The Impact of Social Media Users' Gratification Seeking on Usage Frequency: The Case of Instagram a Quantitative Research

ABSTRACT

With technological advancements, social media platforms have become powerful communication tools that satisfy users' needs for information, entertainment, and socialization (Kaplan & Haenlein, 2010). Among these platforms, Instagram stands out in brands' digital communication strategies due to its structure and the fact that its users produce content on different themes (Saatçioğlu & İnanç, 2020). The main objective of this research is to systematically and comprehensively reveal the extent to which Instagram users' various gratification-seeking behaviors affect their frequency of platform use.

The study utilized a descriptive survey model, a quantitative research method. Data were collected through an online survey technique, and 388 students from Bilecik Şeyh Edebali University were included. The Instagram Usage Motivations Scale, adapted into Turkish by Saatçioğlu and İnanç (2020), was used as the measurement tool in the study. The scale consists of five sub-dimensions and a total of 28 items. In addition to the scale, questions regarding participants' demographic characteristics and frequency of platform use were included in the data collection form. In the reliability analysis of the scale, the Cronbach's Alpha value for the entire scale was determined as α=.824; the alpha coefficients of the sub-dimensions were reported as α=.828 for social interaction, α=.766 for archiving, α=.792 for self-expression, α=.732 for escape, and α=.725 for surveillance, meeting the threshold of .70 for internal consistency, which is required for reliability. SPSS 31.0.1 software was used to analyze the data, and descriptive statistics, T-test, and ANOVA analyses were applied.

The findings yield empirical evidence showing that the frequency of Instagram use is a determining factor, particularly in terms of social interaction, archiving, and surveillance gratification. The findings have demonstrated that types of gratification differ as usage intensity increases, providing theoretical and practical contributions to the social media literature and digital communication strategies