HISTORIA FAMILIAR DE OTROS TUMORES Y SU RELACIÓN CON LAS

Early in the history of communications research, an approach was developed to study the ‘gratifications’ which attract and retain audiences for the kinds of media and the types of content which satisfy their social and psychological needs (Simoni and Balla, 1977). This approach to mass communication argues that individuals bend the media to their needs more readily than the media overpower them, and therefore that the media are at least as much agents of diversion and entertainment as of information and influence (Katz et al., 1973). The selection of media and content, and the uses to which they are put, are influenced considerably by an individual’s social role and psychological predisposition (Katz et al., 1973). Katz et al. (1973) developed a comprehensive list of sociological and psychological needs said to be satisfied by exposure to mass media:

 Needs related to strengthening information, knowledge, and understanding, which can be called cognitive needs.

 Needs related to strengthening aesthetic, pleasurable and emotional experience, or affective needs.

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 Needs related to strengthening credibility, confidence, stability, and status, which combine both cognitive and affective elements and can be labelled integrative needs.

 Needs related to strengthening contact with family, friends, and the world. These can also be seen as performing an integrative function.

 Needs related to escape or release of tension, which we define in terms of the weakening of contact with self and one’s social roles.

(Katz et al., 1973)

One can identify a number of changes in the context of communication with the invention of the Internet. Behaviour on the Internet, as in other areas of life, is motivated by our desires to fulfil our basic human needs, and OSNs have allowed us to satisfy these needs in more complex ways (Wigand et al., 2008). A review of the literature reveals that a number of human needs can be said to be satisfied by use of OSNs. These are listed in Table 7.

Table 7 Human needs satisfied by exposure to online social networks

Human needs Authors

Need for autonomy Kuznetsov (2006)

Need for entertainment Wigand et al. (2008)

Need for relatedness or need to belong Gangadharbatla (2010)

Exhibitionism Fisher et al. (2011)

Voyeurism Fisher et al. (2011)

Need to acquire information Wigand et al. (2008)

Need to acquire goods Wigand et al. (2008)

Need for competence-related feedback Wigand et al. (2008)

Altruistic needs Kuznetsov (2006)

In terms of the “need for autonomy”, the freedom to make independent decisions attracts many individuals to the arena of OSNs (Kuznetsov, 2006). With respect to the “need for entertainment”, Wigand et al. (2008) argue that the need for entertainment is a behaviour that is strongly represented on the Internet, entire sites and applications have been developed and used to meet the need to be entertained. Previous research has shown that being playful and entertained in the context of the Internet leads to fulfilment of different basic human needs, depending upon an individual’s personality characteristics (e.g. Ryan

et al., 2006a). For instance, players who engage in Multi-Player Gaming may find that they have their need for relatedness satisfied (Ryan et al., 2006b). As regards to the “need for relatedness”, OSNs allow members not only to find out information, but also to connect to

56 others by linking to their profiles, joining and creating groups, and to send public and private messages to their friends (Gangadharbatla, 2010). For decades social and personality psychologists have argued that people have an intrinsic motivation to affiliate and bond with each other (e.g. Carvallo and Pelham, 2006; Maslow, 1968; McClelland, 1987; Murray, 1938). OSNs offer a space in which people can address the need to belong by using functionalities that enable conversations and information-gathering, along with the possibility of gaining social approval, expressing opinions, and influencing others (Gangadharbatla, 2010). Therefore, individuals’ attitudes and behaviour in relation to OSNs may stem from their need to belong. Gangadharbatla (2010) argues that the need to belong can be understood on the basis of a fundamental orientation towards interpersonal relations, in which there are three basic needs which underlie individuals’ group-seeking behaviour:

 Inclusion, which pertains to the need to belong to or include others in a circle of acquaintances.

 Affection, or the need to love or be loved by others.

 Control, which encompasses the need to exert power over others or give power over the self to others.

(Gangadharbatla, 2010, p. 8)

Joining OSNs can meet all three of the above needs (Gangadharbatla, 2010). In terms of the “need for exhibitionism” and the “need for voyeurism”, Fisher et al. (2011) argue that the architecture and the culture of OSNs promote digital emotional exhibitionism and associated voyeurism, with individuals projecting their (sometimes imagined) identities in the dynamic and free floating digital world and offering opportunities for others to look in an observe them. Individuals demonstrating exhibitionism, for example, upload photos, post comments, and update statuses in the hope that others will view and interact with their displays (Fisher et al., 2011). Individuals exhibit voyeuristic behaviour when they access this content and engage in new social exchanges about it (Fisher et al., 2011). Motivations for exhibitionism on OSNs could possibly include self-validation, the desire to manage one’s self-identity, the development of new relationships, and the desire to exert social control (Calvert, 2004). With respect to the “need to acquire information”, “need to acquire goods” and “need for competence-related feedback”, Wigand et al. (2008) argue

57 that an individual may decide to purchase an item because they believe it will make them fit in with others (in order to better relate to others) or may seek information on the Internet about average scores on a test in order to compare themselves with others (i.e. the need for competence-related feedback). Finally, in terms of “altruistic needs”, many contributions to OSNs can be characterized as altruistic acts (Kuznetsov, 2006). An individual who acts out of altruism aims solely to benefit others without any intent to gain or improve his or her own situation (Kuznetsov, 2006). For example, many contributions to Wikipedia can be characterized as altruistic acts, and Wikipedians who are motivated by altruism invest time and effort into their work without any desire for compensation except for the satisfaction of sharing their knowledge (Kuznetsov, 2006).