Based on the "uses and gratifications" approach, this study explores how Japanese people use media to fulfill their communication needs and find gratification. Furthermore, it examines differences and similarities in media use and gratification among four generations : the massive (born between 1944 and 1953), the neo-typed (born between 1954 and 1968), the massive junior (born between 1969 and 1983), and the neo-typed junior (born between 1984 and 1990).
The typical characteristic of this approach is that it postulates an active media audience. This postulation was criticized in the 1970s and 1980s, but today's media users are far more active than the television audiences of the past ; thus, this approach is more suitable for researching people's current media use and their motivations.
To a website survey conducted in November 2013, 130 men and 130 women from each of the four generations responded. In this survey, 40 communication requirements that referenced preceding studies on the use and motivations of "old" and "new" media or services were presented. Using a four-point scale for each requirement, respondents provided the personal level of needs fulfilled by television. In addition, for the second question, respondents were asked about their usual methods of gratifying such needs and were given a choice of ten media categories. "I don't have such a need" was a possible answer choice included in both questions. Moreover, "This need is not fulfilled by TV" was a possible choice for the first question, whereas "I don't use any media" was a possible answer for the second.
The data was analyzed using analysis factors (weighted least-squares method with promax rotation), and as a result, three factors were obtained. These factors were named social interaction (Cronbach's alpha=0.98), emotional release (alpha=0.95), and information and knowledge acquisition (alpha=0.93). As the reliability of each was sufficiently high, these factors were used for the following analysis as subscales. The total scores of the gratification and frequency of usual media use in each dimension were analyzed using the analysis of variance and a t-test, to discern differences and similarities among the levels of gratification related to television and other media use among the four generations.
Results showed the following similarities in the needs fulfilled through television : Over 60% of all four generations believed that the fulfillment of their social interaction-related needs was impossible and that they achieve gratification without the use of media or with social media. All four generations reported that they experienced a slight gratification of their emotional release-related needs. Approximately 90% of the four generations had needs related to information acquisition and reported that they experienced a slight dissatisfaction with their fulfillment.
The results also showed the following differences in the needs fulfilled through television : younger generations felt less dissatisfaction with some need fulfillments related to social interaction and used social media more frequently than older generations. In relation to the information-acquisition dimension, the satisfaction scores of the neo-typed generation were the lowest, whereas those of the neo-typed junior generation were the highest among the four.
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