Lurking as literacy practice: A uses and gratifications study in neighborhood Facebook groups

This study explores lurking as a literacy practice and poses two questions: In what ways do so-called Facebook lurkers use neighborhood groups to engage in literacy practices? What gratifications are sought when individuals choose to lurk and engage in these literacy practices in Facebook neighborhood groups? A community mapping of the literacy practices of NYC suburban neighborhood Facebook groups was conducted by 203 participants, and 18 of those participants were interviewed. Through lurking, participants sought to gratify desires to (1) understand a divergent point of view, (2) verify information, (3) suppress the spread of information, (4) pivot to offline social action, (5) advance professionally, and (6) maintain quality of community life. The study also introduces the concepts of receptive reading, participatory restraint, and protective curation as ways of reading that individuals engage in while gratifying these desires.