Media Competition in the Convergence Environment: A Study on the Cross-Activity Impacts With Smartphone Use Example

• In Event: Mobile Motivations

Abstract

This paper is an attempt to outline a possible framework studying media competition in the convergence environment. By discussing the niche theory and media repertoire theory, this paper argues that the existing frameworks of media competition suffer from the unit level problem of defining user-gratification dimensions and miss the cross-activity effects of the media use harnessing various functions of the digital devices. Hence, the paper suggests an alternative approach to complement these limitations by setting the boundary of the dimensions and user-centric activity based research, instead of focusing on functions of the media devices. A case study examining the relationship between the use of smartphones and computer devices for information and communication activity is conducted to emphasize these points. The individual growth model, a multilevel panel data analysis method, is used for the case analysis.

Author

• Ho Young Yoon, University of Wisconsin-Madison