African-American college students and Internet use: A study of uses and gratifications (Washington, D.C.)

This study examined the uses, motivations, and gratifications of African-American college students who are Internet users. The study surveyed a convenience sampling of students from Howard University through an electronically administered questionnaire. The questions fell into two categories: (1) demographic questions, which were used to examine the patterns between students (i.e. age, classification, gender) and the frequency of their Internet use and (2) psychographic questions, which addressed the reasons students use the Internet and the gratifications they desire. The goal of the study was to learn why African-American students go online and stay online for longer periods of time, what kinds of needs they are looking to satisfy, and what kinds of gratifications they have been satisfying.; The findings of this study suggest that communications was the major reason African-American students use the Internet, with cultural sites and entertainment sites coming in second and third. The data also indicates that 86% use the Internet daily and 13% use the Internet weekly and nearly 84% spend between one and four hours per day online. This research shows that overall the basic gratifications typology (surveillance, entertainment and personal utility) is viable, but expanding to more categories may be helpful in gathering more specific data related to uses and gratifications.