Uses and gratifications of selected social network services: Study of Lahore youth

The Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) havedrastically transformed the contemporary societies. Social NetworkingServices (SNS) have overcome time and space distance and increasedopportunities of individuals' interactions. This study explores theimpact of on students' behavior in Lahore. Utilized survey designwhere a self-administered questionnaire is the instrument to find outthe factors of these sites that had impact on respondents. Throughpurposive sampling 206 students are selected from two universities ofLahore. Data is analyzed in the backdrop of uses and gratificationstheory to determine 'most popular social networking site', 'timeconsumed on these sites', 'instrumental use or active use' and'ritualized use or passive use'. The descriptive statistics includingpercentage and mean is applied. The mean for ritualized or passive useof four items is 84% whereas for instrumental it is only 31%. The othersignificant statistics related to items include 63% use of Facebook, 61%use of the SNSs for more than two hours, 11% use for serious politicaldebate and 94% use for making fun of political personalities, 91% usefor sharing and liking the celebrity photos. This study also highlightsfuture considerations for research in this domain