On the Use of the Mass Media as "Escape": Clarification of a Concept

It is often argued that the mass media “give the people what they want” and that the viewers, listeners, and readers ultimately determine the content of the media by their choices of what they will read, view, or hear. Whether or not this is a valid characterization of the role of the mass in relation to the media, it is only an arc of circular reasoning unless there is independent evidence of what the people do want. More particularly, there is great need to know what people do with the media, what uses they make of what the media now give them, what satisfactions they enjoy, and, indeed, what part the media play in their personal lives. Here is a discussion of some of the functions the media may perform in the lives of the members of the mass society.