedMeDown
An interesting social trend/fad that generates out of social response to a recent sociological and cultural trend. It’s also of note that all the samples even referenced within the article are of a particular race and ethnic background. Was that truly indicative of the total number of users who posted with the hashtag?
Esurance Post Super Bowl Ad
Passed the savings on to the customer. Ingenious idea of activating the same marketing budget, in a slightly different approach, to appeal to the core demographic of the Esurance business. If we are to believe the Gen Y (Millennials) are the most tech savvy, than an insurance company entirely based on the Internet (or was founded that way prior to be obtained by All State) is a logical fit for the always on generation.
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The readings from Module 4 featured examples and research articles of the Uses and Gratifications theory. In the first article, we review the impact of talent-based reality television and why they are so popular with viewers and the recent expansion of the format and content in the past five years. I thought it was interesting to note that “American Idol” was chosen as the top program during the study, but was recently announced to have its final season next year, likely due to lower than desired ratings. However, newer programs like NBC’s “The Voice” appear to feel the desire for talent-based competition shows, with less “poor” performances that propelled the schadenfreude phenomena for “American Idol.” Does this mean viewers are abandoning this feeling for more “pro-performer” based programming, i.e. less rooting for failure but seeking gratification in the success of the underdog?
In the second article, we evaluated Millennials use of social media for an instant gratification method, but also for general media consumption in a passive format, similar to television or print material. As a Millennial, I found myself asking, “Are we really more narcissistic?” Overall, I tend to think I fall into a mini sub-generation which was recently described as the “Oregon Trail generation.” I tend to identify more with this definition, as having one foot in both worlds, being traditional in my approach but activating technology and ascribing to the “digital native” title. I’ve had some form of blog since 2003 and joined Facebook in 2004 as an undergrad when you still had to be a student.
The next three articles featured specifically the usage of Twitter. The first research report was of interest, only because of it’s smaller than typical sample size and the use of the platform itself to promote the research questionnaire. Nothing within the material was overall striking or surprising. The two current event articles; one with the social cause of “#IfTheyGunnedMeDown” and the second showcasing the Esurance Super Bowl commercial both brought forward different types of personal gratification through the use of Twitter. With the social conscious article, I wondered if the sampling of tweets used within the article were really representative of all the users who posted with the hashtag? The Esurance spot was both break through to the audience by changing the format of Super Bowl advertising, but also in its engagement approach of their target audience; those who are comfortable with technology as beholden by their company’s name.
Overall, the readings brought forward how the current generation of Millennials can easily fit within the Uses and Gratifications theory through their engagement of social media and other channels that provide both a self indulgent pleasure or response, while also supporting a voyeurish format to watch or monitor their “friends.” As the “Tweet this” article stated, “… [I]f people have a need to connect with other people, they will seek to gratify it,” and the expansion of social networks and social media have assisted to propel this growing dominant generation into nearly every facet of society.
Questions:
MMC6400, Uses and Gratifications, Web Theory,