Revisiting Uses and Gratification Theory: A Study on Visitors to Annah Rais Homestay

Abstract

Uses and gratification theory has always been discussed within the functional paradigm where the media serve a specific purpose for any given audience. The perspective assumes that people know even before using the media why they are using it. It is argued in this article that the actual purpose of using mass media is never determined beforehand. Audience is made aware of the purpose after accidentally finding something of interest while using the traditional mass media. Serendity of information occurs after using the mass media. Thus, functionality is assumed rather than verified while using the various mass media. With the advent of the Internet, people shift through the various websites to obtain information relating to a specific purpose. To deduce functionality, a study was conducted on the uses and gratification of websites on homestays. A survey was carried out with 100 actual visitors to Annah Rais Homestays, Sarawak using a specially built questionnaire to collect data relating to perceive and actual uses, and perceive and actual gratification of information obtained from websites of three homestays' service provider. The findings of the study conclusively found that the actual use of information after visiting a homestay is higher than the perceived use before visiting it. The actual gratification of information after visiting is higher than the perceived gratification before visiting it. Thus, the findings confirm the functionality of websites that could not have been proven in the various studies on traditional mass media.

The Use of Social Media in Searching for Information about Papua

“…Based on the findings, it is apparent that a user's motivation and experience is essential in social media use to search for information about Papua. This is in line with the basic assumptions of UGT (Child & Haridakis, 2018;Muyingo, 2017;Samani & Guri, 2019). The audience are now believed to be extremely active in selecting the media they use, and it is goal directed.…”

“…Finally, value judgments of media content can only be assessed by the audience. This means that each individual may present a different assessment (Child & Haridakis, 2018;Muyingo, 2017;Samani & Guri, 2019). This theory also focuses on the question 'how' and 'why' and highlights social psychological factors that can create the needs and expectations of the audience of the mass media or other sources of information (M. Adnan & Mavi, 2015;Prisgunanto, 2020).…”

Satisfaction of mahasantri in accessing Instagram

“…The basic assumption of uses and gratification theory which says that the audience is active in choosing media and its use is goal-oriented is very relevant to this condition. They have different activities in using media to fulfil their needs (McQuail, 2011;Muyingo, 2017;Samani & Guri, 2019).…”

“Money Politics” and “Ethnicity” in Voting Decisions during Tanzania Presidential Election

“…The study concludes that ethnicity still has significant influence in the voting decisions and preferences amongst prospective voters in Tanzania, hence; it is likely that most of the voters in Tanzania prefer voting for candidates from their own tribes, same origin, or candidates from same geographical location (geographic proximity) (Mus Chairil & Guri, 2019). Therefore, candidates from the majority ethnic group in Tanzania are likely to continue gaining more votes from men than candidates from the minority groups.…”