Media Effects Models

Media effects models are effectively theories which help to explain how people internalise the media that they consume. They are important as they allow us to think about the effect that media has on these youth cultures, as well as the effect of reporting youth cultures through media outlets.

The Effects Model (Lotz) suggests that people react as a direct consequence to media exposure. It is known as the 'hypodermic needle model' as it implies that the media is being directly injected into the audience.
An example of a youth culture where this can be seen is the #BaldforBieber hashtag that briefly went around the internet last year. A few internet 'trolls' edited Wikipedia pages, created twitter accounts and made up some posts that implied that Justin Bieber himself was suffering from cancer and that many fans were shaving their heads in support of the star, to "help Justin through his illness".
The rumours were quickly shut down, though not before images emerged online of a few fans who supposedly did actually shave their heads in support of their teen idol - who is not suffering from the illness.

The model also suggests that the viewing of media violence creates violence. In this vein, it is possible that Teddy Boys vandalised cinemas after viewing The Blackboard Jungle, and that feuds between the Mods and Rockers came from media portrayals as the two groups as opposites and therefore enemies. The increasing availability of material featuring violent imagery, such as films in cinemas and comic books is likely to have played a part in this, according to the Effects Model.
The same can be said for the London riots of 2011. The exposure that young people now have to media such as gruesome horror films, violent and immersive first person video games and music videos in which gang and riot culture is often depicted.

The Two-Step Flow Model, suggested by Lazarsfeld and Katz is a model that explains media consumption as individuals looking to opinion leaders to interpret the media for them.
The first step, as suggested by this graphic, is for the mass media to send out a message to the public. Opinion leaders pick up this media and they create and form their own opinions about the media. The next step is them transmitting this opinion and other people internalising it and making it their own viewpoint. An example of this would likely be the London Riots in the respect that people thought they ought to take part in them as many opinion leaders were stating on sites like Facebook and Twitter that they would be standing up to the police and making a statement. As a result many of these opinion leaders got in trouble, some for encouraging their friends to join in through BlackBerry Messenger.
An opinion leader could be a friend in a group, or it could be a celebrity. Many people have, for instance, donated to causes endorsed by celebrities. An example of this in recent times was Kony 2012, started by charity Invisible Children. The campaign was released to the mass media, spread on all manner of sites and many opinion leaders encouraged their friends and followers to support the campaign and encourage change, donating to the cause and paying money for fundraising packs and merchandise. Famous TV host Oprah Winfrey donated a massive $2million to the charity.
However, the individuals were not experiencing the media directly and they therefore missed out on several flaws in the campaign, such as the charity having offshore bank accounts and unfeasably high expenses, causing many opinion leaders to change their minds on the entire issue and try to rally against it, claiming that it was a complete set up and the charity was essentially just as bad as the man they were trying to stop.
Many of the individuals then picked up on this too - and the entire viral campaign was dropped and entirely forgotten about.

The Uses and Gratifications Theory, conceived by Katz, Blumler and Gurevitch, is a way of trying to understand why people actively seek out specific media outlets and content for gratification purposes. The theory discusses how users "proactively search for media that will not only meet a given need but enhance knowledge, social interactions and diversion."
An example of this may be the 'Superwholock fandom' on micro-blogging site Tumblr. The idea encompasses three popular television shows - Supernatual, Doctor Who and Sherlock (BBC version). This is a strong example of the theory because it has formed a crossover between the three shows - therefore the audience is not passive, instead choosing to take an active role in interpreting the media and integrating the media into their own lives. For instance, Supernatural is a relatively dark TV show that contains a lot of sad themes and ones that may make some viewers uncomfortable. Many of the members of this 'fandom' have chosen instead to interpret the show in different ways, highlighting the funny and goofy moments and looking for subtexts. In this sense they are choosing media to meet their needs; they may prefer not to focus on the dark and unhappy elements of the show. The image to the right is an example of how some consumers may interpret the shows; they use the media to bring together their favourite characters, and in doing so they fulfill specific gratifications.
However, the model can also be used in a wider sense. The internet is a great example of how people may use the media to fulfill specific gratifications; they can seek out and use material however they would like to. The theory implies that the media competes against other information sources for the viewers gratification; which is likely true, when we look at how sites like Facebook and Twitter compete against other, more specialised forms of media. Facebook now has its own video services to help them compete with sites like Vine and even Instagram. They also allow their users to access these sites through applications on the website, encouraging users to stay on Facebook rather than straying elsewhere.