‘To be honest,they’re mainly a way to waste time… but they also help me learn things’: the complexities of teens’ social media motivations

Abstract

This study maps adolescents’ motivations for using the various social media platforms they commonly inhabit. Through an ethnographic approach grounded in the principles of short-term ethnography, we conducted fieldwork in three educational institutions located in Barcelona and its metropolitan area, within the framework of the Transmedia Gender & LGBTI+ Literacy (TRANSGELIT) project. Based on the analysis, we identified seven primary motivations: entertainment, getting knowledge, managing emotions, establishing social interactions, making economic transactions, creating digital self-image, and getting access. These categories were refined a posteriori into more specific sub-categories, which provided a more nuanced understanding of adolescent media practices. This study aims to update the findings of Uses and Gratifications (U&G) research conducted in recent years within digital contexts, offering a comprehensive exploration of the media ecosystem and the different platforms used by young people today.