College Students' Use of Social Media: Site Preferences, Uses and Gratifications Theory Revisited

Abstract

With the ubiquity of computer-mediated communication, it is becoming increasingly difficult to choose which medium or content to employ in gratifying whatever use or need people may seek at each point in time. Empirical results in 2012 from questionnaires administered among 289 college students ranging in age from 18 to 28 years show that college students use Social Media Network Sites (SMNSs) for so many reasons. These include keeping in touch with friends (98.9%), sharing photos (81.7%), keeping in touch with family (79.3%), and entertainment (70.9%), among others. Facebook emerged as the preferred SMN site followed by Twitter, while LinkedIn was the least popular site among this group. While some participants still maintain their MySpace account, they depicted this site as archaic and a rarely visited site. Overall, ease of use and potential for eclectic tasks are qualities that garnered Facebook most preferred status as a social networking site. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]