Date of Award
Summer 8-2013
Degree Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Mass Communication and Journalism
School
Communication
Committee Chair
Fei Xue
Committee Chair Department
Mass Communication and Journalism
Committee Member 2
Chris Campbell
Committee Member 2 Department
Mass Communication and Journalism
Committee Member 3
Kim LeDuff
Committee Member 3 Department
Mass Communication and Journalism
Committee Member 4
David Davies
Committee Member 4 Department
Mass Communication and Journalism
Committee Member 5
Alen Hajnal
Committee Member 5 Department
Psychology
Abstract
The Pew Research Center (2010, March 1) identified three crucial “new metrics of news” (p. 2) that help to explain the appeal of new, interactive media forms among young adult news consumers. These metrics of Portability, Personalizability and Participation (Pew, 2010) highlight the rapid transformations in technology and user interests that have helped create a new manifestation of what McLuhan called an “age of anxiety” (1967/2001, pp. 8-9) in mass media industries and in mass communication education and scholarship. The purpose of this research is to investigate this very shift in how news is delivered and consumed, with particular attention to the preferences of college students for news that offers Pew’s (2010, March 1) new metrics. Which facet of news best attracts college students’ engagement? Do young adults’ media choices depend mostly on the news content or channel, or mostly on the technology through which content is delivered? This research explores these questions with new theoretical tools, combining traditional uses and gratifications theory (Blumler & Katz, 1974) with concepts from ecological psychology (Gibson, 1979; Michaels & Carello, 1981). This examination asks whether users’ preferences for Pew’s (2010) new metrics differ, based on respondents’ action goals, informational goals, or selected demographic characteristics.
Copyright
2013, Alice Ferguson
Recommended Citation
Ferguson, Alice Diana Cade, "Ecological Psychology and Media Consumption Among Young Adults: A New Framework" (2013). Dissertations. 40.
https://aquila.usm.edu/dissertations/40
Included in
Journalism Studies Commons, Mass Communication Commons, Psychology Commons, Public Relations and Advertising Commons