A growing percentage of this content consists of reaction videos, a new type of user- generated content that has been on the rise within this social media platform, in which individuals record themselves reacting to any sort of content. This paper aims to explore the dynamics involved in this type of content, not only from the perspective of the creator but also from the angle of the viewer, to try and understand what leads to the popularity of these videos. The current thesis aims not only to dissect the topic but also to present the field of Media and Communication studies with relevant and unprecedented insight into the motivations that lead viewers to engage with this kind of content and contribute to debunk this contemporary audience phenomenon. To do so, a case study was conducted on a YouTube channel named ‘REACT’. The study utilised Uses and Gratifications Theory as well as the concept of mediated voyeurism to help contextualise the reaction genre. Using content analysis, 4 of their videos were analysed qualitatively. Plus, a focus group was conducted in order to not only understand the overall sentiment towards the reaction video genre, but also identify the possible reasons for it to be a global success. Results show that reaction videos can be characterised as dynamic, highly engaging and extremely relatable videos. Furthermore, they can be of amateur nature – unscripted, spontaneous and organic, or more professionalised – scripted and edited. Additionally, while most of the needs these videos fulfil can be categorised as diversion needs, the remaining ones can be perceived as both personal identity and surveillance needs. The current research can be seen as a useful tool for society to interpret relevant patterns of content creation and consumption within the current digital age.

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In this study the aim was to investigate the area of non-celebrity people with a popular Instagram account, and indentify their motives to being active on Instagram, whether or not they maintained an online image and what consequences they could see as results of Instagram activity. Through six interviews with women between 17 and 28 years of age, the results showed the following patterns. The identified motives to Instagram use matched Whiting and Williams (2013) ten ways to apply Uses and Gratificatios Theory, and also identified three new ones: professional use, friendship and validation of oneself. Use of an online image was confirmed, as the interviewees stated how constructed to show ones best sides an Instagram account usually is, both theirs and others. Consequences and effects as result of Instagram use was stated to be both positive and negative, positive as inspiration, affirmation and easing contact with friends. Negative effects such as envy, comparisons, anxiety, a normalised view of unhealthy bodies, and the risk of addiction to Instagram use was noted.

The Master's thesis is focused on the Slovakian TV show Nákupné maniačky and its' audience. The purpose of the thesis is to reveal the motivations leading to watching this show and to explore, whether the viewers perceive the show as a fashion show which allows them to draw inspiration, or rather as a reality show that should entertain them. The theoretical part introduces the concepts as audience, uses and gratifications and reality show genre. The final analysis of the acquired data is based on these terms but it aims to invent a new hypothesis. The second part is devoted to the research that is based on a qualitative method of a grounded theory. Required data was collected by the semi-structured interviews with viewers divided into two age categories. The result of categorizing data indicates that for all viewers the main motivation for watching the show is to have fun. Participants reported enjoying the program because of its' humour, while fashion plays an irrelevant role. The findings also show that participants are aware of interventions of production and they explained manipulating competitors as a strategy of the broadcasters to entertain audience and attract more viewers. This assumption was confirmed by an informant interview with one of the creators of the show.

This paper explores the use of the social networking site, Facebook, by the GenerationX cohort (those born 1966-1980 inclusive) currently living in the United Kingdom(identified as a somewhat under-studied group to date). Utilising a ‘Uses &Gratifications Theory’ and ‘(Media) Dependency Theory’ approach and the quantitativeempirical data collection method of an extensive online ‘self-fill’ questionnaire, a totalof 233 individuals from this cohort voluntarily provided the sought-after information,with data collected during early September 2018. An expanded version of Denis McQuail, Jay G. Blumler and J.R. Brown’s 1972 mediagratifications groups/descriptors is proposed and used for this paper’s analysis of results(see section 6.2.4) while a new single media term,‘online collaborative network’, isrecommended by the author as an alternative to current myriad of ‘social media’,‘social networking [site]’ and ‘collaborative media’ all used for the likes of Facebook(see section 9.2.2). Key project results suggest that the UK Generation X cohort spend an average of 75minutes per day using Facebook; that the most-utilised access method is via a mobilephone (89.7%); that the top two ‘uses’ of the social network are both passive ones(‘Scrolling through the homepage News Feed’ and ‘Spending time viewingPhotos/Videos uploaded by others’) and that the top three gratifications obtained fromFacebook use are ‘Contact with Friends’, ‘Contact with Family’ and (to) ‘Pass Time’. Additionally, results provide an interesting and potentially shocking overview ofexclusive dependency upon Facebook for the satisfaction of particular media needs,including the maintenance of contact with certain friends (87.6%) and certain familymembers (61.4%) and, worryingly, as an only source of news (15%).

The master thesis entitled "Podcasting - audio content in the digital era and its listeners in Czechia" is devoted to the phenomenon of podcasting which connects the traditional audio format with new digital technologies. It deals with its history and current state both abroad and in Czechia. It also describes the specifics of podcasting, compares it with radio programs, mentions the importance of podcast applications or the funding issue of independent podcasts. It focuses attention on the role of the audience in today's world and the associated concepts of participatory culture and user generated content. The audience is also associated with the uses and gratifications theory which tries to understand why people consume media content. The aim of the research part of the thesis was to obtain information about Czech podcast listeners with whom semi-structured interviews were conducted. The collected data were then processed using the grounded theory method. The findings are organized into five chapters in order to answer five research questions. They revealed the motivations of Czech listeners for listening to podcasts, their perception of podcasts in comparison with radio programs, their attitude to listening to Czech and foreign podcasts, their perception of podcast presenter and their attitude...

Sharenting is a new term used to define the action of parents posting about their children online. Social media provides parents with an easy to use outlet for image distribution to all family and friends that simultaneously archives the images into a digital baby book. While convenient, once publicly posted anyone can gain access to the images of the children. Instagram is a favorable social media channel for sharenting. A popular hashtag on Instagram, #letthembelittle, contains 8 million posts dedicated to child imagery. A set of 300 randomly selected images under the hashtag were coded. Images tended to contain personal information such as the child’s name, age, and location. Communication Privacy Management and Uses and Gratifications theories provided the theoretical frameworks for this study. The results suggested a possibly dangerous pattern of parental oversharing that could negatively impact the child and the child’s safety.

The phenomenon of Live Video Shopping (LVS) has gained increased attention in recent years. Sinceapproximately 2017, the Chinese market has brought LVSto the attention of the public. In terms of overall market share, LVS was projected to account for roughly 20% of the overalle-commerce volume in Chinauntil 2021. Despite that, within Europe LVS has not seen such rapid growth and seems to be still a neglected domain,both in practice and in academia.Most academic research on LVS has originated in China and took place in an Asian setting. From a European standpoint, these findings can onlyserve as a starting point for further researchdue to cultural differences. Sincemost extant research on the topic of LVS adopted a quantitative research design, we could clearly identify a lack of qualitative studies in a European context. Therefore, our study aims to fill this research gap by investigating European consumersperceived value of LVS and their motivations to engage in it. A qualitative research design is particularly suitable for the exploratory nature of ourresearch. For the collection of data, we conducted three synchronous online focus groups through purposive sampling of European participants. In addition to that, and as a triangulation for our data sources, Pål Burman, the CEO of the LVS provider Zellma, was interviewed. With this we were able to includedifferent perspectives on the topic. It also helped us to increase thevalidityofthemanagerial implications.Usingthematic analysis, we could identify themes that theparticipants associated with the concept of LVS. The findings suggest that the perceived value of LVS for European consumers is not indisputable. Based on the theoretical concept of perceived value,LVS has to solve the trade-off between give and get components. This means that the committed time for attending an LVS stream has to be compensated by certainbenefits, such asdiscounts, enhanced product information, exclusivity of content,or inspiration. By using the theoretical framework of Uses and Gratifications Theory (UGT), we were able to divide the motivations of European consumers to engage in LVS in three types of gratifications: hedonic, utilitarian, and social. As opposed to prior Asian research on the topic, social gratifications only played a minor role forEuropean consumers. Reasons for an interaction between the viewer and the broadcaster were primarily product-related and utilitarian by nature. Engagement for the sake of social motives could not be confirmed. Utilitarian gratifications desired byEuropean consumers were mainly connected to theobtainment of enhanced production information, leading to more informed purchase decisions. Hedonic motivations were for exampleentertainmentand inspiration. When connecting UGT to the TechnologyAcceptance Model (TAM), we have also been able to identify consumers' approachesto LVS as a new technology.Crucial here weretheperceived ease of use and perceived usefulnessof LVS.It was shown that consumers require LVS to be as easy or easier than normal e-commerce shopping is already.LVS would further be perceived as useful if it could provide the viewers with something uniquethat old technologies are not able to provide.Asa new digital phenomenon, itis expected to serve as a complement to physical and online stores. In fact, LVS might not only serve as a platform of sales, but also tocreate long-lasting relationships between a brand and its consumers with consumer engagementas a main desired outcome.

The main objective with this Master's thesis is to better understand the preferences and attitudes of audiobook users in Sweden who are also members of Swedish Facebook audiobook groups. In recent years audiobooks have risen to prominence, although their previously inferior status is still evident in the lack of available research. Development of digital technology together with our busy modern lives have facilitated this rapid growth. The data gathering method used was a self-completion questionnaire distributed via Swedish audiobook Facebook groups. I endeavored to answer the following research questions: Why, how and to what extent do members of Swedish Facebook audiobook groups consume audiobooks? What attitudes do these users exhibit towards audiobooks’ affordances? Uses and gratifications theory and McLuhan's laws of media were used as a theoretical framework. The study both supports and challenges previous findings. Users primarily audio read because they can do other things at the same time; thriller/suspense/mystery are the most popular genres; many listen to podcasts and read print books, but a substantial number also exclusively listen. The study also found that most audio read quite a lot and prefer to do it at home, while the car is not such a common location. The narrator is overall important, but not when one chooses an audiobook. Though most subscribe to a streaming service, a substantial number of users borrow from a local library.

This study examines how recent graduates with a Bachelor of Science in Media Technology use LinkedIn as a tool for job search and networking. It examines their thoughts around theirbehaviour in relation with how their behaviour can affect their future career opportunities. Thepurpose is to gain a deeper understanding of how LinkedIn is used which is based on the uses and gratifications theory. To examine this an abductive approach has been used, and four semistructured interviews have been done to gather data from the recent graduates. The study shows that recent graduates with a Bachelor of Science in Media Technology use LinkedIn as a tool for job search, but do not use the opportunity to network to its fullest potential. The recent graduates in this study are also passive users who use LinkedIn as a place to gather information that can be used later. This strengthens the earlier studies done in the field that students and recent graduates use LinkedIn passively and do not use the functions “liking”, “commenting”, “sharing” and “posting” to be more visible to the fullest. The recent graduates are aware of the opportunities LinkedIn provide and that it is beneficial for them to be more active there than they are today but find it difficult to know what they would contribute with by being more active.