Uses and Gratifications of Facebook.com

This study explores undergraduate students' uses and gratifications of a popular social networking website, Facebook.com. Facebook has a high penetration among college students in the United States, yet few academic studies seek to theoretically understand its popularity. This study utilized the uses and gratifications approach, which has long been employed to understand the audience appeal of mass media and the assumptions of which are particularly applicable to interactive media. Following methods similar to those used by Greenberg (1974), Charney and Greenberg (2001), and Sherry, et.al. (2006) a multi-stage design was used. Exploratory factor analysis was conducted on data collected online from 340 participants enrolled in communication courses at a large Midwestern university. This study found 9 factors of Facebook use: Pass Time, Connection, Sexual Attraction, Utilities and Upkeep, Establish/Maintain Old Ties, Accumulation, Social Comparison, Channel Use, and Networking. Frequency and duration of Facebook use was also found to differ by sex and year in school. As Facebook is rapidly growing in popularity among other demographic groups, including those over-25 and those in other countries, future studies should explore whether the factors of Facebook use found in this study apply to different groups of Facebook users.