Passive/Active Audience ~ Audience Theory

This is the second of the audience theories I learned about today, Passive/Active audience theory.

The passive audience theory is an audience that merely observes and event rather than actively responding to it.

There've been a few studies carried out on what is called the 'audience effect'. The active audience theory argues that media audiences do not just receive information passively, but are actively involved, often unconsciously, in making sense of the message within their personal and social contexts.

Decoding of a media message may therefore be influenced by such things as family background, beliefs, values, culture, interests, education and experiences. This can affect how an audience may relate to a character or who they sympathise with in the production.