Audience Theories

Desensitisation Theory
Theory suggests that because people are exposed to so much violence in the media, violence no longer makes a strong emotional impact upon them.Most people would agree that by watching lots of violent movies, a viewer no longer gets upset while watching violent movies. However, the debate surrounding this concept is whether people will also be desensitised to real life violence. 


Cultivation Theory
Those who watch more than 4 hours of TV a day are labelled heavy television viewers and those who view less than 4 hours a day, according to George Gerbner (1976) are light viewers. Heavy viewers are exposed to more violence and are therefore affected by the Means World Syndrome, an idea that the world is worse than what it is.  The overuse of TV is creating a homogeneous and fearful populace.


Copy Cat Theory
The copy cat theory relates to something that is publicized in the media that creates a lot of attention, resulting in other people to imitate or copy this to get the same amount of attention. A known example of this is the copy cat murders and suicides. Audience react differently to various situations as they have different interpretations.