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Twitter: a Uses and Gratifications Approach University of Kentucky UKnowledge University of Kentucky Master's Theses Graduate School 2011 “WHAT’S HAPPENING” @TWITTER: A USES AND GRATIFICATIONS APPROACH Corey Leigh Ballard University of Kentucky, [email protected] Right click to open a feedback form in a new tab to let us know how this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Ballard, Corey Leigh, "“WHAT’S HAPPENING” @TWITTER: A USES AND GRATIFICATIONS APPROACH" (2011). University of Kentucky Master's Theses. 155. https://uknowledge.uky.edu/gradschool_theses/155 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at UKnowledge. It has been accepted for inclusion in University of Kentucky Master's Theses by an authorized administrator of UKnowledge. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ABSTRACT OF THESIS “WHAT’S HAPPENING” @TWITTER: A USES AND GRATIFICATIONS APPROACH The uses and gratifications approach places power in the hands of the audience and is a helpful perspective when trying to understand media usage, exposure, and effects. However, while the uses and gratifications approach has been applied regularly to traditional media, research explaining why people use new social media networks as well as the gratifications they obtain from them is scarce at best. This thesis provides a comprehensive overview of the uses and gratifications approach as well as the current literature about social media networks. An argument is built within the thesis to study Twitter as one social media network through the uses and gratifications theoretical lens. Research questions are provided and a survey of 216 college undergraduates was conducted. Results show that people use a variety of Twitter functions, that the gratifications sought from Twitter are not the gratifications obtained from Twitter, and that people are careful about the types of information they share on the social media network. Additionally, results suggest that Twitter users obtain more gratifications from the passive functions of Twitter rather the active functions in terms of relational maintenance and entertainment. Limitations of the study and suggestions for future directions are also provided. KEYWORDS: Uses and Gratifications, Social Media, Twitter, Computer-Mediated Communication Corey Leigh Ballard “WHAT’S HAPPENING” @TWITTER: A USES AND GRATIFICATIONS APPROACH By Corey Ballard Dr. Derek Lane Director of Thesis Dr. Timothy Sellnow Director of Graduate Studies July 21, 2011 RULES FOR THE USE OF THESES Unpublished theses submitted for the Master’s degree and deposited in the University of Kentucky Library are as a rule open for inspection, but are to be used only with due regard to the rights of the authors. Bibliographical references may be noted, but quotations or summaries of parts may be published only with the permission of the author, and with the usual scholarly acknowledgments. Extensive copying or publication of the thesis in whole or in part also requires the consent of the Dean of the Graduate School of the University of Kentucky. A library that borrows this thesis for use by its patrons is expected to secure the signature of each user. Name Date _______________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ THESIS Corey Ballard The Graduate School University of Kentucky 2011 “WHAT’S HAPPENING” @TWITTER: A USES AND GRATIFICATIONS APPROACH _________________________________ THESIS _________________________________ A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in the College of Communication and Information Studies at the University of Kentucky By Corey Leigh Ballard Lexington, Kentucky Director: Dr. Derek Lane, Associate Professor of Communication Lexington, Kentucky 2011 Copyright © Corey Leigh Ballard 2011 To my mother and father for their unwavering support ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My experience as a graduate student has been an exciting and challenging journey. There is no way I would be in the position I am today without the constant guidance and support from my Committee Chair and mentor, Dr. Derek Lane. Having the opportunity to work with him over the past several years has been nothing short of inspiring and enjoyable. I would also like to thank my other committee members, Dr. Deborah Chung and Dr. Michael Arrington, for their continued advice, encouragement, and assistance during my graduate career. Additionally, I would like to thank Traci Letcher for her patience and motivating words to me over the last four years – I was incredibly lucky to have such a caring and motivating adviser. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgments .............................................................................................................. iii Chapter One: Introduction .................................................................................................. 1 Chapter Two: Literature Review ........................................................................................ 5 Uses and Gratifications Theory .............................................................................. 5 Social Media Networks ......................................................................................... 10 Twitter. .................................................................................................................. 14 Research Questions ............................................................................................... 28 Chapter Three: Methods ................................................................................................... 30 Subjects ................................................................................................................. 30 Research Design and Procedures .......................................................................... 31 Measures ............................................................................................................... 32 Social Media Familiarity and Usage ......................................................... 32 General Twitter Results ............................................................................ 33 Use of Twitter Functions (RQ1) ............................................................... 33 Gratifications Sought and Gratifications Obtained (RQ2 & RQ3) ........... 33 Reliability of Gratifications Sought and Gratifications Obtained Scales . 34 Self-Disclosure on Twitter (RQ4) ............................................................. 35 Gratifications Obtained: Passive versus Active Functions (RQ5) ............ 35 Chapter Four: Results ....................................................................................................... 36 Correlation Matrix ............................................................................................... 37 Social Media Familiarity and Usage ..................................................................... 38 General Twitter Results ........................................................................................ 38 Use of Twitter Functions (RQ1) ........................................................................... 39 Gratifications Sought and Gratifications Obtained (RQ2 & RQ3) ....................... 40 Self-Disclosure on Twitter (RQ4) ......................................................................... 42 Gratifications Obtained: Passive versus Active Functions (RQ5) ........................ 44 Chapter Five: Discussion .................................................................................................. 46 Implications ........................................................................................................... 46 Limitations ............................................................................................................ 51 Future Research .................................................................................................... 52 Conclusion ............................................................................................................ 53 Appendices Appendix A: Survey Script ................................................................................... 55 References ......................................................................................................................... 66 Vita .................................................................................................................................... 73 iv LIST OF TABLES Table 2.1, Representation of Active and Passive Twitter Functions ................................ 15 Table 3.1, Reliability of Gratifications Sought and Gratifications Obtained Scales ........ 34 Table 4.1, Correlation Matrix ........................................................................................... 37 Table 4.2, Descriptive Statistics Associated with Twitter Functions ............................... 39 Table 4.3, Descriptive Statistics for Gratifications Sought from Twitter ......................... 40 Table 4.4, Descriptive Statistics for Gratifications Obtained
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