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Cited by 305Impact of Technology on AdolescentsMedia and Digital CommunicationDigital Marketing and Social Media

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 66 of the 66 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

Uses and gratifications sought by pre-adolescent and adolescent TikTok consumers

Bucknell Bossen, Christina, Kottasz, Rita·2020·Young Consumers
DOI 10.1108/yc-07-2020-1186
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Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this paper was to explore the uses and gratifications sought by the primary target market (pre-adolescent and adolescent groups) of a new social media site, TikTok. The paper also sought to identify how much of a role the motivations of self-expression, social recognition and fame-seeking (important considerations within adolescent psychology development) played in the use of this particular social networking sites (SNS). Design/methodology/approach: Following meticulous sampling procedures, ensuring national representation and stringent ethical practices, self-completion questionnaires were sent to pupils at 60 schools in the five key administrative regions of Denmark. The data was examined using analysis of variation tests, followed by a two-step cluster analysis using the log-likelihood method. Findings: The findings indicated that passive consumptive behaviours were prevalent among both pre-adolescent and adolescent groups and that the gratification of entertainment/affect was the primary driver behind all behaviours: passive consumptive, participatory and contributory. Pre-adolescent groups were more active and heavier users of TikTok than were adolescents. In line with adolescent psychology theories, the authors found that contributory behaviours were motivated by a wish to expand one’s social networks, by fame-seeking, self-expression and identity-creation needs. Social implications: Pre-adolescent consumers are heavier users and interact more with the TikTok SNS than adolescent consumers, including in relation to seeking out new social networks. This is potentially of great concern as children are less likely to understand the hidden dangers of online predatorial and privacy issues. Originality/value: The authors extend their understanding of the contributory functions of SNS. Motivations of fame-seeking, self-expression and social recognition are key to understanding the uses and gratifications of TikTok consumers, especially during the adolescent years; contrary to scholarly assertions that these motives are often unconscious, the sample of this study assertively and explicitly confirmed these needs. A further novel insight of this study was that both the gratifications of relationship building and relationship maintenance were sought out via the contributory, rather than the participatory function of TikTok.

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Crossref · 10.1108/yc-07-2020-1186

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Citations

Cites

Show all 66 references

Research works printed but not linked: 7

  1. 1980, Handbook of Adolescent Psychology
  2. 2008, Youth, identity, and digital media, 1
  3. 1959, Mass communication research and the study of culture, Studies in Public Communication, 2, 1
  4. 2009, Human Motivation, 544
  5. 2012, IBM SPSS Statistics 19 Procedures Companion
  6. 2007, Motivations to produce user generated content: differences between web bloggers and videobloggers, BLED, 1, 398
  7. 2008, Explaining why young adults use Myspace and Facebook through uses and gratifications theory, Human Communication, 12, 215

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Metadata

Authors
Bucknell Bossen, C., & Kottasz, R.
Venue
Young Consumers
Publisher
Emerald
Published
2020-11-30
Volume
21
Issue
4
Pages
463-478
ISSN
1747-3616 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1108/yc-07-2020-1186
OpenAlex
W3109216653
Cited by
305
References
66
Citations by year
2026: 44 · 2025: 71 · 2024: 53 · 2023: 70 · 2022: 47 · 2021: 20
FWCI
45.82
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
www.emerald.com/insight/site-policies (tdm)
Locations
  • Young Consumers Insight and Ideas for Responsible Marketers (publishedVersion)
  • Research Repository (Kingston University London) (acceptedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Impact of Technology on Adolescents
  • Social Sciences › Communication › Media and Digital Communication
  • Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Marketing › Digital Marketing and Social Media
Keywords
TikTok, uses and gratifications theory, preadolescents, adolescents, social networking sites, self-expression, fame-seeking, social recognition, passive consumption, entertainment gratification, relationship building, online privacy, online predators, identity construction

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