Uses and Gratifications of Dark Social Networks: A Comparison of WhatsApp and Messenger

Aim/Research QuestionMobile users are rapidly replacing public social networks with private messaging apps for communication and sharing, motivated by the desire for more intimate communication, and enabled by falling prices... [ view full abstract ]

Aim/Research Question

Mobile users are rapidly replacing public social networks with private messaging apps for communication and sharing, motivated by the desire for more intimate communication, and enabled by falling prices for devices and data and by improved smartphone features (Schaefer, 2016). 18 to 25 year olds in particular are migrating to more private messaging platforms, and are early adopters and heavy users of evolving messaging technologies (WARC, 2017). Globally, six out the top ten most used mobile apps are for messaging (Ark, 2016), and in Ireland WhatsApp and Messenger rank as two of the top three most used apps in both the Apple and Android app stores (SimilarWeb, 2017). According to Ipsos MRBI 63% of the Irish population use WhatsApp daily, and 54% use Messenger daily (Ipsos MRBI, 2017). People are spending an increasing amount of time on these apps, currently referred to as ‘dark social media’ because they cannot be seen, measured or used by advertisers (Schaefer, 2016). Consequently understanding how, when and why users interface with each app, and choose one over the other, is of significant theoretical and managerial value.

Uses and gratifications theory is a long-established and widely used framework for understanding why people actively seek out specific media to satisfy specific needs and whether and how these needs are met (Severin et al., 1997). Uses and gratifications theory distinguishes between gratifications sought and gratifications obtained (Palmgreen, 1984), broadly categorised as cognitive, hedonic, social interaction, personal integrative and mobile convenience (Katz et al., 1973; Ko et al., 2005; Palmgreen and Rayburn, 1979; Papacharissi & Rubin, 2000; Whiting & Williams, 2013). While uses and gratifications research has been used to understand traditional media and social media it has not been previously applied to ‘dark’ social networks. Here the cohort of interest was identified as 18-25 year olds and the specific research questions identified were:

1. What are the common patterns of usage among Irish users of WhatsApp and Messenger?
2. What gratifications are sought on joining by Irish users from WhatsApp and Messenger?
3. What gratifications are obtained from WhatsApp and Messenger?
4. With whom do users interact on WhatsApp and Messenger?
5. How private do users perceive WhatsApp and Messenger to be?

Design/Methdology/Approach

A 22 question survey was developed. WhatsApp and Messenger use was measured through a reduced version of Ellison et al.’s (2007) Facebook Intensity Scale and a self-reporting frequency scale. Respondents were asked to report their motivations from a retrospective standpoint following the items and scale presented in Quan-Haase & Young (2010). A frequency scale was used to determine how often respondents would be likely to contact close or weak ties (Putnam, 2000). Users were asked to rank how private they felt WhatsApp and Messenger are, then to answer attitudinal questions regarding how they would feel if third parties could see their content, and how open they would be to communicating with brands or chatbots on these channels.

A pilot version of the survey was developed and tested using a convenience sample of a friend, family member and work colleague of the researchers to give different perspectives on the survey design and phrasing. In accordance with Malhotra et al.’s (2012) suggestion, respondents completed the pilot questionnaire face to face and discussed any feedback as they went through the questions.

The cohort of interest was specified as young users of social media aged  18-25. Non-probability sampling in the form of convenience and snowball sampling was undertaken. The researchers used personal and professional social networks to reach participants (Saunders et al., 2012). Respondents were then encouraged to share the survey. 119 valid responses were obtained.

Findings 

1. What are the common patterns of usage among Irish users of WhatsApp and Messenger?

    

The data revealed that Irish users in this age group use WhatsApp far more frequently than Messenger. This contradicts Mintel’s finding that 18-25s use Messenger twice as often as WhatsApp (Mintel, 2017). While both genders use WhatsApp very frequently, a higher proportion of females report using it almost constantly. Conversely, while neither gender uses Messenger very often, females use it far less than males, consistent with previous findings (Leung, 2001; Leung, 2013; Marshall et al., 2006; Gefen & Straub, 1997; Zheng et al., 2016).

1. What gratifications are sought by Irish users on joining WhatsApp and Messenger?

People joined both WhatsApp and Messenger primarily for gratifications of social interaction. However, this motivation was found to be far stronger in people seeking to use WhatsApp than Messenger. Mobile convenience was found to be the second highest motivation for joining WhatsApp confirming its position as a preferred mobile messaging app. Mobile convenience tends to enhance other gratifications, in this instance people’s ability to chat to their friends whenever they want. Interestingly, the highest-ranking reason for joining Messenger was because it came as an additional feature to Facebook suggesting that joining was by default and not done with a clear goal in mind.

3. What gratifications are obtained from WhatsApp and Messenger?

Levy and Windahl (1984) state that continued use of a medium over time implies that the gratifications sought are reinforced by the gratifications obtained. When a mobile SNS satisfies the gratifications, users tend to continue to use it frequently (Ha et al., 2015). Social interactions are the primary gratifications obtained from both WhatsApp and Messenger, however this is satisfied to a far greater extent and far more frequently by WhatsApp.

On WhatsApp females were more likely to voice note and voice call than males, both functions relating to social interaction. This is consistent with findings on cellphone usage (Fischer, 1994; Martin, 1991; Smoreda & Licoppe, 2000). Males were found more likely to share content such as funny images and videos and memes than females across both WhatsApp and Messenger. Females were more likely to share celebrity gossip and inspirational content. This is consistent with previous findings that males seek entertainment gratification from media whereas females seek more social interaction gratification (Leung, 2001).

4. With whom do users interact on WhatsApp and Messenger?

This research found that Irish users are mainly interacting with close friends, frequently, on WhatsApp but are unlikely to use it for contact with weak ties. This means that this is a network used to strengthen existing offline relationships. Females were found to contact their close friends and family members more frequently than males, consistent with previous findings (Fischer, 1992; Martin, 1991; Smoreda and Licoppe, 2000).

On Messenger, on the other hand, people were as likely to contact a close friend as they were an acquaintance, but generally to do neither frequently. This indicates that for this age group there is no defined purpose for this app. In other words, users do not use it to strengthen close ties with people they have strong relationships with, nor do they network and meet people through loose ties, as they would on the main Facebook platform or on LinkedIn.

5. How private do users perceive WhatsApp and Messenger to be?

Users report a high level of confidence and trust in WhatsApp’s privacy. They are generally unsure about how private Messenger is, indicating they have a low level of confidence that a person outside the intended recipient, be it another peer or third party, will see what they are sharing. Facebook is currently working on smart chatbots enabled to interact with conversations on Messenger (Schaefer, 2016). However the respondents in this research have reported a strong aversion against interacting with brands or chatbots via Messenger and WhatsApp. The analysis indicates that they have a strong negative sentiment towards having this sharing space interrupted by advertisers, as the primary gratification here is social interaction – rather than cognitive (find out more about products) or even hedonic (enjoy branded content) as can be the case with other sharing platforms.

Practical implications 

Given the aversion shown by respondents in this study to interruption in ‘dark social networks’, if brands are to be successful in this space, they will need to provide a useful utility to enable people to enhance their social interaction experiences, and ensure they are not interruptive in this process.

Social implications

WhatsApp is reported as having significant mobile utility and providing significant social interaction gratification for users over that of Messenger. Use of both platforms for social connection is more frequent among females, consistent with previous research.

Originality/value 

Neither WhatsApp nor Messenger have previously been researched in terms of uses and gratifications theory. Both apps have disseminated widely in a short time period. Understanding usage and gratifications patterns is of signficant value to communications and media researchers generally and to managers seeking to understand, or potentially leverage, these important social media platforms.

Research limitations/implications

Sample size and procedure was limited by online convenience and the  sample was limited to Irish users. Extending the research to other age groups and countries would provide comparative data by age and country in relation to uses and gratifications sought and obtained from messaging apps.