Uses And Gratifications Of Weibo Among College Students In China

The study examines the factors that influence college students’ willingness toadopt microblog service from the perspective of uses and gratifications based on asample of204students in Shanghai and Wuhan. Relying on gratifications scales fromprevious research on traditional media and internet, the study identified that perceivedgratifications from interaction with peers, information seeking and statusenhancement are significant predictors of microblog use but entertainment andescapism are not. A multivariate regression analysis reveals that only interaction withpeers remain significant in predicting microblog use in this age group. A t-test showsthat heavy users of Weibo held a stronger belief that Weibo can gratify their needs forsocial interaction. The result is in contrast with most current studies, which aredescriptive in nature and assume people has strong desire for ‘unfiltered’ informationfrom microblog. The study also suggests further qualitative research is necessary todevelop a better understanding of how different population segments use the newmedium.