MySpace and Facebook: Identifying Dimensions of Uses and Gratifications for Friend Networking Sites

Research examining friend networking sites has greatly increased in the past several months exploring topics related to general use, psychological well being, and content analysis of profiles to name a few. The current study sought to identify dimensions of uses and gratifications for users of friend networking sites. Results identified the following three dimensions: the Information Dimension, the Friendship Dimension, and the Connection Dimension. Sex differences also existed with regards to use of friend networking sites. For example, men were more likely to use the sites for dating purposes and women were more likely to set their accounts to private. A discussion of the results is presented in light of the uses and gratifications obtained from the use of friend networking sites.