Just a Snap: Fan Uses and Gratifications for Following Sports Snapchat

Employing a uses-and-gratifications approach, we examined the motives for following sports using the social media application Snapchat (version 9 [9.27.5.0 iOS/9.20.6.0] Andr). In Step 1 of the study, participant provided narratives (n = 49) about their motivations for using Snapchat to follow sports. In Step 2, an online survey asked participants (N = 263) to respond to 39 motive statements gleaned from narratives obtained in Step 1 as well as measures of points of attachment (POA), overall time spent viewing a variety of sports, and to rank the importance of various social media channels. Overall, four motives for using Snapchat to follow sports were conceptualized across 21 items (i.e., ease and convenience, behind the scenes, vicarious experience, unique points of view). Next, using regression analyses, we found that age, POA, social media preferences, and different sports viewed predicted motives for using Snapchat to follow sports to varying degrees. Theoretical implications and considerations for future research are also discussed