Motivations for Using Social Media: An Exploratory Factor Analysis

This study aimed to examine motivations to use social media in a sample of university students. Grounded in the theory of Uses and Gratifications, the current research sough to delineate user motivations with exploratory factor analysis. To reach the study goals the researcher used cross-sectional survey methodology in which a questionnaire was distributed to 1327 undergraduate students with their consent. The analysis of the data revealed that almost all respondents used social media. Based on factor analysis results, their motivations for doing so are entertainment, information seeking, personal utility and convenience. These factors were positively related to the user’s experience, time spent, and level of satisfaction with social media. Future studies should consider the cultural values of users and examine other possible motivations, taking into account their context.