New media and the changing face of information technology use: The importance of task pursuit, social influence, and experience

The technology adoption and use question has been extensively researched; however, gaining synthesis in the literature has been challenging owing to the myriad of theoretical frameworks and study contexts. A consolidation was surmised by the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT), although recent studies have yielded new questions as technologies and societies change. We sought to determine whether factors grounded by the UTAUT would be predictive of the use of “new” media. To do this, we conducted a field study of non-work related and discretionary use of “social media” and “smart device” applications. Using linear regression with interactions, we learned that technology use may evolve on a continuum, and that use may depend on the technology itself. Moreover, our research indicated that perhaps age and gender may not play as significant a role in new technology use and adoption as previously reported in the literature. We concluded that each medium is reflected in differential use characteristics and may not be accurately predicted by a unified use concept. Our findings have both research and practical implications.