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Instagram: Motives for its use and relationship to narcissism and contextual age

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Highlights

  • The main reasons for Instagram use are “Surveillance,” “Documentation,” “Coolness,” and “Creativity.”

  • Interpersonal interaction and narcissism are positively related to most motives for Instagram use.

  • Gender is the best predictor of Instagram use.

Abstract

Instagram is the fastest growing social network site globally. This study investigates motives for its use, and its relationship to contextual age and narcissism. A survey of 239 college students revealed that the main reasons for Instagram use are “Surveillance/Knowledge about others,” “Documentation,” “Coolness,” and “Creativity.” The next significant finding was a positive relationship between those who scored high in interpersonal interaction and using Instagram for coolness, creative purposes, and surveillance. Another interesting finding shows that there is a positive relationship between high levels of social activity (traveling, going to sporting events, visiting friends, etc.) and being motivated to use Instagram as a means of documentation. In reference to narcissism, there was a positive relationship between using Instagram to be cool and for surveillance. Theoretical contributions of this study relate to our understanding of uses and gratifications theory. This study uncovers new motives for social media use not identified in previous literature.

Introduction

Instagram is an online, mobile phone photo-sharing, video-sharing, and social network service (SNS) that enables its users to take pictures and videos, and then share them on other platforms (Frommer, 2010). It is currently the fastest growing social network site globally (Wagner, 2015); however, there is not much academic research studying why people use it, and who the people are who use it. The idea behind the site is to share photographs and videos by using a hashtag (#) so that other users can find the photographs. While similar to Facebook in the way that users can post photos online, unlike Facebook, Instagram offers a number of special filters that allow users to change the colors and resolutions of the photographs before they post them. Although some may see a limitation of Instagram in being a mobile-only service, statistics show that mobile handsets are now the most popular form of access to social network sites (Lunden, 2014). As of August 2015, 28% of online adults use Instagram, more women than men (Pew Research Center, 2015). That number, however, does not include minors who anecdotally use Instagram in larger percentages.

As Internet users spend more time on Instagram than on other sites, it is important for organizations to understand why consumers use Instagram and what gratifications they receive from it. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate motives for using Instagram. Furthermore, this study investigates how participants' life position indicators, including life satisfaction, interpersonal interaction, and social activity, and also the psychological trait of narcissism, influence their use of Instagram. According to uses and gratifications theory (U&G; Katz, Blumler, & Gurevitch, 1974), individual differences influence motivations for engaging with different media. Elements such as physical health, mobility, life satisfaction, interpersonal interaction, social activity, and economic security are more informative than just demographics in explaining interpersonal needs and motives (Rubin & Rubin, 1982). Rubin and Rubin (1982) called this construct “a contextual age.” However, contextual age is often ignored when studying motivations for media consumption, although several recent studies (e.g., Bondad-Brown et al., 2012, Sheldon, 2014a, Sheldon, 2014b) have found a relationship between the contextual age and Internet use.

Another factor that might be related to Instagram use is narcissism. Buffardi and Campbell (2008) argued that narcissists use social network sites because they function well in the context of shallow relationships and highly controlled environments, where they have complete power over self-presentation. According to the uses and gratifications approach, a person's social and psychological characteristics influence not only motives for communicating (their gratifications sought), but also gratifications obtained. While gratifications sought are measured as what the audience's reasons are for using Instagram, behavioral outcomes are measured as the amount of Instagram use, the frequency of posting hashtags, and the amount of time spent editing Instagram photos.

The assumption of U&G theory is that people are active in choosing and using media based on their needs (Wu, Wang, & Tsai, 2010). For example, some people may use SNSs to meet their need for meeting new people, while others may use it to play games or to post photographs. While those needs or gratifications are not equally important for all types of media, the main ones include: diversion (escape from problems; emotional release), personal relationship (social utility of information in conversation; substitute of the media for companionship), personal identity (value reinforcement; self-understanding), and surveillance (McQuail, Blumler, & Brown, 1972). These categories, however, were developed to understand why people use television. U&G theory has since been applied to various new media related to communication technology. As a result, new categories have emerged explaining why people use social media.

In the last ten years a number of studies have examined uses and gratifications for Facebook use (Krause et al., 2014, Sheldon, 2008, Smock et al., 2011), Twitter (Chen, 2011, Johnson and Yang, 2009), YouTube (Hanson & Haridakis, 2008), Pinterest (Mull & Lee, 2014), Yelp (Hicks et al., 2012), and blogs (Kaye, 2005, Kaye, 2010). This has resulted in new gratifications being added to explain how individuals use social media. In addition, the importance of some gratifications has changed. For example, while most people watch television for entertainment purposes, most people use social network sites to maintain relationships (Sheldon, 2008). Some social network sites (e.g., LinkedIn) satisfy professional advancement needs, while others allow individuals expressive-information sharing (as cited in Smock et al., 2011). In addition, Whiting and Williams (2013) identified several uses and gratifications of social media that did not exist when the original U&G theory was developed. This includes convenience, expression of opinion, and knowledge about others.

Considering the nature of Instagram as a mobile photo-sharing and video-sharing site, it is likely that new gratifications might be related to its use as well. Mull and Lee (2014) studied motives for Pinterest use and found five main motivations, most of them not identified in previous SNS studies. The five motivations for Pinterest usage are fashion, entertainment, creative projects, virtual exploration, and organization. Most participants identified fashion as the main reason for Pinterest use. Fashion included items such as style, outfits, clothing, and shopping. Creative projects had not been identified in previous U&G literature either. In terms of creative projects, the most popular boards are those that include crafts and do-it-yourself (DIY) projects. Another motivation for Pinterest use was virtual exploration. The items such as inspiration, ideas, and learning indicated that Pinterest users want to use the site to explore and look for new things. Virtual exploration is related to McQuail et al.'s (1972) motivation of information. Users may not be specifically looking at Pinterest to learn new things, but by searching for interesting ideas they will obtain knowledge in passing. The last motivation found was organization. Users want to use Pinterest because it gives them a place to organize their images and have them all in one location (Mull & Lee, 2014). This motivation has also not been identified in previous U&G studies.

In one of the few Instagram studies, Marcus (2015) found that, compared to other SNS sites, Instagram is based more on one's personal identity rather than relational identity. Marcus analyzed the images that five individuals, ages 22–25, posted on Instagram, and concluded that Instagram exists for people to self-promote – and, unlike Facebook, it does not focus on social relationships as much. One of the more popular kinds of posts were “selfies,” which are photographs that individuals take of themselves, typically with a webcam or smartphone. Selfies elucidate one's individuality, according to Marcus (2015). Marcus states that Instagram offers opportunities for people to engage in the social media community as well. One way that social engagement takes place is through the practice of hashtagging. Hashtags can be seen by all people on Instagram, therefore contributing to the social media community.

Highfield (2015) studied the use of Instagram hashtags to post about a Eurovision contest in Australia. Eurovision is the annual TV song competition held among the members of the European Broadcasting Union. Eurovision has a cult following, and it is often watched for its kitschy nature. Although Australia cannot participate in Eurovision, there are a lot of Eurovision fans in the country. Highfield (2015) manually coded 1807 Instagram images made by Australian users in order to understand how people use a visual medium like Instagram to document their television viewing experience and today's popular culture. The results showed that almost one-quarter of images included selfies. Users also used the #sbseurovision hashtag more as the contest came closer to the end. This is likely due to more interest from the audience as the competition gets closer to the finals. In addition, most people posted images that included other people, thus sharing their social experiences of Eurovision. Almost half of the posts included more than one person. Compared to Twitter and the fleeing nature of tweets, Highfield (2015) concluded that images on Instagram last longer though even they are not posted as frequently as tweets. Instagram is also a more personal social media that includes selfies and photos of people's homes. Conversely, Twitter is not as intimate as people do not see those aspects.

Both Highfield (2015) and Marcus (2015) used a content analysis of a limited number of photos from profiles that were publicly available. They did not analyze the profiles that were set to private. Marcus, whose sample size was small, suggested studying the motives behind particular posts. Therefore, in this study, we use survey data to answer the following research question:

RQ1: What are the motivations for using Instagram?

U&G theory suggests that factors such as one's social and psychological circumstances, motives, and expectations influence media use and effects (Katz et al., 1974). However, “no single factor is theorized to drive media use; it is the interaction among needs, individual differences, and social context that predicts use” (Lucas & Sherry, 2004, p. 503).

Contextual age. Researchers have observed that contextual age influences mass mediated and interpersonal communication (Papacharissi and Rubin, 2000, Rubin and Rubin, 1992). Rubin and Rubin (1982) found that socially active, self-reliant seniors display little affinity with television, while the opposite was true for less mobile and less healthy seniors. Individuals who were less satisfied with their lives used television as a means of escape and had a higher affinity with it. Papacharissi and Rubin (2000) found that those who were more satisfied with life and comfortable with interpersonal interaction preferred more information seeking via the Internet. Conversely, those who were less satisfied with life used the Internet as a functional alternative to interpersonal communication and to pass time.

Sheldon, 2014a, Sheldon, 2014b studied the contextual age indicators relationship to the motives for playing Facebook games and the amount of time spent playing. Results showed that individuals who were less satisfied with their lives played Facebook games more often. Sheldon, 2014a, Sheldon, 2014b speculates that those less satisfied with their lives perceive Facebook games as a way of “escape” or diversion from the real world. Games are fun and are often seen as a substituted entertainment for more expensive options that might include hanging out with friends (e.g., movies). Is it then possible that individuals who are happy with their lives would use Instagram less often than those who are not satisfied with their lives? Would they use it to check on other people's photos, or would they use it to express one's identity? Another construct–social activity - might be related to Instagram use as well. Participants who travel and take trips with others might be more inclined to share their photographic memories with others.

Narcissism. Several studies have looked at the relationship between narcissism and Facebook use. Narcissism is a personality trait that entails a person having an exaggerated self-concept, a high level of self-importance, and a desire to be admired (Buffardi & Campbell, 2008). People that are defined as narcissists typically think that they are better than other people, special, and unique (Sheldon, 2015). Narcissists prefer online communities consisting of shallow relationships, as they have complete control over their self-presentation - which means that they can present themselves in an indefinite number of ways (Manago et al., 2008, Sheldon, 2015).

When it comes to photo-sharing on SNSs, several studies have found that narcissists might be more inclined to engage in those activities. For example, Kapidzic (2013) found that on Facebook, narcissists are more likely to post profile pictures that accentuate their attractiveness. Narcissism was positively related to the frequency of posting personal photographs on Facebook, as well asto liking and commenting on friends' photos (Sheldon, 2015). Mendelson and Papacharissi (2010) discovered that a great deal of photos on Facebook were comprised of “selfies,” and comments on the photos acted as a form of reinforcement in terms of group cohesiveness. Considering the lack of research on who the people using Instagram are, the following research questions were asked:

RQ2a: How do contextual age and narcissism relate to motives for Instagram use?

Instagram use. Papacharissi and Rubin (2000) have emphasized the importance of studying behavioral outcomes of Internet use, primarily the amount of use. Most SNS studies have measured the amount of time users spent on the site (e.g., Sheldon, 2008). Instagram has a hashtag (#) function that allows users to tag their photo so that other users can find the photographs. Instagram also offers a number of special filters that allow the user to change the colors and resolutions of the photographs before they post them. This editing function might be related to the narcissism trait. The amount of time spent on Instagram, the frequency of using hashtags, and the amount of time spent editing photos might be relevant to the study of Instagram. Considering that there is not much research about Instagram, the following question is asked:

RQ2b: How do contextual age, narcissism, and motives predict behavioral outcomes of Instagram use (time spent on Instagram, the frequency of hashtags, and time spent editing photos before posting)?

Finally, we were interested in which of these variables could best predict why people do not use Instagram:

RQ3: Which of the aforementioned factors (contextual age, narcissism, demographics) can best predict why people do not use Instagram? (Fig. 1).

Section snippets

Participants and procedure

Participants were 239 undergraduate students, including 104 men and 133 women, ranging in age from 18 to 52 (mean age = 22.6; SD = 5.27). Approximately 73% of the participants were self-identified as Caucasian, 13% African American, 3% Asian American, 1% Native American, 3% Hispanic, while the remaining participants (7%) did not fit into provided categories.

Following Institutional Review Board approval, participants were recruited through classes offered at a southern American research

RQ1: motives for Instagram Use

The first research question asked for the motives of Instagram use. Results of the factor analysis yielded four interpretable factors or motives for Instagram use (see above and Table 1). The four factors were defined as: Surveillance/Knowledge about others, Documentation, Coolness, and Creativity. The Cronbach's alpha values for all four factors indicated good internal consistency of the items in the scales.

Factor 1 was labeled Surveillance/Knowledge about others (eigenvalue = 7.17). It

RQ1: motives for Instagram Use

Four motives were produced as a result of the analysis, and include “Surveillance/Knowledge about others,” “Documentation,” “Coolness,” and “Creativity.” Of the four motives, “Surveillance/Knowledge about others” was the most influential reason behind Instagram use. This notion confirms that many people use social media forums to keep up with or gain knowledge about what others (i.e. friends, family, and strangers) are doing. The motive of “Surveillance/Knowledge about others” is closely

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