The uses and gratifications of reading fan fiction among Ilongga teens

Abstract

Fan fiction has become quite the internet trend especially among female teens that the researchers sought to find out why readers read fan fiction and what underlying needs of the readers are gratified by fan fiction. Fan fiction is all about fictional stories written by fans on real celebrities that are either published or posted online. The study is based on Katz and Blumler’s Uses and Gratifications theory, which explains the uses and functions of the media for individuals, be it of groups, and society in general. It is a survey done on to 350 female students at the Iloilo National High School (INHS) using descriptive statistics as its method of analysis. Findings reveal that Wattpad is the most used platform in accessing fan fiction and the most read stories are under Romance. The results also show the primary use for the respondents as to why they read fan fiction is stimulation or to develop their creativity and spark their imagination. Moreover, the gratifications acquired by the readers, which are cognitive or acquiring knowledge, information, and comprehensions are parallel to why they read fan fiction in the first place. The lowest rated use is socialization and the lowest rated gratification is social integrative which are also parallel to each other Reading fan fiction for the respondents, allows them to be more motivated and to be more inventive. Although, fan fiction does not necessarily help in improving the social lives of the readers.