title: Being immersed in social networking environment: Facebook groups, uses and gratifications, and social outcomes.
abstract: A Web survey of 1,715 college students was conducted to examine Facebook Groups users' gratifications and the relationship between users' gratifications and their political and civic participation offline. A factor analysis revealed four primary needs for participating in groups within Facebook: socializing, entertainment, self-status seeking, and information. These gratifications vary depending on user demographics such as gender, hometown, and year in school. The analysis of the relationship between users' needs and civic and political participation indicated that, as predicted, informational uses were more correlated to civic and political action than to recreational uses.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radio-TV-Film, University of Texas-Austin, TX, USA. nspark@mail.utexas.edu
authors.forename: Namsu
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Kerk F
authors.initials: KF
authors.lastname: Kee
authors.forename: Sebastián
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Valenzuela
mesh_terms: D003625:Data Collection; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D011057:Politics; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012650:Self Disclosure; D012737:Sex Factors; D012919:Social Behavior; D012931:Social Environment; D013334:Students; D014584:User-Computer Interface; D055815:Young Adult