Effects of gratification-opportunities and gratifications-obtained on preferences of instant messaging and e-mail among college students

Abstract

The traditional approach of using gratifications-obtained in the study of motives in the adoption and use of media puts much emphasis on the users’ perspectives and pays less attention to the attributes of the medium. This exploratory research confirms the important role of gratification-opportunities in studying media preference for computer-mediated communication.

Data were gathered from a sample of 236 college students in 2006. Discriminant analysis found that college students who prefer instant messaging (IM) tend to be in lower school years. They value greatly the multi-function opportunity provided by IM, and use IM in a reciprocal relationship because their friends also use it. Interestingly, students who prefer IM tended to report that their friends had become less reliant on e-mail to keep in touch and to make new friends. Regression analyses also showed that the multi-function gratification-opportunity of IM, the gratifications-obtained from the mutual use of IM among their peers, the feeling that IM improves their social relationships, and that IM provides an environment for freer expression were significant predictors determining the amount of IM usage. As expected, no gratification-opportunity dimension was linked to e-mail use. Implications for future research will be discussed.