Gratification of social media during social movement : a case study of LIHKG usage by "read-only" users during the 2019 Anti-Extradition Bill Movement in Hong Kong

Abstract

LIHKG is considered by many as the central communication platform that helped to sustain support for the 2019 Anti-Extradition Bill Movement. It attracted a lot of new users, especially those from the younger generation, and played a significant role for the supporters during the movement. Although there are research papers that studied the interactions among registered “active-users” on the forum, our research focuses specifically on the reasons why “read-only” users use LIHKG. There are two aims to this research, the first is to study the innate needs that “read-only” users seek to satisfy using LIHKG during the movement. The second aim is to find out the unique features of LIHKG that sustain the “read-only” users during the Hong Kong protest movement. The classic uses and gratifications theory and its 2.0 variant, for understanding the gratifications of new media, are used as the conceptual framework for this study. 25 semi-structured interviews were conducted with LIHKG “read-only” users. The result shows that many participants gratified their innate needs of diversion and information-seeking by using LIHKG during the movement. “Read-only” usage also reinforced the pre-existing personal identities and beliefs of some participants. The study found unique features of LIHKG including anonymity, deep-rooted localized culture, a large user base of yellow camp supporters, and other distinctive functions that sustain its use by “read-only” users.