Abstract
In the past decade, the growth of the Internet has been undeniable, affecting the way people communicate, interact, and gather information. According to a Nielsen survey conducted in 2002, more than 400 million people use the Internet demonstrating the swiftness with which this network of computers has changed the way we live and will continue to live. Communication researchers have recognized the importance of studying the Internet as a communication medium (Newhagen & Rafaeli, 1996), but the study of motivations and behaviors associated with Internet use has been limited. Much of the recent research looking at the motivations associated with Internet use has focused on the relationship between personality types and Internet use and usage. Researchers, for example, have found that those who are more satisfied with their outward, social life preferred to use the Internet for more instrumental purposes (i.e., information seeking) whereas those less satisfied with life, especially those who felt less valued in face-to-face interactions, used the Internet as a substitute for social interactions and to pass time (Papacharissi & Rubin, 2000). Similar interactions were found when externally oriented people (who believe their environment controls them, feel powerless) used the Internet for inclusion more than internally oriented people (Flaherty, Pearce, & Rubin, 1998). Several studies have demonstrated negative correlations between a leisure services factor (instant messaging and games) and neuroticism (Swickert, Hittner, Harris, & Herring, 2002) and neuroticism and “gathering product and brand information” and “learning, reference, and education” (Tuten & Bosnjak, 2001). Hamburger and Ben-Artzi’s (2000) study found that those scoring high on extraversion tended to prefer leisure services (sex websites, random surfing) and that those scoring high on neuroticism had a negative association with information services (work-related information, studies-related information.