Determining Uses and Gratifications for the Internet

TLDR

Uses and gratifications (U&G) is a media use paradigm that guides assessment of consumer motivations for media usage, has been applied to emerging radio and television, but recent Internet adaptations are incomplete and miss key Internet‑specific gratifications. The study empirically derives dimensions of consumer Internet use and usage gratifications among customers of a prominent Internet Service Provider. The authors surveyed customers of a prominent ISP to empirically derive these dimensions. Results identify three key dimensions—process, content, and a novel social gratification unique to Internet use—relevant for managing the Internet as a commercial medium and for developing trait‑valid scales for future research.

Abstract

ABSTRACT Uses and gratifications (U&G) is a media use paradigm from mass communications research that guides the assessment of consumer motivations for media usage and access. It has been used previously in research and decision making related to the promotion of emerging radio and television media. Recent adaptations of U&G research to the Internet are incomplete and have not identified important new Internet‐specific gratifications. This paper empirically derives dimensions of consumer Internet use and usage gratifications among customers of a prominent Internet Service Provider (ISP). Results describe three key dimensions related to consumer use of the Internet, including process and content gratifications as previously found in studies of television, as well as an entirely new social gratification that is unique to Internet use. All three dimensions of gratification are relevant to managing the Internet as a commercial medium, and measures developed from the gratification profiles identified here can serve as trait‐valid scales in future Internet and e‐commerce research.