Date of Award
8-2024
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management
Committee Chair/Advisor
Dr. Lauren Duffy
Committee Member
Dr. Iryna Sharaievska
Committee Member
Dr. Ryan Gagnon
Committee Member
Dr. Anastasia Thyroff
Abstract
Theme parks have provided billions of dollars to the local economies of tourist destinations (Blair & Rush, 1998; Warden, 2019). In the digital age, the theme park experience is shared with vast online audiences and so there is a need to understand how theme parks are presented on social media from the guest perspective. Specifically, it is vital to understand the uses and gratifications of social media use and content creation from guests and influencers within a theme park context.
The Uses and Gratifications Theory serves as a foundational theory for this research to understand the psychological gratifications found through media use. This research utilizes the Uses and Gratifications Theory to conceptually develop an expanded classification, particularly to account for the advancing social media landscape and the role of influencers. Additionally, this research seeks to understand theme park posting behavior from the typical guest perspectives, identifying the location and main topic for creating social content within a theme park setting. Finally, this research investigates the motivations and gratifications of influencer content creation within a theme park context.
The expanded classification addressing the Uses and Gratifications Theory has direct theoretical implications for integrating the new use of media through content creation. Furthermore, results show that guests create social media content showcasing the attraction experience, character meets, and entertainment from their theme park experience, creating knowledge for marketing and consumer insight teams in the theme park industry. Lastly, influencers deeply connect to the park and create content to assist the park and the guests’ future trips by showcasing new experiences and sharing knowledge.
Recommended Citation
Henderson, William J., "Exploring the Use of Social Media Among Theme Park Guests: A Uses and Gratification Theory Approach" (2024). All Dissertations. 3698.
https://open.clemson.edu/all_dissertations/3698