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In the Web 2.0 era, the internet emerges as an increasingly important source of information and social interactions. People explore online worlds for new acquaintances ([51] Parks and Floyd, 1996), constant connectivity with family and friends ([70] Stafford et al. , 1999), or informational, social, and economic resources ([76] Tsao and Sibley, 2004). The benefits from the internet gratify basic human needs, including that for information or for social interaction, with novel technological affordances. Uses and gratifications scholars state that both gratifications available on most media platforms (i.e. information or entertainment) and gratifications distinctive of the internet (i.e. social interaction, permanent access) influence what users may do with and how they feel about the internet (e.g. [49] Papacharissi and Rubin, 2000; [8] Charney and Greenberg, 2002; [40] Lundy et al. , 2008; [35] Larose et al. , 2001; [23] Huang and Hsieh, 2011). The satisfaction of basic human needs renders U&G a fit framework to study online behaviors. However, internet's distinctive affordances demand revisions of theoretical propositions based on television studies.
Among the correlates of gratifications, internet affinity, or the attachment and importance users grant to the internet or to particular types of online content, calls for more scholarly attention. This need becomes imperative as the internet exerts more impact on everyday life. Many fundamental social interactions and business transactions have moved online. More and more people are compelled to log on for essential tasks in day-to-day work or life. For them, internet is no longer a disposable option, and the gratifications that drive them to go online may not increase their affinity for the technology or for any content thereby delivered. In such a context, we add to literature by exploring the factors that influence internet affinity.
By so doing, we also expand the applicability of U&G theory from television studies to cyberspace, and explicate the attitudinal effects of internet-based social and information gratifications. Television scholars established that seeking gratifications characterized by different levels of viewer activity predicts affinity for television and affinity for particular programs differently ([58], [59] Rubin, 1984, 1993). In comparison, internet users seek a larger variety of gratifications, and affinity carries significant results both online and offline. Yet, this television-centric proposition has not been tested on the internet. To do...