Uses and gratifications is seen as a viable communication perspective for examining the interface of interpersonal and mass communication. This essay explicates the interpersonal dimension of uses and gratifications models, including individual needs and functional alternatives. The uses of interpersonal channels are considered as coequal alternatives to the uses of media channels for the gratification of social and psychological needs. The parallels between uses and gratifications and interpersonal communication perspectives are explained and a research agenda is created for future investigations of why and how media and personal interaction are used to gratify individual communicative needs.
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