Uses and Gratifications of Online News among Young Adults in Bahrain

Abstract

This study examines the use of local and Arab news websites among young adults in Bahrain. It identifies the patterns of use, the reasons of choices, and the factors that influence these choices and highlights the potential difficulties, if any, preventing users from finding gratifications in their news practices. A survey was administered to a random sample of 522 Bahraini young adults aged 18 to 29 years to achieve the objectives of the study. The study found that online news consumption by young adults in Bahrain is on the increase, is accessed in particular by the mobile phone at all times and in all places, however, only a short time is allocated for this use, and is focused more on local news. The study also showed that young Bahrainis have become active users, relying on multiple patterns of use, and that their activity is not confined to reading the news but have a feeling of belonging to a community of users (Breton & Proulx, 2002). They also engage in parallel interactive activities that support their position through employing Internet technology from the perspective of uses and gratifications theory (Ruggiero, 2000).

Assessing the Motives and Gratification of Virtual Community

“…The U&G theory was originally developed in the research of Paul Lazarsfeld in 1940 concerning to radio listeners. The theory is then applied to the problem of the mass media used to explore why audiences choose certain media (Alsridi, 2018;Gogan, Zhang, & Matemba, 2018;So, 2012). Subsequently, academics and researchers began to research U&G theory and its application in various types of mass media (Kearney, 2018;Kircaburun, Alhabash, Tosuntaş, & Griffiths, 2018).…”

Young Egyptians’ Uses and Gratifications of Mobile News

“…With 5 billion of mobile internet users (Sivakumaran & Iacopino, 2018). The Internet is the first source to get the latest news (67%), and young people prefer mobile phone as the greatest tool to get breaking news, the majority of respondents (72 %) confirmed that they access to news via mobile applications (Alsridi, 2018).…”

“…Mobile news' adoption has followed the rapid adoption of mobile devices. (89 %) of users are consuming news by mobile, particularly, young people prefer mobile phone as the greatest tool to get breaking news, the majority of respondents (72 %) confirmed that they access to news via mobile applications (Alsridi, 2018). The ability to access to news while on the go is a crucial factor for mobile news consumption (Schmitz Weiss, 2018).…”

The Use of the Internet and the Practice of Journalism in Bahrain

“…In the Kingdom of Bahrain, a previous study about the uses and gratifications of online news among young adults (Alsridi, 2018), shows that The local news websites have a high percentage of use, although they do not rely on a strategy for editing or providing digital services other than the paper version (Dagiral & Parasie, 2010).…”