Why people use social media: a uses and gratifications approach

Purpose This paper seeks to demonstrate the importance of uses and gratifications theory to social media. By applying uses and gratifications theory, this paper will explore and discuss the uses and gratifications that consumer receive from using social media. This paper seeks to provide a better and more comprehensive understanding of why consumers use social media. Design/methodology/approach Exploratory study was conducted. 25 in‐depth interviews were conducted with individuals who use social media. Findings This study identified ten uses and gratifications for using social media. The ten uses and gratifications are: social interaction, information seeking, pass time, entertainment, relaxation,…