ABSTRACT
This chapter explains about interactive use of mass media. “Interactivity” is a construct related to the use of computers and other new communication media. The chapter demonstrates that one potentially positive outcome of the incorporation of interactive arrangements in mass communication settings. It deals with the assumption that interactivity is a characteristic of communication settings. The chapter focuses on sociability and mass media use as elements in the same model with interactive behaviors. It introduces the relevance of studying interactive use to the study of mass media use. The chapter provides the literature on writing letters to the editor and participation in radio call-in talk. It also focuses on the concept of parasocial interaction, and the way in which it is used to explain the notion of escape and substitution of media use for sociability. The nature of the mutual influence process between sociability and mass media use is rather complex.
