Gratifications Research Research Articles

Consumers’ Preferences for Digital Corporate Content on Company Websites: A Best–Worst Scaling Analysis

Digital content marketing (DCM) complements traditional marketing communication approaches and is a major focus of research. Uses and gratifications research posits that DCM only unfolds positive effects if it provides valuable content to consumers. However, there is limited evidence on what constitutes gratifying digital corporate content on company websites. This study aimed to elicit consumers’ preferences for key characteristics of digital corporate content on company websites and whether preferences differ among consumer subgroups. Best–worst scaling (BWS) was used to reveal preferences. To obtain BWS data, a cross-sectional survey was employed. The study sample comprised 1527 consumers from Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. Data were analyzed using counting analysis and conditional logit modeling. Subgroup comparisons were performed with t-tests and one-way ANOVA. The results consistently show that consumers prioritize information value as the most important content characteristic, followed by value in use, entertainment value, process value, and social value. Subgroup comparisons revealed generally similar priorities among consumers, with the greatest heterogeneity being found in assessments of the importance of social value. The study also suggests that consumers prioritize digital corporate content characteristics on company websites differently than they do on social media. These findings contribute to the evolving literature on DCM and provide insights that could help set evidence-based priorities in DCM practice.

Taking the Long View: The Role of Replication in Research

This essay argues for the importance of replication in journalism, media, and communication research, and illustrates how the author’s research and that of others has benefited from replication. It begins by citing several research methods books on the value of replication and then turns to the different kinds of research done by the author in the past half century and how these studies have benefited from replication. It ends by citing other prominent programs of communication and media research that have also used replication to increase knowledge of subjects such as the cultivation effects of television, the effects of movies and television on children, media uses and gratifications research, studies of television and social behavior, and research on journalism and communication education.

General Live Streaming Services Lead to New Uses and Gratifications

The uses and gratifications theory focus on the question, “What do people do with media?” instead of “What do media do to people." Most prior gratifications researchers have concentrated on gratifications motivated by social and psychological needs. However, with the development of technology and the advent of Web 2.0, the results of early gratifications research might not cover the gratifications arising in the new digital age. So Sundar and Limperos developed an hypothesis stating that new technologies can create new gratifications, which include modality-based gratifications, agency-based gratifications, interactivity-based gratifications and navigability-based gratifications [1]. Therefore, on the basis of uses and gratifications theory, this paper seeks to explore the four types of new gratifications above taken from the general live streaming service platform DOUYU in China.

Updating ‘Stories’ on social media and its relationships to contextual age and narcissism: A tale of three platforms – WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook

This study extends the uses and gratifications research into the feature use of social media platforms by identifying the motives for updating ‘Stories’ on three social media platforms, i.e. WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook. Using survey data from adults (N = 338), this research identified seven motivations (i.e. socially rewarding self-promotion, social sharing, social influence, disclosure, escape, entertainment, and trendy fashion) for updating Stories on WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook. Age and gender differences were identified in the motivations for updating Stories on the three platforms. Cross-platform analysis revealed significant differences in the motivations for updating Stories across the three platforms. Social influence and disclosure motives positively predicted the intensity of updating Stories on all three platforms. Socially rewarding self-promotion predicted the intensity of updating Stories on Instagram and Facebook. Social sharing positively predicted the intensity of updating Stories on WhatsApp and Instagram, and trendy fashion emerged as a positive predictor of story updates only on Instagram. Finally, an analysis of social and psychological predictors revealed that Interpersonal interaction and Social activity positively predicted the intensity of updating Stories across the three platforms. Narcissists also exhibited high intensity of updating Stories on WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook.

Purchase and continuation intentions of over -the -top (OTT) video streaming platform subscriptions: a uses and gratification theory perspective

Over-the-top video streaming (OTT) platforms, by their consummate artistry, are changing how people watch television. No past research has investigated the relationship between OTT streaming platforms' different uses and gratifications (U&G), subscription, and continuation intentions. Using the multi-method approach commonly used in uses and gratification research, i.e., semi-structured interviews and surveys, this study identified eight U&Gs for OTT use: convenient navigability, binge watching, entertainment, relaxation, social interaction, companionship, voyeurism, and information seeking. A comprehensive research model was developed based on the U& G theory and tested using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) on cross-sectional data from 576 OTT users of different ages and gender from India. The result indicated that convenient navigability, binge watching, and relaxation U&G predict OTT subscription intentions, whereas convenient navigability, binge watching, and entertainment U&G predicts its continuation intentions

Uses and gratifications of educational apps: A study during COVID-19 pandemic

Although educational apps have emerged as an easily available and accessible alternative to classroom learning, particularly at the time of pandemics like COVID-19, no research has attempted to identify learners intentions behind the usage of different educational apps. The current study developed a valid and reliable research instrument to measure the motivations behind using educational apps. Using the mixed method approach commonly used in uses and gratification (U&G) research, i.e., open-ended essays & national survey (N = 552), this study identified seven gratifications behind learners intention to use educational apps: academic assistance, convenience, entertainment, social influence, novelty, engagement and activity. The result suggests that academic assistance, convenience and social influence were the significant predictors of the intention to use educational apps. The current research also identified the moderating effect of gender in selecting educational apps. One of the most significant contributions of the present study is that it extended the uses and gratification theory applications beyond the traditional media to explain the intention to use educational apps.

Millennials’ Uses and Gratifications on LinkedIn: Implications for Recruitment and Retention

While popular press has examined Millennial’s in the workforce, there is limited academic research about Millennials’ job searching strategies. This study draws on uses and gratifications theory to examine the motives, uses, and gratifications of U.S. Millennial job seekers for using LinkedIn. Consistent with previous uses and gratifications research, an online survey found Millennials ( N = 216) use LinkedIn to find information, communicate with others, and for surveillance needs. Millennials use about 42.8% of the features available on LinkedIn for professional development, entertainment, and networking. Finally, this research found that Millennials obtain social/functional and hedonic value from using LinkedIn. Collectively, the results indicate that Millennials are using the site regularly, although at less than half of its capacity, regardless of whether or not they are job searching, but in ways that violate the expectations of potential employers and recruiters. Theoretical contributions and business communication implications are discussed.

Choosing immediate over delayed gratification correlates with better school-related outcomes in a sample of children of color from low-income families.

Delayed, as opposed to immediate, gratification is generally understood to indicate adaptive development. The present study investigates performance on a choice-based delay of gratification measure and its relations with other outcomes in a sample of children of color from low-income families, who are underrepresented in delayed gratification research. The 6-item choice delay of gratification task, administered at the start of kindergarten (Mage = 5.5 years), exhibited good reliability. Items were largely equal in difficulty, but not equally discriminant. Children who chose immediate gratification had better executive function and were rated higher than their peers by their kindergarten teachers on behavioral measures; patterns in relations with first grade classroom behavior were similar, but weaker and not robust to controls. Choosing immediate gratification was also positively related to concurrent and later achievement, but not after controlling for executive function. These observations reinforce a need to clarify constructs underlying delay of gratification choices within groups of children underrepresented in this line of research. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Technological Affordance-Based Gratifications and Their Impact on Media Selection

This study explored whether technological affordances introduced new gratifications and whether those gratifications influenced media consumption. An online survey was conducted using MTurk to examine whether individuals perceived technological affordance-based gratifications for different devices (TV, laptops, tablets, and smartphones) and whether those gratifications affected individuals’ media consumption behaviors. Results suggested that technological features did cultivate a variety of new gratifications. We also found individuals’ device selection was significantly associated with affordance-based gratifications. Although perceived low in affordance-based gratifications, TVs were still generally preferred over other devices for media content consumption. These findings not only illustrated the power of communication technologies in cultivating individuals’ psychological needs, but also broadened the gratification research by identifying new gratifications and demonstrating that these gratifications could influence individuals’ media consumption. In addition, findings in this study offered insights for designing technological features that can better satisfy individuals’ psychological needs.

Insta-Politicos: Motivations for Following Political Leaders on Instagram

This study expands uses and gratifications research into the area of political Instagram use. A survey shows the motives for following political leaders on the social media platform and how followers’ motives are associated with their demographics and political attitudes. Findings indicate that information/guidance motives are the most important for following political leaders on Instagram, with social utility being the next highest motive. Also, males use Instagram more for social utility purposes than females, and having an entertainment motive is related to being young. The results also provide insight into how the politically active can be more influential on Instagram.

WeChatting for Health: An Examination of the Relationship between Motivations and Active Engagement

ABSTRACTAs one of the largest mobile social media in the world, WeChat holds great potential for promoting health. Users not only seek and exchange health information on WeChat but also fulfill their health-related needs afforded by the platform. Using the two-step procedure common in uses and gratifications research, in-depth interviews were conducted with 18 WeChat users to explore their motivations for health-related uses on the platform, which were further rated by 522 WeChat users in China through a national wide online survey. Exploratory factor analysis identified five motivations: information seeking, building self-agency, social interaction, technological convenience, and self-expression. A series of hierarchical regression analyses reveals that social interaction is the best predictor of healthcare information engagement on WeChat, followed by building self-agency, information needs, and self-expression. The findings of this study contribute to the understanding of the psychological antecedents of using mobile social media for health-related purposes and the subsequent active behavior responses.

Untangling International Sport Social Media Use: Contrasting U.S. and Chinese Uses and Gratifications Across Four Platforms

This study of 409 sports fans from the United States and China contrasts uses sought and gratifications obtained within four different social media platforms: Facebook and Twitter (in the United States) and WeChat and Weibo (in China). Results indicated that each of the platforms function in starkly contrasting manners. In the United States, Facebook scored higher than Twitter on every motivational measure; in China, WeChat was found to be better at fostering camaraderie, entertainment, habitual use, and maintaining relationships, while Weibo was found to be better for arousal. Moreover, Chinese respondents reported higher gratifications obtained than American respondent on all 12 factors. Implications are offered for uses and gratifications research as well as sports media scholarship.

Journalism meets games: Newsgames as a new digital genre. Theory, boundaries, utilization

Abstract Newsgames are a young genre of digital journalism. This article analyses the genre on the basis of cases from various countries, puts it into context, critically examines the theoretical foundation and presents a study of utilization. A scientific definition takes the perspective of ‘boundary work’: It distinguishes Newsgames from other digital games (such as interestdriven, entertaining or educating games) and draws a boundary between Newsgames and other digital journalistic genres (such as multimedia reports, web documentaries or types of data journalism). The drawing of Newsgames boundaries highlights the general problems of drawing boundaries of journalism in digital media. To date, no study on the utilization of Newsgames exists. Our explorative and qualitative interviews and observations are situated within the framework of uses and gratifications research. Main categories are the level of awareness, information performance and success factors of Newsgames. The results show that the new genre possesses a wide range of possibilities that cannot be uniformly assessed. Ethical doubts as to whether serious topics should be played in games are offset against the benefit of creating interest and empathy. Users want to experience success when playing – an aspect that emphasizes the competitive character and distinguishes Newsgames from other genres.

University Students Usage of Facebook: The Case of Obtained Gratifications and Typology of Its Users

This paper presents and discusses the results from the designed quantitative self-report questionnaire. It addresses two main research objectives: first, to contribute to the uses and gratifications research by exploring the gratifications that research participants who belong to a conservative Islamic culture obtain from using Facebook, and second, to inform theoretical and empirical media and communications research through proposing a typology of users based on their obtained gratifications, usage variables, and demographic variables. The findings showed that Saudi university students obtained 11 gratifications from using Facebook, including communicational, personal, recreational, and academic gratifications.

The Internet Usage among Students: A Uses and Gratifications Perspective

Uses and gratifications research helps in finding out how audience makes use of mass media to gratify their needs. Media research can help both the industry and the academia to map audience behaviour which is very much connected to various factors such as geography, culture, education and socio-economic circumstances. This research conducted among students reveals that students make use of the Internet primarily with an entertainment motive, and only secondarily for education and current affairs knowledge. The study also reveals that digital divide is widely prevalent and it is an important issue to be looked at especially in terms of gender, though the digital divide has been narrowing among students in terms of geography.

Cultural Revisionism of Uses and Gratification Research

This paper traces the development of U&G research and identifies evolutionary research trends and directions. It aims to bring U&G research into the orbit of ‘integrative communication studies’ by bridging it to the humanistic tradition of the study of culture and making it an indispensable aspect of constructing the research design. Employing Hofstede's theory of cultural dimensions(Hofstede, Pedersen, & Hofstede, 2002), a hypothetical model has been proposed which would allow for the study of cultural effects in the U&G research. The paper concludes with a delineation of the limitations of the proposed perspectives and directions for future studies.

Social and Technological Motivations for Online Photo Sharing

The popularity of social media sites for posting pictures has given rise to a new form of mediated communication: online photo sharing. This article explores motivations for sharing photos online, using the 2-step procedure common in Uses and Gratifications research. Focus groups revealed 42 motivations which were rated in importance by survey respondents (N = 460). Factor analysis revealed 4 classes of gratifications: seeking and showcasing experiences, technological affordances, social connection, and reaching out. These results suggest that photo sharing is driven by social needs and facilitated by interface features, with important implications for theories of technology and user psychology.

The uses and abuses of Facebook: A review of Facebook addiction.

Background and aims: Recent research suggests that use of social networking sites can be addictive for some individuals. Due to the link between motivations for media use and the development of addiction, this systematic review examines Facebook-related uses and gratifications research and Facebook addiction research. Method: Searches of three large academic databases revealed 24 studies examining the uses and gratifications of Facebook, and nine studies of Facebook addiction. Results: Comparison of uses and gratifications research reveals that the most popular mo- tives for Facebook use are relationship maintenance, passing time, entertainment, and companionship. These motivations may be related to Facebook addiction through use that is habitual, excessive, or motivated by a desire for mood alteration. Examination of Facebook addiction research indicates that Facebook use can become habitual or excessive, and some addicts use the site to escape from negative moods. However, examination of Facebook addic- tion measures highlights inconsistency in the field. Discussion: There is some evidence to support the argument that uses and gratifications of Facebook are linked with Facebook addiction. Furthermore, it appears as if the social skill model of addiction may explain Facebook addiction, but inconsistency in the measurement of this condition limits the ability to provide conclusive arguments. Conclusions: This paper recommends that further research be performed to establish the links between uses and gratifications and Facebook addiction. Furthermore, in order to enhance the construct validity of Facebook addiction, researchers should take a more systematic approach to assessment.

The uses and gratifications of using Facebook music listening applications

Despite rapid adoption of social media as a means of music listening, little is known about users’ motivations. This study applies the uses and gratifications approach to users’ motivations for using music listening applications on Facebook. Participants completed an online survey, and 153 out of 576 respondents indicated that they used a Facebook music listening application. A principal axis factor analysis identified three different motivations for this usage, namely entertainment, communication, and habitual diversion gratifications. The entertainment and communication gratifications replicate those found in prior uses and gratifications research concerning other social networking features, illustrating the strong similarity between uses of music and social media. However, the habitual diversion gratification may serve to distinguish listening applications from other features. Identifying and explaining these factors is relevant to social media users, musicians and application designers, as they explain what motivates a means of music listening that is gaining prominence.

Cognitive and Affective Uses of a Thoracic Outlet Syndrome Facebook Support Group

There are currently many disease-specific groups on Facebook in which patients may take an active part (Greene, Choudhry, Kilabuk, & Shrank, 2011). Although uses and gratifications of patient-disease groups have begun to be identified for chronic diseases, rare diseases have been omitted, even though they collectively affect roughly 30 million people in the United States and 350 million people worldwide. This study is a content analysis of one Facebook rare disease patient group, the Thoracic Outlet Syndrome (TOS) Awareness group. All wall posts were recorded and content analyzed for cognitive and affective categories and subcategories between October 9, 2011 (date of site origin), and May 1, 2012. Analysis of cognitive needs indicated TOS patients used the site more to share information about their own TOS symptoms and journey with diagnosis than to seek information. Analysis of affective needs found patients were more likely to use the site to give support and encouragement to others than to express concerns and complaints. The complaints they did express were primarily related to their frustration with the general medical community’s perceived inability to diagnose and understand their disease or to question a specific doctor’s diagnosis/recommendation. Results point to needs specific to TOS patients that uses and gratifications research can help clarify.