The displacement effect between competing social network services: Examining uses-and-gratifications of WeChat and Weibo.

Di, Cui ; Guangsheng, Huang

Introduction

The past several years has witnessed worldwide popularization of social network services (SNSs). The boom of SNSs heightens the need for a move beyond studying the adoption of any single SNS, which has been done in many existing works (e.g., Hargittai, 2007; Hargittai & Litt, 2011; Raacke & Bonds-Raacke, 2008). It has become increasingly difficult to ignore the competition between different various SNSs among individual users. Researchers are now faced with more pertinent questions such as how people choose among different services, why users develop preference on a certain SNS over another, and whether use of a newly emerging SNS displaces older ones.

The SNS competition is white-hot in China, where there is world's largest Internet population and a vastly thriving online market. By 2015, the user base of SNS in China had reached 530 million, accounting for 77.0% of all Internet users (CNNIC, 2016). Without such an overarching and dominant service as Facebook or Twitter (1), however, the SNS market in China is fragmented where there are various players such as online bulletin boards, massive personal space (2), and social network sites (3) (CNNIC, 2013; Lukoff, 2011). In this study, we focus on Sina Weibo (Weibo for short hereafter) and WeChat, which are currently most popular, mobile-friendly SNSs among Chinese users. Weibo is a social platform providing microblogging and social networking features, while WeChat is a mobile application integrating instant messaging and social network functions. Started in late 2009, Weibo has undergone an explosive expansion and now has over 21 million monthly active users. First introduced in early 2011, WeChat as a latecomer develops quickly and now has over 760 million monthly active users. Despite their differences, Weibo and WeChat are generally regarded as rivals. Many have discerned the inevitable collision and mutual erosion between WeChat and Weibo (Ma, 2014; The Economist, 2014). Specifically, with the rise of WeChat, there is a sign that people are gradually abandoning Weibo (Skuse, 2014).

Taking the uses-and-gratification perspective, this study explores the potential displacement effect between WeChat and Weibo. The media competition thesis proposes that, when a new media technology is adopted, it will compete with other existing media for users' attention and resources (John Dimmick, Chen, & Li, 2009). As one's time investment to media use is relatively constant, new medium must satisfy users in a unique way to win over user's time and preference. The increased use of one medium is usually accompanied with decreased use of other media, which has been conceptualized as "displacement" (e.g., Belson, 1961; Dimmick, Kline & Stafford, 2000; Kayany & Yelsma, 2000; Lin, 2001).

Most prior studies focused on the displacement between new media and traditional media (e.g., Dimmick, Chen, & Li, 2004; Dimmick et al., 2000; Lazarsfeld, 1940; Lee & Leung, 2008). However, less attention has been paid to the displacement between SNSs. Theoretically, this study adopts and compares two distinct approaches to understanding media displacement: The media-centric and user-centric perspectives (Lee & Leung, 2008). In line with these two perspectives, we examine the gratification-opportunities and gratification-obtained respectively, to see which approach better explains the displacement between WeChat and Weibo. Methodologically, we conducted an online survey with young users in China. First, we explored whether WeChat is displacing Weibo at the individual level. Second, we tested the role of gratification-opportunities and gratification-obtained in predicting the displacement and levels of use of WeChat and Weibo. These results were then used to elucidate the possible reasons behind the displacement.

WeChat and Weibo in competition

Media competition has long been a scholarly interest. According to Lazarsfeld (1940), media displacement refers to the relocation of time spending on different media usage. This means that people would spend more time on the new media and reduce their time spending on old ones. It should be noted that displacement effects may not always take place because people are inclined to maximize their media gratifications by incorporating many different media into their day-to-day use. Given the situation, some scholars argue that the relationship between new and old media could also be a supplementary one rather than complete displacement (Dutta-Bergman, 2004).

The case of WeChat and Weibo provides us with an opportunity to explore the competition between two similar new media technologies. Both WeChat and Weibo are multi-functional, mobile-friendly applications. WeChat, as a mobile application, is featured with multimedia instant messaging (text, voice, video and group chatting), social network service called Moments, location-based friends making, file transfer, photo-shooting, editing and sharing, online games, lifestyles, personal finance among others. Weibo is integrated with features such as instant messaging, friends grouping, location-based friends making, online music and games, photo, video and location sharing, file transferring, cloud storage and profile page customization.

WeChat and Weibo are different in two major ways. First, WeChat has an emphasis on IM while Weibo's main feature is microblogging. Second, the types of social networks sustained by Weibo and Moments are different. Including many celebrity users, media organizational accounts, and other official sources, Weibo tends to be an information-based platform, combining both strong and weak ties. In addition to social function, Weibo has become a venue for online expression on public issues, where people can get exposed to various information and opinions from a wide array of people (Sullivan, 2012). Based on instant messaging friends, WeChat connections tend to be users' friends or acquaintances in real life. In other words, WeChat network is usually characterized with strong ties.

Despite their different core features, WeChat and Weibo are comparable as both of them have a primary focus on providing users with social networking and interpersonal communication functions. Suitable for all kinds of communicative tasks, WeChat and Weibo each can be seen as self-sustained communication systems that competing for individuals' time and attention in daily life. Given the fact that most users may adopt both technologies at the same time, it is reasonable to assume that WeChat and Weibo erode each other in a way that users may tend to employ one technology more while reducing the time spent on the other. In this paper, we focus on the time displacement between these two SNSs. According to focus group findings and media reports (e.g., Ma, 2014; Skuse, 2014; The Economist, 2014), WeChat as a latecomer potentially erodes individuals' use of Weibo. With this, the first research question asks:

RQ1 Does WeChat have a displacement effect on Weibo among young Chinese users?

Explaining media displacement

The adoption of and preference on a certain media technology by individuals could be addressed with either a technology-centered or an user-centered approach (Dimmick et al., 2000; Lee & Leung, 2008). The technology-centered approach speaks to the technological attributes and affordances, which emphasizes on media technology's innate ability to provide gratifications or the embedded constraints to users (Dimmick et al., 2000). In contrast, the user-centered approach puts am emphasis on users' needs and activeness, proposing that the agency of the audiences plays a determinant role in the adoption of media technologies.

Both approaches have their weaknesses. The technology-centered approach is susceptible to technological determinism, while the user-centered approach tends to exaggerate audience activeness and understate the limitations of the technology. In fact, these two approaches could supplement each other and are useful for explaining media displacement in different angles. In this paper, we juxtapose the technology-centered and the user-centered approaches to explore the displacement effect between WeChat and Weibo. For the technology-centered approach, we will examine gratification-opportunities. For the user-centered approach, we will examine the gratification-obtained.

Gratification-opportunities

The technology-centered perspective sees perceived affordances of new media technology as an important driving force in the adoption of technology. In the uses-and-gratifications literature, perceived technological affordance is conceptualized as "gratification opportunities" or "gratification niches" (Dimmick et al., 2009). According to Dimmick and Albarran (1994), gratification opportunities are users' perceptions regarding whether a media technology is able to allow users to seek greater satisfaction. Gratification opportunities are the attributes of a medium regarding the provision of different types of content and the organization of content in different temporal and spatial manners. The advancement of media technologies bring about new gratification opportunities. Compared with old media, new media usually provide more choices and amplify the users' control over the content (Dimmick & Wallschlaeger, 1986), thus offering greater gratification opportunities.

Gratification opportunities are suitable to examine individual-level media competition especially when an emerging technology is involved. Dimmick et al. (2000) foundd that telephone and email could satisfy a wide range of users' needs. As email offers greater gratification opportunities, it produces a displacement effect on telephone. Dimmick et al. (2009) found that Internet news occupies wider gratification niches than traditional news media. As a result, individuals' use of traditional news media is eroded by Internet use. In a more recent study, Lo and Leung's (2009) study focused on the competition between instant messaging (IM) services and email. Their study revealed that the two kinds of interpersonal communication media differ in technological attributes. Gratification opportunities emerged as an important predictor of the preference on instant messaging over email among college students.

As noted earlier, social media are under keen competition for individual users' resources. Though providing similar social networking functions, different social media may have varying emphasis on their features. McQuail (2006) summarized that the characteristics of new media included interactivity, sociability, media richness, autonomy, playfulness, privacy and personalization. Lievrouw and Livingstone (2002) pointed out that interactivity, hyper-reality, anonymity, networking and instantaneity were the core features of new media. In actual studies, Lo and Leung (2009) focused on multi-functions and IM as the gratification opportunities of computer-mediated communication.

Three types of gratification opportunities are examined in this study. First, both WeChat and Weibo are multi-functional, allowing users to design their own homepages, deploy emoticons and other accessories, send multimedia messages (text, voice and video), and so on. This study considers multifunction as an important gratification opportunity. Second, given the fact that IM is an important feature of WeChat and integral part of Weibo, this study considers IM as another gratification opportunity. Third, privacy is a concern of SNS use. SNSs have various designs that protect user profiles, the visualization of users' networks, and controllability of users' information environment (Ellison, 2007). This study considers perceived privacy as the last gratification opportunity.

Gratification-obtained

The user-centered approach is in line with the uses-and-gratifications paradigm (Blumler & Katz, 1974). This approach puts great emphasis on the activeness of the audiences/users, focusing on how people use media to gratify their needs. A substantial body of literatures followed this approach tried to understand how audiences/users use the media (gratifications-sought) and what gratifications they receive in return (gratification-obtained). The two types of gratifications differ slightly. Gratifications-sought are perceived or anticipated gratifications from media use while gratifications-obtained are the actualized gratifications from media use. More and more studies, however, found that gratifications-obtained is a stronger predictor for media use behaviors than gratifications-sought (Harper, Vernon, & Harper, 2010).

Scholars have extensively examined how use of media is associated with various gratifications (Rubin & Perse, 1987). For instance, Harper et al.'s (2010) study about email usage identified three kinds of gratifications obtained: Interpersonal gratifications obtained, organizational gratifications obtained and intrinsic gratifications obtained. Lo and Leung (2009) examined new use of computer-mediated communications through four gratification obtained: peer pressure, sociability, relationship maintenance and entertainment/relaxation. Other studies reveal that the use of SNS such as Facebook offers users the gratifications related to information, friendship and connection (Valenzuela, Park, & Kee, 2009), or the gratifications of socializing, entertainment, self-seeking and information (Raacke & Bonds-Raacke, 2010).

In this study, we highlight four gratifications obtained from use of WeChat and Weibo: Peer approval, relationship maintenance, entertainment, and information seeking. According to Lo and Leung (2008), both gratification opportunities and gratifications obtained could explain the preference and level of use of new media technologies. Here we use these constructs to explore the possible reasons behind the displacement effect between WeChat and Weibo. We propose the following research questions:

RQ2: How do gratification opportunities and gratification obtained predict the displacement between WeChat and Weibo (if any)?

RQ3: How do gratification opportunities and gratification obtained predict the level of use in (a) Weibo and (b) WeChat?

Methods

Sample and Data Collection

The data came from an online survey of a standard questionnaire with 31 questions. The survey was administered through a popular web survey service sojump.com ([phrase omitted]) to young Internet users in China. We promoted the online survey by sending the web link of the questionnaire to a several popular online platforms such as the renren.com, the douban.com, the tianya.cn, the Sina Weibo and various QQ groups.

We obtained 419 finished questionnaires with 395 valid ones who were users of both WeChat and Weibo. The average age of our sample was 24. 46.6% of the respondents were students and 53.4% of them were employed. Our sample consisted of 110 males (27.8%) and 285 females (72.2%). Among all the respondents, the average length of being Weibo user was approximately 28 months (SD = 13.57), while the average length of being a WeChat user was about 15 months (SD = 9.56). The statistics corresponds with our assumption that WeChat was adopted later than Weibo.

Measures

Part of the measures was adapted from existing literature. However, WeChat and Weibo are both novel social applications that have received little scholarly attention by far. With this, we conducted two mini focus groups with 12 undergraduates in order to develop gratification opportunities/obtained measures and establish validity. The focus of discussion was on the differences in gratification opportunities/obtained about Weibo and WeChat.

Among all the questions, three of them were about respondents' demographics (gender, age and study/work status), seven of them were about some basic information about their usage of Weibo and WeChat, eight of them were the gratification opportunities questions, ten of them were the gratification obtained questions, and three of them are about the preference and displacement effects.

Gratification opportunities

Gratification opportunities refer to the perceived benefit originating from technological attributes by users. We adapted measures from Lo and Leung's (2009) study. It consisted of three factors including multi-function, instant messaging, and perceived privacy. For each application, a total of 9 items were employed using 5-point Likert scale (from 1 = strongly disagree to 5 = strongly agree). We run a factor analysis of gratification opportunities from WeChat and Weibo. The content of the questions and the factor structure are shown in Table 1

As expected, the factor analysis showed that gratification opportunities of WeChat had 3 dimensions: 1) Privacy regarding how well one could control his or her information flow on Wechat and how secure he or she felt when using Wechat (M = 3.78, alpha=. 77; eigenvalue=3.9; explained 43.33% variance); 2) Multifunction regarding how easily and freely one could tap into the various functions embedded in Wechat application (M = 3.71, alpha=. 75; eigenvalue=1.21; explained 13.47% variance), and 3) Instant messaging (IM) regarding how one could instantly and conveniently contact others or get replied (M = 4.13, alpha=. 85; eigenvalue=1.07; explained 11.93% variance).

Gratification opportunities of Weibo were assessed by similar factors to those of WeChat including, 1) four Privacy items (M = 3.01, alpha=. 75; eigenvalue=3.15; explained 35% variance), 2) three Multifunction items (M = 3.65, alpha=. 76; eigenvalue=1.87; explained 20.74% variance), and 3) two IM items (M = 2.82, M = 3.78, alpha=. 91; eigenvalue=1.23; explained 13.65% variance).

Gratification obtained

Gratifications obtained refer to the actual benefits obtained from using a particular media technology. We integrated measures of gratifications obtained from Harper et al.'s (2010), Raacke and Bonds-Raacke's (2010) and Lo and Leung's (2009) studies. Inspired by Sullivan's (2012) discussion on microblogs in China, we added public expression as another potential gratification obtained. At last, a total of 15 items were used in the current study. For each item, respondents were asked to rate on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 = strongly disagree to 5 = strongly agree. We run a factor analysis of gratification obtained from WeChat and Weibo. The content of the questions and the factor structure are shown in Table 2.

As expected, the factor analysis showed that gratification obtained from WeChat had five dimensions: 1) Public expression regarding how one was able to organize and participate in online civic activities (M = 2.93; alpha=. 87; eigenvalue=6.00; explained 40.02 % variance); 2) Entertainment regarding how one was able to relax and find fun (M = 3.72; alpha=. 88; eigenvalue=1.24; explained 8.24% variance), 3) Information seeking regarding how one was able to access to various information (M = 2.84, alpha=.88; eigenvalue=2.47; explained 16.50% variance), 4) Peer approval regarding how one was able to stay trendy and follow his or her peers (M = 3.50, alpha=. 85; eigenvalue=1.22; explained 8.11% variance), 5) Relationship maintenance regarding how one was able to keep touch with his or her close relationships (M = 3.93; alpha=. 77; eigenvalue=. 88; explained 5.88% variance).

Gratification obtained from Weibo contains similar items: 1) Public expression items (M = 3.71; alpha=. 86; eigenvalue=6.23; explained 41.53% variance), 2) Entertainment items (M = 3.81; alpha=. 88; eigenvalue=2.21; explained 14.73% variance), 3) Information seeking items (M = 3.82; alpha=. 84; eigenvalue=1.20; explained 8.01% variance), 4) Peer approval items (M = 3.10; alpha=. 85; eigenvalue=1.05; explained 6.99% variance), and 5) Relationship maintenance items (M = 3.06; alpha=. 79; eigenvalue=. 93; explained 6.22% variance).

Level of use and displacement

In the current research, we asked the respondents to self-report their time of social media use. First, we asked respondents to report their total time spent in all social media including Weibo, WeChat, Douban, Renren, and QQ and so on per day. Also, we asked them to report the amount of time (in minutes) they allocated to the WeChat (M = 70.56, SD = 73.13) and Weibo (M = 52.94, SD = 75.37) per day. Respondents were additionally asked to report their network size on WeChat and Weibo, namely the number of friends/followers they had on WeChat (M = 114.70, SD = 90.08) and Weibo (M = 520.42, SD = 2612.00).

According to Ellison, Steinfield and Lampe (2007), use of social media could hardly be assessed in an accurate fashion purely by gausing frequency. Similar to Ellison et al.'s (2007) "Facebook intensity scale", we developed composit scales of WeChat use and Weibo use. First, we transformed time spent on WeChat and Weibo and their respective network size into 5-point intevral scales. In the survey, respondents were also asked to rate on three 5-point Likert scale items regarding the centrality of WeChat/Weibo in users' life. The composite scale of level of use was created by summating and averaging these five interval scales (for WeChat use, M = 3.46, SD = .89, alpha = .85; for Weibo use and Weibo use, M = 3.12, SD = .79, alpha = .85).

While the displacement effect could be examined by analyzing time allocated to each application, we also employed a subjective measure to evaluate the potential displacement effect. It was a single-item question. Respondents were asked to indicate whether they "agree", "disagree" or "feel not sure" about the statement "There has been an increase in WeChat use whereas a decrease in Weibo use in the past several months." 57% of the respondents agreed there was displacement between WeChat and Weibo, 25.8% of them disagreed and 17.2% were not sure about it.

Findings

Use and displacement

Descriptive statistics showed that respondents spent 157.08 minutes on average (SD = 130.52) in all social media per day. On average they spent 17.62 minutes more on WeChat (M = 70.56, SD =73.13) than on Weibo (M = 52.94, SD =75.37). According to the paired t-test analysis, there was a significant difference between the amount of time allocated to WeChat and to Weibo (t =3.58, p <. 001).

This study first employed an objective method to assess the displacement effect. According to Lee and Leung (2008), measure of proportions could more accurately reveal displacement effects between media technologies. We respectively calculated the proportion of time spent on WeChat and Weibo in the total time spent on all kinds of social media per day. Then we run a correlation analysis between the two calculated proportions. A negative correlation meant users who spent more time on one application tended to spend less on the other, which then could serve as a prerequisite for the claim that WeChat and Weibo erode each other temporally. The Pearson's zero-order correlation test yielded a significant negative correlation between the proportions of time spent on Weibo and the proportion of time spent on WeChat (r = -.504, p < . 001), meaning the more one used WeChat the less he or she would use Weibo, or vice versa.

This study also considered respondents' subjective evaluation of displacement. According to the subjective measure, namely the self-reported WeChat's displacement of Weibo, 57% of the respondents (n = 225) agreed that their use of WeChat had increased while Weibo use had decreased. 17.2% of them felt not sure about the displacement while only 25.8% of them disagreed.

The analyses above yielded three interrelated findings: 1) respondents spent more time on WeChat than Weibo; 2) the more time one spent on WeChat, the less time they spent on Weibo; and 3) 57% of respondents reported they had shifted time allocation from Weibo to WeChat. Based on these findings, we argue for the existence of a displacement effect between WeChat and Weibo.

Predictors of SNS displacement

The second research question asks what factors predict the displacement between WeChat and Weibo. A binary logistic regression was conducted on the categorical measure of displacement. We discarded the "not sure" group (n = 68). The rest respondents then made a dichotomous criterion variable which was made up of "displacement group" (n = 225) and "non-displacement group" (n = 102). The criterion variable of displacement was regressed on demographic variables, gratification opportunities, gratification obtained from WeChat/Weibo. The result of the logistic regression is shown in Table 3. The model is significant ([chi square] = 147.11, p < .001, -2 Log Likelihood = 256.44 and Nagelkerke' s [R.sup.2] = .51). The model predicts 82.5% of the responses correctly.

Displacement was measured by asking respondents "whether they felt an increase in WeChat use and a decrease in Weibo use recently?" Agree to the statement was coded 1 while disagree to the statement was coded 0. The logistic regression model shows that no demographic variables significantly predicted WeChat's displacement of Weibo. For gratification opportunities of WeChat, we only found that WeChat's IM function was marginally related to displacement (B = .49, p = .08, odds ratio = 1.64). For gratifications obtained from WeChat, we found peer approval (B = .71, p < .05, odds ratio = 2.02), relationship maintenance (B = 1.11, p < .01, odds ratio = 3.04) and entertainment/relax (B = 1.01, p < .01, odds ratio = 2.75) were positively associated with the displacement effect between WeChat and Weibo. That said, the more users were sensitive to peer pressure or felt a greater need to follow their peers to communicate on WeChat, the more likely they substituted Weibo with WeChat. This finding echoes Lo and Leung's (2009) conclusion that reciprocal gratifications from peers is an important driving force for adoption and use of new media technologies. The result also indicated that, the more users felt gratified when using WeChat for maintaining relationships, and the more users feel entertained and relaxed in the use of WeChat, the more likely there was a displacement between WeChat and Weibo. No gratification opportunities variable of Weibo was significant predictors of the displacement effect. For gratification obtained, only entertainment/relax gratification obtained from Weibo was a significant variable, which was strongly but negatively associated with the displacement effect (B = -1.57, p < .001, odds ratio = .21). It means that those who did not report of WeChat's displacement of Weibo tended to feel greatly gratified by the entertainment and relaxation offered by Weibo. As discussed, both WeChat and Weibo provided users gratifications of entertainment and relaxation, but they were associated with the displacement effect in contrary directions. This is probably due to the reason that WeChat and Weibo offered two different kinds of entertainment/relax gratifications, which will be discussed later in final section.

Predictors of level of use

The third research question concerns how gratification opportunities and gratification obtained predict level of use in WeChat and Weibo among Chinese users. Answers to this question help us triangulate the result of the logistic regression, and provide us with a more detailed comparison of the uses-and-gratifications between WeChat and Weibo. It can further contribute to our understanding of the two technologies, and the displacement effect between them. To answer the third research questions, we regressed levels of use of WeChat and Weibo respectively on demographic variables, gratification opportunities, gratifications obtained from WeChat/Weibo. The two multiple regression models are presented in Table 4.

The first regression model predicts the level of use of WeChat. The overall model is significant (F = 30.87, p < .001). The model accounts for 46% of the variance in the dependent variable. The results show that no demographics were significant predictors. For gratification opportunities of WeChat, we found that multi-function ([beta] = .14, p < .01) and instant messaging function ([beta] = .16, p < .01) were positively related to WeChat use. This means those who tended to value the multiple capacities and instant messaging features of WeChat tended to use more of it. For opportunity obtained from WeChat, we found that peer approval ([beta] = .16, p < .01), relationship maintenance ([beta] = .29, p < .01) and entertainment/relax ([beta] = .13, p < .05) were positively related to WeChat use. It means that users who felt more peer pressure, sought more gratification in relationship maintenance, and gained more entertainment/relax tended to use WeChat more.

The second regression model predicts the level of use of Weibo. The overall model is significant (F = 22.48, p < .001). The model accounts for 39% of the variance in the dependent variable. For gratification opportunities of Weibo, we also found that multi-function ([beta] = .14, p < .01) and instant messaging function ([beta] = .13, p < .01) were positively related to Weibo use. This means those who tended to value the multiple capacities and instant messaging features of Weibo tended to use more of it. For opportunity obtained from WeChat, we found that information ([beta] = .20, p < .001) and entertainment/relax ([beta] = .27, p < .001) were positively related to WeChat use. It means that users who sought more gratification in information and gained more entertainment/relax tended to use Weibo more.

When comparing the two models, it is not hard to find that WeChat and Weibo provided similar gratifications opportunities to users. The strength of relationships between multi-function and IM and level of use was identical across two technologies. The major difference can be identified in gratification obtained. Peer pressure was a significant factor of level of use for WeChat but not for Weibo. Relationship maintenance was a strong predictor of WeChat use but a non-significant one for Weibo use. Information was a strong predictor of Weibo use but a non-significant one for WeChat use. This finding is in line with our expectation that WeChat is a social-oriented SNS while Weibo is an information-oriented SNS. Both WeChat and Weibo offered users entertainment and relaxation. Our result meanwhile shows that entertainment/relax was a more than twice stronger predictor of Weibo use ([beta] = .27, p < .001) that that of WeChat use ([beta] = .13, p < .05). The regression results suggest that WeChat and Weibo are both versatile communication tools that are able to serve a wide range of needs of their users. However, the users sought different gratifications from the two technologies, and the difference in gratifications sought were indeed associated with level of use.

Conclusions and discussions

This study closely examined use of SNS in conjunction with their competitors, which moves related study beyond the adoption of a single SNS. We investigated the displacement effect between two most popular SNSs in China, WeChat and Weibo, and applied both the media-centered and user-centered approach by examining gratification opportunity and gratification-obtained as predictors. We concluded that WeChat is displacing Weibo among young users in China on the basis of a series of evidence including time order, difference in time spent, self-report of displacement and the actual time displacement. Evidence suggests that the once popular social platform of Weibo is losing popularity to WeChat.

We also explored the reasons behind WeChat's displacement of Weibo. First, the logistic regression analysis led us to argue against the media-centered explanations. Only WeChat's IM as a gratification-opportunity factor was marginally significant in predicting the displacement effect. However, several-gratifications obtained from WeChat (peer approval, relationship maintenance and entertainment) and Weibo (entertainment) played a part in classifying those who reported displacement and those who did not. Specifically, the results showed that peer approval, namely to stay in trend and keep in touch with peers, was a significant factor that drove people to migrate from Weibo to WeChat. This finding speaks about the nature of SNS use. Beyond the technological advantages, users are also attracted to a certain SNS because his or her peer network has moved there. It also suggests as more people move to WeChat, a snowballing effect may happen when non-adopter are forced to join WeChat network to keep up with peers. Relationship maintenance was another significant factor, indicating that those who have higher need of socializing and maintaining close relationships may prefer WeChat. As expected, this finding demonstrates that WeChat is specialized in cultivating strong ties and maintaining close relationships

It is somewhat surprising that, those who reported migration to WeChat valued the entertainment/relax offered by WeChat, while those who largely stuck to Weibo valued the entertainment/relax offered by Weibo. The seeming paradox could be explained after further thought. This finding indicated that both WeChat and Weibo use could make users feel relaxed and entertained, but in quite different ways. WeChat users may feel entertained and interested in checking out what was going on with close others or chatting with their friends. Weibo users, on the other hand, may get similar gratifications from receiving more diverse information, celebrity news, and opinoins.

The reason behind displacement and the distinction between WeChat and Weibo were further explained by the multiple regression analyses. We found multi-function and instant messaging were similarly and positively associated with level of use of both WeChat and Weibo. This finding indicated that WeChat and Weibo could not distinguish from each other purely by providing unique technical characteristics or functions. WeChat, for example, has an edge in its IM function. But it should be noted that Weibo does provide efficient IM function similar to that of Facebook, which could fulfill users' IM-related needs both on mobile and PC devices. As the online social applications evolve to be more technologically sophisticated over time, they have both become multi-functional interpersonal tools providing overlapping features. It is therefore difficult for similar SNS applications to establish an insurmountable advantage over their competitors in terms of technological features. Gratifications-obtained, on the other hand, seemed to be a better set of factors that distinguished the motivation of WeChat and Weibo use. Use of WeChat, as a new trend of SNS, was associated with peer pressure but this was not the case of Weibo. Our finding suggests that the Weibo might have lost its appeal as a trendy media habit.

WeChat and Weibo appeared to be two quite different social media service in terms of technological characteristics and social experience. However, the current study revealed that WeChat and Weibo erode each other in the competition for users' time resources. The growing preference on WeChat possibly suggests most social media users are eventually more interested in socializing and information based on strong ties, which contradicted the conclusion made by CNNIC (2013) that the weak-relationship oriented applications are winning favor among social media users in China. The recent success of WeChat may hint a return of user interest back to the essence of online social networking. The reasons for the displacement between WeChat and Weibo, as we identified in the current study, are different from that between other new and old media. Prior research suggests new media achieve advantages over old media because they provide broader ranges of content and communication channels (Trepte, Ranne, & Becher, 2003), or that new media are characterized with what Dimmick termed "greater niche width" (Dimmick et al., 2000). However, both WeChat and Weibo are niche SNSs, focusing on social features, targeting on similar user groups and providing largely overlapping functions. The technological difference between them could not effectively explain the displacement. Instead, the evidence led us to endorse the user-centered approach. That said, the way how users tap into the technologies and shape the functions play a more central role in explain the displacement of SNS.

This study has several limitations. First, use of convenience sample makes it difficult to generalize our findings to larger populations. Second, only focusing on several major gratification-opportunities, this study may not capture all the nuances of the technological characteristics. Third, this study did not examine how technological affordances and users behaviors are interrelated to each other. Future research could further our discussion in different time-space contexts as well as the social-historical roots of various gratifications opportunities. Beyond testing gratification opportunities and gratification obtained, future research can also explore how different user behaviors are linked to different technological design. Last but not the least, our understanding of SNS displacement will also benefit from research designed with more representative samples.

Correspondence to:

Cui Di, Ph.D. and Lecturer School of Journalism, Fudan University 400 Guoding Road, Yangpu District, Shanghai, China 200433 Email: [email protected] Phone: 18516057617

Huang Guangsheng, School of Journalism and Communication, Humanities Building, New Asia College, CUHK, Shatin, Hong Kong Email: [email protected]

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09/25/2017

Cui Di (*), Huang Guangsheng (**)

(*) Fudan University, (**) New Asia College, CUHK Table 1 Factor Loadings (Principal Components, Varimax Rotation) of Gratification Opportunities of WeChat and Weibo (N=395) WeChat Factors 1 2 3 Privacy 1. Add/drop friends freely. 0.70 2. Access to or shield information 0.73 freely. 3. Sending information in 0.71 privacy. 4. Feel safe with personal information and 0.77 privacy. Multifunction 5.Multi-modal expression (voice, 0.70 text, visual). 6. Personal page and profile customization. 0.85 7. Add-on functions (e.g., 0.78 location sharing, games). Instant message 8. Contact with others instantly. 0.87 9. Get response from others 0.87 instantly. Eigenvalue 3.9 1.21 1.07 Variance explained (%) 43.33% 13.47% 11.93% Cronbach's alpha 0.77 0.75 0.85 Weibo Factors 1 2 3 Privacy 1. Add/drop friends freely. 0.71 2. Access to or shield information 0.81 freely. 3. Sending information in 0.68 privacy. 4. Feel safe with personal information and 0.76 privacy. Multifunction 5.Multi-modal expression (voice, 0.81 text, visual). 6. Personal page and profile customization. 0.84 7. Add-on functions (e.g., 0.77 location sharing, games). Instant message 8. Contact with others instantly. 0.91 9. Get response from others 0.92 instantly. Eigenvalue 3.15 1.87 1.23 Variance explained (%) 35.00% 20.74% 13.65% Cronbach's alpha 0.75 0.76 0.91 Scale: 1= strongly disagree and 5 = strongly agree Table 2 Factor Loadings (PrincipalComponents, Varimax Rotation) of Gratification Obtained From WeChat and Weibo (N=395) WeChat Factor 1 2 3 4 5 1.Public Expression Issuing opinion publicly. .84 Discussing public affairs. .87 Online civic participation. .80 2. Entertainment/relax Feel fun and relaxed. .82 Help release pressure. .84 Kill time. .79 3. Information Seeking Useful information. .80 Getting news. .87 Entertainment information. .88 4. Peer Approval Follow my friends .84 Catch up with trends. .85 Makes me popular. .77 5. Relationship Maintenance Organize social life. .64 Contact with close .86 relationships Keep posted with close .79 relationships Eigenvalue 6.00 1.24 2.47 1.22 .88 Variance explained (%) 40.0% 8.2% 16.5% 8.1% 5.9% Cronbach's alpha .87 .88 .88 .85 .77 Weibo Factor 1 2 3 4 5 1.Public Expression Issuing opinion publicly. .86 Discussing public affairs. .87 Online civic participation. .71 2. Entertainment/relax Feel fun and relaxed. .86 Help release pressure. .87 Kill time. .70 3. Information Seeking Useful information. .78 Getting news. .76 Entertainment information. .84 4. Peer Approval Follow my friends .84 Catch up with trends. .85 Makes me popular. .77 5. Relationship Maintenance Organize social life. .78 Contact with close .86 relationships Keep posted with close .76 relationships Eigenvalue 6.23 2.21 1.2 1.05 .93 Variance explained (%) 41.5% 14.7% 8.0% 7.0% 6.2% Cronbach's alpha .86 .88 .84 .85 .79 Scale: 1= strongly disagree and 5 = strongly agree Table 3 Logistic regression model predicting SNS displacement with demographics, gratification opportunities of and gratifications obtained from WeChat and Weibo (N=326) Predictors B S.E. Odds ratio Demographics Gender -.33 .40 .72 Age .06 .08 1.06 Study/work status .09 .40 1.10 Gratification opportunities of WeChat Multi-function .36 .31 1.44 Instant messaging .49 (#) .28 1.64 Perceived privacy -.11 .30 .90 Gratification obtained from WeChat Peer approval .71 (*) .29 2.02 Information .31 .23 1.34 Relationship maintenance 1.11 (**) .36 3.04 Public expression .24 .24 1.27 Entertainment/Relax 1.01 (**) .34 2.75 Gratification opportunities of Weibo Multi-function -.37 .34 .69 Instant messaging .24 .23 1.27 Perceived privacy -.40 .26 .67 Gratification obtained from Weibo Peer approval -.14 .30 .87 Information -.44 .31 .65 Relationship maintenance -.07 .28 .93 Public expression -.13 .29 .88 Entertainment/Relax -1.57 (***) .40 .21 (#) p < .1; (*) p < .05; (**) p < .01; (***) p < .001; Table 4 Multiple regressions predicting level of use of Wechat and Weibo with demographics, gratification opportunities and gratification obtained (N=368) Level of use Predictors Wechat [beta] Weibo [beta] Demographics Gender -.05 -.01 Age -.06 -.05 Study/work status -.01 -.02 Gratification opportunities Multi-function .14 (**) .14 (**) Instant messaging .16 (**) .13 (**) Perceived privacy .07 .06 Gratification obtained Peer approval .16 (**) .00 Information .01 .20 (***) Relationship maintenance .29 (**) .10 Public expression -.06 .04 Entertainment/Relax .13 (*) .27 (***) [R.sup.2] .48 .42 Final adjusted [R.sup.2] .46 .40 Note: Figures are standardized beta coefficients, (*) p < .05; (**) p < .01; (***) p < .001

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