Final answer:
The work of Jane Brown and colleagues reflects the uses and gratifications approach, indicating that individuals actively engage with media for various personal needs and desires.
Step-by-step explanation:
The research by Jane Brown and colleagues that adolescents are active consumers who use media for a variety of purposes best reflects the uses and gratifications approach. This perspective suggests that instead of being merely passive recipients of media messages, individuals actively select and use media to satisfy various psychological needs. For instance, they might use social media platforms for entertainment, as a way to connect with others, or to seek information and news.
Earlier theories such as the minimal effects theory argued that media have little effect on citizens and voters. In contrast, cultivation theory, which emerged in the 1970s, suggested that media shape a person's worldview. However, the uses and gratifications approach focuses on the active role of the audience in interpreting and integrating media into their lives for personal satisfaction and purpose.