This thesis seeks to understand further the effectiveness and profit potential of podcasting. The study combines the theories of uses and gratifications and subjective theory of value to create a model for podcasting's value. The model is put to the test using the Manager Tools podcast as the subject. Data suggest the three main drivers behind perceived podcast effectiveness are pleasure, habit, and information gathering. Relaxation proved to have a negative influence on perceived effectiveness. The audience's willingness to pay was determined by perceived effectiveness, scarcity, and habit. Though not a generalizable study, the conclusion discusses the findings' implications on the podcasting community.

The purpose of this thesis is to assess children's exposure to aggression through popular children's picture books. Little research has been performed regarding aggression in such books. By analyzing 301 picture books, this study found that the average picture book contained 1.36 aggressive acts, and that aggressive acts were more likely to be included in picture books meant for older children. Verbal aggression was the most widely used type of aggression in children's picture books. There was no significant relationship between the type of character (human or nonhuman) and whether the character acted aggressively. Male characters were more likely to be shown aggressing towards other male characters; they were also more likely to be shown using physical aggression and violent ideation. Aggressive acts in children's picture books are more likely to be portrayed as unjustified, with no consequences, and no adult involvement to help resolve the situation. Children's picture books could be a useful tool for parents, teachers, and adults to teach children about aggression and appropriate solutions for resolving conflict.

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The purpose of this thesis is to present the different needs that can arise before VR use,and gratifications obtained by consumption. This includes finding out what media content users consume in VR, their motivations for why they consume the selectedcontent, how the choice of VR before other medium affects situations or interaction, and they feel after a session in virtual reality. The theories proven to provide a solid basis for answering the research questions are uses and gratifications theory, and medium theory. The collected empirical data is presented and analyzed within the frameworks ofthese theories, which together with previous research on virtual reality and VRheadsets, support the theoretical framework for this thesis. To gain in depth data of consumers motivations and own experiences, five semistructured qualitative interviewswhere conducted. The interviewees where asked various questions about their social and individual differences, gratifications sought and obtained, and their perception of how VR technology affects different situations and interaction. The collected empirical data is then presented and analyzed within the frameworks of uses and gratifications approach and medium theory. Results of the empirical data showed that the mostcommon needs to be satisfied by VR use are those of exersice, entertainment, practice, social interaction, and relaxation. Those needs are gratified by applications for exersice, entertainment applications, games, simulators, and social applications. The interviewees choose VR before other medium or real life activities because VR is more engaging than working out at home and less timeconsuming than leaving the house to exersice at the gym, more engaging and immersive than pc or console gaming for simulation games, and open in the sense of being able to walk up to strangers and socialize with in the virtual world. The study also showed that not only the technology hardware charachteristics, but also the software design found within the virtual environment, affects situations and interactions in a way that is perceived different and better than software found in other medium like social applications on the phone.

A growing percentage of this content consists of reaction videos, a new type of user- generated content that has been on the rise within this social media platform, in which individuals record themselves reacting to any sort of content. This paper aims to explore the dynamics involved in this type of content, not only from the perspective of the creator but also from the angle of the viewer, to try and understand what leads to the popularity of these videos. The current thesis aims not only to dissect the topic but also to present the field of Media and Communication studies with relevant and unprecedented insight into the motivations that lead viewers to engage with this kind of content and contribute to debunk this contemporary audience phenomenon. To do so, a case study was conducted on a YouTube channel named ‘REACT’. The study utilised Uses and Gratifications Theory as well as the concept of mediated voyeurism to help contextualise the reaction genre. Using content analysis, 4 of their videos were analysed qualitatively. Plus, a focus group was conducted in order to not only understand the overall sentiment towards the reaction video genre, but also identify the possible reasons for it to be a global success. Results show that reaction videos can be characterised as dynamic, highly engaging and extremely relatable videos. Furthermore, they can be of amateur nature – unscripted, spontaneous and organic, or more professionalised – scripted and edited. Additionally, while most of the needs these videos fulfil can be categorised as diversion needs, the remaining ones can be perceived as both personal identity and surveillance needs. The current research can be seen as a useful tool for society to interpret relevant patterns of content creation and consumption within the current digital age.

The focus of this thesis is on how elderly people make use of digital screens. The study studies how these elderly individuals view their screen time and it highlights how they have adapted to an ever-changing media landscape. The empirical material has been collected through four qualitative interviews where all of the interviewed were 80 years old or older at the time of the interview. Two females and two males were part of the study. The empiricism has been coded, themed and analyzed using the qualitative method of thematic analysis. The analysis is supported by the theoretical framework where uses and gratification theory, affordances and constraints theory and the theory of adoption categories has been applied to the empirical material. The theoretical framework has contributed to understanding why people use different types of media, which affordances and constraints that people see in technologies and what types of adoption categories there are and what that means for the individual. The analysis of the empirical data finds that these older individuals utilize digital screens for various reasons, where the most prominent finds were for relaxation, cognitive fulfillment and to the gratification of affective needs. Smartphones and computers are employed for safety, social interaction and communication while television is used as a tool for escaping daily life and monitoring the world. The study identifies a widespread theme indicating a noticeable enhancement in their everyday life making various tasks easier thanks to digital screens. A social factor becomes evident where the interviewees use digital screens as a utility for keeping contact with friends and family, but also through a reoccurring theme implying that older individuals need a social network that can assist them with unfamiliar technologies that they can not manage themselves.

The aim of the present study was to explore the ways adolescent females, age 14 through 17, utilized social networking websites such as MySpace and Facebook for communication, self-presentation and identity development purposes. Uses and gratifications theory served as a framework for identifying the participants' motivations for heavily using these websites, which allow users to post pictures, interests and updates for their friends to view and interact with online. Using a qualitative method, one preliminary focus group and ten in-depth interviews were conducted, totaling fifteen female participants between the ages of 14 and 17. Interview questions covered topics such as peer interactions through social networking sites, posting personal content to their profile pages, self-presentations through pictures and text, creating and maintaining friendships through these sites, and negative and positive feedback received through comments. Results indicated that the participants frequently used social networking websites for five main gratifications: Information Sharing, Convenient Communication, Self-Expression, Friendship Formation and Social Support.

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