Investigating Social Motivations for Internet Use

Abstract

The uses and gratifications theoretical framework has continued to prove useful in the study of new and emerging media. This chapter utilizes the uses and gratifications perspective to better understand the factors motivating commercial Web site use. Through the cooperation of two major on-line companies, this research reports the results of a two-part study that begins with the identification of 179 motivations for Web use and subsequently reduces those to five primary underlying factors. These factors are discussed and related to three key indicators: frequency of Web use, frequency of computer use, and affinity with the computer. Implications for a third general media gratification beyond the basic gratifications of content and process are discussed, and directions for future research are proposed.