Initial Specification and Empirical Test of Media Enjoyment Theory

Abstract

Building upon online communication attitude research, this article explains why people use certain media in their social relationships by offering an initial formulation and test of media enjoyment theory (MET). We investigated whether medium enjoyment mediated the effects of social influence and communication competence on media use. We proposed that perceived miscommunication would moderate the mediating effect of medium enjoyment. Results were consistent with MET across voice phone calls, email, text messaging, and Facebook. The results indicate an indirect effect of social influence and communication competence on media use through the mediator of medium enjoyment. The pattern of mediation was strongest when participants held low levels of perceived miscommunication. These results suggest that people are most likely to use media when they perceive high levels of enjoyment from medium and low levels of perceived miscommunication. Theoretical implications highlight how MET can be developed in multimodal and dyadic contexts.