Exploring uses and gratifications and psychological outcomes of engagement with Instagram Stories

The current research examines why and how Generation Z and Millennials engage with Instagram Stories and how user engagement is associated with emotions and psychological dependency. The two-step approach reveals a new configuration of gratifications for using Instagram Stories: exploration, self-enhancement, perceived functionality, entertainment, social sharing, relationship building, novelty, and surveillance. Users are likely to engage in content consumption for entertainment, exploration, and perceived functionality; in contribution activities for relationship building and social sharing; and in content creation for meeting needs pertaining to relationship building, self-enhancement, social sharing, and novelty. The findings highlight that contribution and creation activities are likely to result in positive emotions, while creation alone predicts negative emotions. Although users are more likely to experience positive than negative emotions when engaging with Instagram Stories, the effect of engagement on psychological dependency is greater through increased negative emotions. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.