Weibo or Weixin? Gratifications for Using Different Social Media

Abstract : Social media has experienced great changes in recent years. Various social media platforms emerge and develop significantly. Why users choose to use some particular social media becomes a major concern. Through adopting uses and gratifications theory, this study aims to explore gratifications sought from using two popular social media: Weibo and Weixin. Data was collected by eighteen in-depth interviews and content analysis was conducted for data analysis. Results show that, seven gratifications could be sought from using Weibo: information seeking, social interaction, entertainment, pass time, self-expression, information sharing and social networking, while five gratifications from Weixin usage: private social networking, social interaction, convenient communication, high-quality information provided and information sharing. In addition, three general gratifications for usage of both Weibo and Weixin were identified: information sharing, social networking and social interaction. Implications of this study are also discussed.