According to Barker and Petley, there is an obsession with trying to prove that the media are responsible for a range of social problems, and the researchers who want to find this link carry on despite the lack of evidence to support the idea.
The hyperdermic syringe theory is that the media is like a syringe which injects ideas, attitudes and beliefs into the audience. However, this is largely rejected today.
Uses and gratifications theory is more about what people do with the media to satisfy various individual and social needs that we have. Criticisms of this theory is that you may be a secondary user and you can't always chose what media you use. For example, you have no control over what advertisements get shown on television.
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