Why people use social media:
a uses and gratifications approach
Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal (2013)
Anita Whiting & David Williams
Uses and Gratifications Theory
Uses and Gratifications Theory is a popular approach to understanding mass
communication. The theory places more focus on the consumer, or audience,
instead of the actual message itself by asking “what people do with media”
rather than “what media does to people” (Katz, 1959) .
It assumes that members of the audience are not passive but take an active
role in interpreting and integrating media into their own lives. The theory
also holds that audiences are responsible for choosing media to meet their
needs. The approach suggests that people use the media to fulfil specific
gratifications. This theory would then imply that the media compete against
other information sources for viewers' gratification. (Katz, E., Blumler, J. G.,
& Gurevitch, M. 1974)
Assumptions
It is suggested that the uses and gratifications theory has to fulfil one the
following when we choose a form of media.
2. Identify- being able to recognise the product or person in front of you, role
models that reflect similar values to yours, aspiration to be someone else.
3.Educate - being able to acquire information, knowledge and understanding.
Entertain – What you are consuming should give you enjoyment and also some
form of ‘escapism’ enabling us to forget our worries temporarily.
Social Interaction – the ability for media products to produce a topic of
conversation between other people, sparks debates (etc who is left on the x-
factor)
Uses and gratification theory can be seen in cases such as personal music
selection. We select music not only to fit a particular mood but also in
attempts to show empowerment or other motives. There are many different
types of music and we choose from them to fulfil a particular need.
Over the past 10 years the internet has played a large part in the way the uses and
gratifications theory is perceived.
Internet allows us to identify more products and people, due to search engines like
Google we can search for anything, enables the audience to come closer to their role
models. Music has benefited because of websites like YouTube enabling us to watch any
music video we choose.
Wikipedia and other factual websites enables us to learn whenever we like, it may be
argued that the internet has developed our education massively in the last 10 years.
YouTube, ITunes, 4od etc are just a few of the numerous websites that give us an
opportunity to be entertained whenever we please.
Facebook, blogs and other social websites enable us to socialise while online.
Internet enables us to have freedom and escape all our worries at a click of a button.
Having access to websites that can give us happiness and a release from the daily grind.
Many people have criticized this theory as they
believe the public has no control over the media
and what it produces. It can also be said that
media do not need to take responsibility for what
they produce.
Criticism The theory takes out the possibility that the media
can have an unconscious influence over our lives
and how we view the world. The idea that we
simply use the media to satisfy a given need does
not seem to fully recognize the power of the media
in today’s society. (I.e daytime TV is aimed for
housewives).
Purpose of Study
To demonstrate the importance of uses and gratifications theory to social
media;
To apply uses and gratifications theory to social media; and
To identify the uses and gratifications that consumers receive from using
social media.
Research method: Qualitative Study
(Exploratory Study)
Method Research Design: In- depth Interview
Sample: 25 participants
Analysis
Social interaction Expression of opinions.
Information seeking Communicatory utility.
Pass time.
Convenience utility.
Entertainment
Information sharing.
Relaxation.
Surveillance/knowledge about others
Results
1. Social interaction - 88 percent of the respondents mentioned using social
media for social interaction. Respondents mentioned that Facebook is “a place to
interact and socialize with others”, that they “have more contact with people via
social media than face to face”, and that “social media gives them a social life”.
2. Information seeking - 80 percent of respondents reported using social media
to seek out information. These study participants reported that they use social
media to:
find information about sales, deals, or products; .
find information on events, birthdays, and parties; and
look at information about businesses.
Pass time- 76 percent reported using social media to pass the time.
Respondents stated that they use social media when they have idle time or
when they are bored and want something to do. Many individuals reported
using social media to pass time at work or school.
Entertainment- 64 percent of respondents reported that they used social
media as a source of entertainment. Some of the entertainment activities
reported were playing games, listening to music, and watching videos. Others
mentioned that they use social media for humor and comic relief.
Relaxation- 60 percent of respondents used social media for relaxation
purposes. Some of their comments were “it is relaxing to go through
profiles”, “looking on Facebook does not take any thought”, “it is an escape
from reality”, and “it takes my mind off things”.
Expression of opinions- This type of social media use was mentioned by 56
percent of respondents and is defined as using social media to express
thoughts and opinions.
Communicatory utility- 56 percent of respondents discussed how they use
social media to give them things to talk about with others. Respondents
reported that social media “gives them something to talk about with friends”,
that “Facebook gives them things to gossip about”.
Convenience utility- This type of social media use was mentioned by 52 percent
of respondents. Several of the respondents actually used the word convenient in
their responses such as “it is convenient and accessible anytime and anywhere”.
Information sharing- This type of social media use was mentioned by 40 percent
of respondents. This factor is different from information seeking which was
previously discussed. Information sharing is defined as using social media to
share information about you with others.. This information sharing construct has
not been used by other uses and gratifications researchers.
Surveillance/knowledge about others- This sort of social media usage was
mentioned by 32 percent of the respondents and is defined as watching people
or things and watching what others are doing. The title of this theme comes
from Kaye and Johnson’s (2002) study on motivations for using the web for
political information factors.
Conclusions
The current study identifies ten uses and gratifications for using social media.
The ten uses and gratifications found in this study are social interaction (88
percent), information seeking (80 percent), pass time (76 percent),
entertainment (64 percent), relaxation (60 percent), communicatory utility
(56 percent), expression of opinions (56 percent), convenience utility (52
percent), information sharing (40 percent), and surveillance and watching of
others (20 percen).
Contribution
The uses and gratifications theory has specific relevance and should be given
more prominence in social media research and social media marketing.
This qualitative paper provides a rich and vibrant understanding of how and
why consumers use social media.
It provides both academics and the business community with a wealth of
knowledge about the ever-expanding world of social media.
