Media Dependency

The term media dependency refers to the setting of engagement responses among individuals and a particular medium or set of media. The process behind media dependency implies a sequence where individuals approach a media source because they are attracted by its content. In a later stage, when individuals seek out content influenced by individual differences, the individual evaluation of the appeal of the content takes place, and other social structures play a regulatory role. Audiences, media, and society establish relations of different degrees of dependence that are derived from different factors.

Individual needs play a major role in media dependency in the form of reward-related behaviors, personal goals, and personality traits. The existence of audience active search and ritualistic forms of consumption is also determined by ...