Gratifications and social network service usage: The mediating role of online experience

This paper incorporates dual theories from communication research (uses and gratifications) and psychology research (online flow) to examine consumer behavior in the use of social network services. In particular, the study proposes that consumers’ online experience of interaction and arousal serves as the mediator of the relationship between social motivations and use behaviors. The empirical results indicate that arousal fully mediates the relationship between social gratifications and problematic social network service use. Furthermore, both interaction and arousal are partial mediators of the relationship between social gratifications and the intention to revisit social networking websites. 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.