Blogging the Time Away? Young Adults' Motivations for Blog Use

Abstract

The content of Weblogs ranges from personal diary entries to interactive content from news organizations. Employing the uses and gratifications framework, this study examined how much time young adults spend with blogs and how well traditional predictors of media trust fit a model of overall blog trust. Findings from data collections in 2005 and 2007 indicate that information seekers trust blog content more than those using blogs for entertainment purposes. However, traditional indicators of media trust, such as interest in current events, are negatively associated with blog trust. Implications are discussed.