Sixth International Conference on Communication & Media Studies

Abstract

The initiation and continuing media technology usages are essentially cost-benefit analyses. The idea is that individuals only choose to adopt and/or continuously using certain media technology when the perceived benefit of doing so outweighs the cost. While benefits of media usage have been explored extensively, the cost side of the story is much less visited. Understanding the initial investment of time and effort in learning a new media technology (or the “sunk cost”) and the additional time devoted to media usage (or the “marginal cost”) are helpful in understanding (1) the push-back in adopting a new media technology, (2) the continuing and increasing usage of adopted media technology, and (3) the reluctance in switching from one media platform to another, even when both platforms provide comparable benefits. On the one hand, the proposed theoretical framework attempts to show that existing theories and concepts in microeconomics could be applied to deepen the understanding of known communication phenomena. On the other hand, using methods in communication research, such as focus groups and experiments, we can test how the notions of sunk cost, marginal cost, and path dependency affect individual interest and actual usage of media technology. Additionally, the framework provides implications in media technology design.