Today I learnt about what an active audience is and the different audience theories.

Active audience
Different audiences can understand a media messages but can have different responses to it. Some people believe and accept the message, others reject it using knowledge from their own experience or can use processes of logic or other rationales to criticise what is being said.

Audience Theories

• Hypodermic Needle Theory - This theory states that a media message is literally injected into the audiences brain to make them believe in a certain idea or image that the publisher wants the audience to perceive. Problem - This theory isn't 100% true, not everyone is the same and not everyone interprets things the same way.
• Culmination Theory - This theory basically states that if a person watches something for a long length of time then they will believe/be convinced that this is an appropriate thing to do and that it is acceptable. For example, if a person was to play a violent video game for a long length of time then they will go on to participate in the same actions represented in the game and will believe it is acceptable is a normal thing to do in society.  Problem - Children desensitized to violence become more tolerant towards it.
• Two-Step Flow Model - This theory states that the media will represent a certain item/idea, someone will gain an opinion on it and pass their opinion on which will cause another member of the public to witness this item of media and will believe the opinion that they have heard or create their own opinion on this media text they have viewed. Problem - An opinion leader is not needed as information from the media will make it's way to most people anyway.
• Uses and Gratifications Theory - This theory states that audiences consume media texts for different reasons. These reasons may include: personal relations, personal identity, enjoyment, surveillance or personal experiences. Problem - This theory is difficult to measure.
• Reception Analysis (Reception Theory. This theory was focused on mainly by Stuart Hall in the 1970's. This theory provides a mean of understanding media texts and how the media encode it and the audience decodes it. We may decode media texts based on personal identity or even personal experiences. An active audience is needed for this. Problem - Audiences may not decode the message media has given/portrayed and will believe whatever the media encodes.