Understanding the relationship between intensity and gratifications of Facebook use among adolescents and young adults

Abstract

Facebook is a well-known computer-mediated communication platform considered popular among adolescents and young adults. New media scholars have coined the term "intensity of Facebook use" (IFU) for the concept that measures the emotional and affective attitude towards Facebook use among young people. IFU is an important service use concept that has been positively linked with the different psychosocial outcomes of student well-being. However, only a limited amount of the prior literature has investigated the relationship between IFU and different Facebook uses and gratifications (U&G). The existing literature suggests inconsistent findings with a sole emphasis on young adults. To address these gaps, the present study has investigated the differential role of different Facebook U&G among adolescents and young adults in predicting IFU. A total of three cross-sectional data sets (N = 373, 107, 105) represented adolescents and university-attending young-adult Facebook users. The study results suggest that process U&G do and content U&G do not play any significant role in predicting IFU. Adolescents and young adults differ in their sought Facebook U&G. In addition to this, cultural differences were observed in the sought Facebook U&G and their differential role in predicting IFU.