Exploring the Uses and Gratifications Theory in the Use of Social Media among the Students of Mass Communication in Nigeria
For decades, the Uses and Gratification (U & G) Theory has been the main theory of communication that explains what people do with the media. To many, the theory seems old. However, the emergence of social media breathes a new life into this aging theory. This paper seeks to explore the curre...
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| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2016
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://eprints.unisza.edu.my/5354/1/FH02-FBK-17-08351.pdf http://eprints.unisza.edu.my/5354/ |
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| Summary: | For decades, the Uses and Gratification (U & G) Theory has been the main theory
of communication that explains what people do with the media. To many, the
theory seems old. However, the emergence of social media breathes a new life
into this aging theory. This paper seeks to explore the current functions of the U
& G Theory in the students’ use of social media. Survey and focus group
discussion were used to elicit information from purposively selected 111 final
year students of mass communication. The paper discovers that majority of the
respondents (98.2%) used social media for communication, collaboration, news
sharing, research, expression of opinion, maintaining a connection, and making
friends from other countries. Facebook and WhatsApp were the most preferred
social networks among the respondents. The paper confirms that social media
platforms have revived the functions of the U & G Theory and provided a
plethora of media uses that the traditional media never could. Very few of the
respondents used social media for information, to investigate why, the paper
suggest that the Media Information Utility theory should be thoroughly
investigated. |
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