Some may not consider a theoretical discussion to be valuable or applicable. Much of the previous theoretical work media effects describes broad concepts such as user needs, motivations, usage patterns, and effects of technology. These approaches offer valuable insights, but many remain too broad to fully capture what occurs in the first critical seconds or moments when a user accesses content and make decisions, such as whether to scan the information, pause on a post, scroll past a headline, or click to play a video. A theoretical gap relates to the absence of a micro-level theoretical model that can help explain real-time cognitive processes of attention paid to overwhelming amounts of digital content available on demand. Traditional theories have been—and continue to be—foundational to our understanding of audience behaviors and media effects. This chapter expands those theories with newer, emerging theory.