Examining “replacement” attitudes in the context of uses and gratifications during the 8-day Instagram inaccessibility period in Turkey

The uses and gratifications theory argues that individuals attain specific satisfactions through their engagement with the media. The hypothesis posits that individuals fulfill their pleasure demands by selecting amongst various media tools and their offerings. The concept, originating from research on mass media utilization, has been revised considering technological advancements and the proliferation of media instruments. Due to the diversity encountered in social media tools, communication experts have examined the notion of uses and gratifications with greater specificity. Users’ gratifications are attained through social media in contemporary society. The established mentality, along with the access prohibition on a widely utilized social media platform (Instagram), have prevented users from fulfilling their gratifications. The access prohibition on Instagram in Turkey from August 2 to August 8, 2024, serves as the most notable example of this phenomenon. This study seeks to identify the social media platform via which users fulfill gratifications that were unattainable during the enforced access ban on a specific social media tool. To elucidate these attitudes termed “replacement,” it was first ascertained which satisfaction was lacking, followed by identifying the social media instrument employed to attain the unmet satisfaction. The findings and analyses of the in-person survey conducted with 463 individuals were disseminated, reflecting the Turkish population through quantitative research methodologies. Efforts were made to ensure that the scale employed acknowledged the reality of digital marketing. It was concluded that no money losses and hence no financial gratifications transpired throughout the access prohibition.