I found this study pretty good. What I think is amazing, as with most of the other papers we've had, is that if they did the study again; while it's only been 4 years, on the Internet, that's like in dog years; stuff changes so fast. There are so many more people on Facebook now, when was the last time you even heard anyone mention MySpace, and Facebook has gone public.
I learned that indeed, others, and I apparently, get a lot of satisfaction from the time we spend on these sites. I don't doubt that for myself, I enjoy writing and that is a log of what I do on Facebook. Regardless, the study helps validate this. On page 219 they talk about underlying motives for using the Internet, "information, interpersonal communications, and entertainment" (of course, if you have ever seen the Broadway play, Avenue Q, you know that the Internet is for porn:). I also use it for work, but when I go on the Internet in my own time, it is for exactly those reasons (the first three, not really for porn...). I also find this true of my friends in the times we discuss things found on the Internet; the resultant topics fit nicely into those three categories.
I think another key point the authors bring out in their summary of results is that a need for immediacy is a key facet in the use of MySpace and Facebook. Our society has changed and this is a part of it; we no longer have to wait to get to the library or home to find a volume of the encyclopedia to look up a specific topic on which we seek information. The Internet allows for this. As well, if we get a scholarship or have some other sort of major win, or fail for that matter, Facebook is as close as our smart phone. We can click it on, bring up the app, and post, even include a picture of the win or fail and post it right this minute for all of our friends to see. It doesn't get much better than that, does it? Well, maybe if you're into porn... ;)
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