2001/11/01 by Robert LaRose, Robert Larose, Dana Mastro +1 · 10 citations
Decision Sciences · Social Sciences · #Digital Marketing and Social Media #Impact of Technology on Adolescents #Technology Adoption and User Behaviour
paper · doi:10.1177/089443930101900401
openalex publication_date 2001/11/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/25
Several studies have applied uses and gratifications to explain Internet usage. Like Bandura’s social-cognitive theory, the uses and gratifications framework explains media use in terms of expected positive outcomes, or gratifications. However, previous uses and gratifications research accounted for little variance in Internet behavior, although there were conflicting results. This research identifies new variables from social-cognitive theory that might further explain Internet usage and resolve inconsistencies in prior research. Measures of self-efficacy and self-disparagement were developed for the domain of Internet behavior. Internet addiction was interpreted as a deficient self-regulation within the social-cognitive framework. Finally, the negative outcomes of online behavior were analyzed for their impact on Internet usage. In a survey of 171 college students, the social-cognitive model explained 60% of the available variance in Internet usage using multiple regression analysis, a significant improvement over prior uses and gratifications research.