Presenting an Ideal Self on Weibo: The Effects of Narcissism and Self-Presentation Valence on Uses and Gratifications

Narcissism has been shown to have a positive and significant impact on uses of microblog services and features for self-presentation (SP). Little is known with regard to whether and how narcissism and valence of online SP could jointly influence the gratifications of microblog uses. This study explores how narcissism influences the uses and gratifications of Weibo via positive and negative SP. Results from a survey of Weibo users in China suggest that narcissism generates positive effect on both gratification sought (GS) and gratification obtained (GO). GS fully mediates the effect of narcissism on GO. Moreover, positive SP plays a mediating role between GS and GO, while negative SP does not. The mediation mechanisms within narcissism, the valence of SP, GS, and GO suggest that differentiating the gratification processes could help us better understand uses and gratification of microblog services.