Beyond Facebook: The generalization of social networking site measures

PurposePrevious research on social networking sites (SNSs) suggests several factors that contribute to SNS use. However, the factors were specific to a particular website. We wished to know if similar factors could predict the use of a new SNS in terms of usefulness and satisfaction with the goal of creating factors that would generalize across SNSs.ResultsParticipants reported their SNS Diet and performed five tasks using a new SNS. Then, participants reported which of the five tasks was most frustrating. Participants also reported if the usefulness of the SNS would affect their future use of the site. Participants with a high SNS Diet used SNSs once a day or more. The SNS Diet was predictive of a participant’s satisfaction rating and a participant’s perception of usefulness.ConclusionThe differences suggest that different groups of social networking users will respond differently based on their SNS Diet. This study finds support for both the Rational Actor Perspective and the Web Acceptance Model. We outline a new continuous measure of SNS use which generalizes across different social networks.     

Internet use and depression among older adults

The findings regarding the impact of Internet use on well-being are mixed and studies are often criticized due to small samples and lack of consistency in measurement. Fewer studies have examined this issue among older adults. The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between Internet use and depression among retired Americans age 50 years or older. Using data from the Health and Retirement Survey, the study estimates the relationship between Internet use and depression through combined use of regression and propensity score methodologies. All empirical methods indicate a positive contribution of Internet use to mental well-being of retired older adults (?50 years), reducing depression categorization by approximately 20–28%.     

The Janus face of Facebook: Positive and negative sides of social networking site use

There is an increasing awareness that social networking site (SNS) use includes a socio-psychologically positive and a negative side. However, research remains largely silent on which side dominates in driving SNS use. To address this gap and to better understand the nature of SNSs we examine the positive and negative drivers of SNS use in parallel. We draw on the uses and gratifications theory and place social enhancement and interpersonal connectivity as the socio-psychologically positive gratifications and exhibitionism and voyeurism as the adverse gratifications predicting SNS use. We further link these gratifications to two key psychological needs, namely self-presentation and the need to belong. We conceptualize our dependent variable, SNS use, as a multi-dimensional second-order construct that consists of content production, content consumption, amount of usage, and comprehensiveness of one's profile information. We use longitudinal data from Facebook users to test our research model. The results show that exhibitionism, voyeurism and interpersonal connectivity predict SNS use. Furthermore, the number of friends in the SNS decreases the effect of exhibitionism and increases the effect of social enhancement. Altogether, the role of exhibitionism and voyeurism in predicting SNS use underscores the need for increased awareness of the socio-psychologically dark side of SNSs.     

Age differences in perceptions of online community participation among non-users: An extension of the Technology Acceptance Model

This study examined age differences in perceptions of online communities held by people who were not yet participating in these relatively new social spaces. Using the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), we investigated the factors that affect future intention to participate in online communities. Our results supported the proposition that perceived usefulness positively affects behavioral intention, yet it was determined that perceived ease of use was not a significant predictor of perceived usefulness. The study also discovered negative relationships between age and Internet self-efficacy and the perceived quality of online community websites. However, the moderating role of age was not found. The findings suggest that the relationships among perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, and intention to participate in online communities do not change with age. Theoretical and practical implications and limitations were discussed.     

Learning to use new technologies by older adults: Perceived difficulties,experimentation behaviour and usability

This paper examines the factors and theoretical frameworks for the adoption of technology for older adults, and proposes two models of technology acceptance and rejection, one from an ease of learning perspective, and one from a system and user perspective. Both models are supported from reports on two case studies of older adults using handheld touchscreen tablet devices; one in which the participants are supported during tasks primarily related to walking and navigation, and one in which participants are unsupported in communication related tasks. The first study shows the powerful role that facilitating conditions have for learning how to use digital technologies for this user group, whether supporting through step by step guidance, providing a friendly space to use trial and error methods, and/or provision of a manual. The second study shows the pitfalls of a lack of facilitating conditions during initial use, and highlights potential for appropriate design in helping to avoid some user errors during this phase.     

A literature survey on older adults' use of social network services and social applications

With aging, adults which once worked and were active become isolated from the world because with retirement comes a whole range of problems which span from the physical to the social scope. One of the most concerning is social isolation, which can only be fought by satisfying social needs. In terms of technology, the challenges are in designing social technologies that encourage older people to actively engage with each other and with the people around them. This paper presents a survey reviewing research surrounding the emergent field of Social Network Services (SNSs), along with other meaningful social applications, and its use by the older segment of the population. A total of thirteen domains are identified related with how these services can be improved to consider older adults characteristics: from the most important related with the family role and privacy control, to issues related with the design of the user interface, the importance of multimodal interaction and adaptive solutions to compensate age-related declines, to several other focusing on the importance of groups, photos, cultural and health information. Main contributions to the field of SNS and older adults are given in a set of recommendations which result from discussions on each domain and which aim at the design of a more inclusive SNS solution.     

Computer use by older adults: A multi-disciplinary review

As the populations of most of the world’s developed nations experience an increase in average age, a similar trend is being observed in the population of computer and Internet users. In many cases, older adults are the fastest growing computer and Internet user group in both personal and workplace contexts. However, the needs and concerns of older adults as computer users differ from those of younger users as a result of the natural changes associated with the aging process. Much research has been conducted in a variety of fields in order to understand how these changes experienced by older adults impact their use of computers and the Internet. This article reviews this existing research and provides a holistic view of the field. Since the study of computer use by older adults is a multi-disciplinary topic by nature, we provide a synthesis of the findings across these many disciplines, and attempt to highlight any gaps that exist. We use Social Cognitive Theory as a lens to view and organize the literature, as well as illustrate means through which computer use by this user group can be encouraged. Finally, suggestions for future research are proposed, and implications for research and practice are discussed.     

Brand interactions and social media: Enhancing user loyalty through social networking sites

This paper aims to investigate how user loyalty can be achieved and maintained through social networking sites. More specifically, we intend to test the relationships between brands, user loyalty and social media. The research thus provides insights into user-brand relationships through social media and argues how loyal customers can be through social networking websites. Although there are considerable numbers of studies about loyalty; there exists very limited work studying user loyalty through social networking websites. This research presents clearly the reasons for engaging with brands online and examines user behaviors and loyalty. Research provided strong evidence that majority of the social network users follow brand fan pages via social media, even though they have different reasons to do so. The study also measures users’ behavioral and attitudinal loyalty behaviors. Their level of trust to the information they obtained about brands through social media is also established. The hypotheses tested show that brands and customer satisfaction are both positively related to users’ behavioral loyalty.     

Image and video disclosure of substance use on social media websites

The present study examines young adults’ use of social media websites, such as MySpace, Facebook, and YouTube, to post public images and videos of themselves depicting alcohol consumption, inebriated behavior, or recreational marijuana use. A content analysis revealed that the majority of image and video representations of alcohol consumption depicted females in social gatherings while images and videos depicting marijuana use depicted solitary males. Videos typically were viewed frequently and gained positive ratings. Among a sample of college students, one-third of participants reported having posted a picture depicting substance use on a social networking site, with 97% aware that others engage in this phenomenon. Students’ perceptions of alcohol-related postings were generally positive or seen as a matter of individual choice while marijuana-related postings were generally viewed more negatively.     

The impact of negative online social network content on expressed sentiment,executive function,and working memory

Given the paucity of research examining emotional states in social networking, the aim of this study was to examine the impact of negatively valanced social media network content on the amount of sentiment that participants included in their free-text responses, as well as on their executive functioning and working memory. Eighty participants aged between 18 and 67 (M = 29.39, SD = 11.21 years) completed baseline mood and cognitive measures (working memory and executive functioning) before exposure to three control posts and one negative emotional post. For each post, participants wrote a free-text response or indicated that they would not respond. Participants then completed the mood and cognitive measures a second time. After exposure to an emotionally negative post, participants' mood was lower and their executive functioning improved (as measured by reaction time and number of incorrectly identified target words). Participants' responses to an emotional post contained higher levels of sentiment compared to their responses to control posts. After controlling for demographic variables, participants' mood and trait empathy predicted the level of sentiment that they included in their responses to the emotional post. Mood, executive function, and trait empathy contributed to individuals’ online social network engagement for emotionally negative posts.     

Feminist HCI meets facebook: Performativity and social networking sites

In this paper, I reflect on a specific product of interaction design, social networking sites. The goals of this paper are twofold. One is to bring a feminist reflexivity, to HCI, drawing on the work of Judith Butler and her concepts of peformativity, citationality, and interpellation. Her approach is, I argue, highly relevant to issues of identity and self-representation on social networking sites; and to the co-constitution of the subject and technology. A critical, feminist HCI must ask how social media and other HCI institutions, practices, and discourses are part of the processes by which sociotechnical configurations are constructed. My second goal is to examine the implications of such an approach by applying it to social networking sites (SNSs) drawing the empirical research literature on SNSs, to show how SNS structures and policies help shape the subject and hide the contingency of subject categories.     

Online shopping drivers and barriers for older adults: Age and gender differences

The use of the Internet by older adults is growing at a substantial rate. They are becoming an increasingly important potential market for electronic commerce. However, previous researchers and practitioners have focused mainly on the youth market and paid less attention to issues related to the online behaviors of older consumers. To bridge the gap, the purpose of this study is to increase a better understanding of the drivers and barriers affecting older consumers’ intention to shop online. To this end, this study is developed by integrating the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) and innovation resistance theory. By comparing younger consumers with their older counterparts, in terms of gender the findings indicate that the major factors driving older adults toward online shopping are performance expectation and social influence which is the same with younger. On the other hand, the major barriers include value, risk, and tradition which is different from younger. Consequently, it is notable that older adults show no gender differences in regards to the drivers and barriers.     

Assessing flow experience in social networking site based brand communities

The sustenance of the Social Networking Site (SNS)-based brand communities relies on user retention and their active participation. Therefore, understanding the intrinsic aspects of user behavior in such communities is important for devising strategies to ensure user retention and active participation. Especially, information about the elements that induce flow experiences—the intrinsically enjoyable and immersive experiences—of users in SNS has become important for organizations that host online communities. In our empirical study, we chose to focus especially on SNS-based brand communities, as they are increasingly interesting from an organization-community interaction perspective, but they lack the instruments needed for measuring user experience. The present study addresses this gap by developing an instrument aimed at measuring the user’s flow experience on SNS-based brand communities. A cross-sectional survey with 577 Facebook brand community users was carried out. The findings show that enjoyment, concentration, and social interaction are the components that constitute a user’s flow experience. In addition to providing a valuable tool for business practitioners, the developed instrument offers several theoretical and practical implications for improving user experience of social media.     

Changes in adolescent online social networking behaviors from 2006 to 2009

As online social networking has become an immersive and pervasive phenomenon, traditional considerations and expectations of personal privacy have been drastically altered. This paradigmatic change has led to adolescents possibly making themselves vulnerable to embarrassment, censure, damage to one’s name or reputation, or even victimization by others because of unwise postings or revelations online. The current study sought to determine the extent to which adolescent information disclosure on MySpace.com has changed between 2006 and 2009. We found significant changes in the nature of personal content made publicly available across the two time points and a trend in which teens are being increasingly more selective and discrete when it comes to what they share and with whom they share it.     

Emotional disclosure on social networking sites: The role of network structure and psychological needs

We conducted three studies to understand how online emotional disclosure is influenced by social network structure on Facebook. Results showed that emotional disclosure was associated with both the density and size of users’ personal networks. Facebook users with denser networks disclosed more positive and negative emotions, and the relation between network density and emotional disclosure was mediated by stronger need for emotional expression. Facebook users with larger networks on Facebook disclosed more positive emotions, and the relation between network size and emotional disclosure was mediated by a stronger need for impression management. Our study extends past research by revealing the psychological mechanisms through which personal social network structure influences emotional disclosure. It suggests that social network size and density are associated with different psychological needs, which in turn lead to different patterns of emotional disclosure.     

Why men and women continue to use social networking sites: The role of gender differences

Organizations increasingly use social media and especially social networking sites (SNS) to support their marketing agenda, enhance collaboration, and develop new capabilities. However, the success of SNS initiatives is largely dependent on sustainable user participation. In this study, we argue that the continuance intentions of users may be gender-sensitive. To theorize and investigate gender differences in the determinants of continuance intentions, this study draws on the expectation-confirmation model, the uses and gratification theory, as well as the self-construal theory and its extensions. Our survey of 488 users shows that while both men and women are motivated by the ability to self-enhance, there are some gender differences. Specifically, while women are mainly driven by relational uses, such as maintaining close ties and getting access to social information on close and distant networks, men base their continuance intentions on their ability to gain information of a general nature. Our research makes several contributions to the discourse in strategic information systems literature concerning the use of social media by individuals and organizations. Theoretically, it expands the understanding of the phenomenon of continuance intentions and specifically the role of the gender differences in its determinants. On a practical level, it delivers insights for SNS providers and marketers into how satisfaction and continuance intentions of male and female SNS users can be differentially promoted. Furthermore, as organizations increasingly rely on corporate social networks to foster collaboration and innovation, our insights deliver initial recommendations on how organizational social media initiatives can be supported with regard to gender-based differences.     

Facebook use depending on age: The influence of social comparisons

Facebook use is analyzed depending on age and occurrence of social comparisons. The hypotheses state that age is negatively associated with Facebook use and that this association is mediated by social comparison orientation. Data collection was realized via the Internet. The online-questionnaire included information on Facebook use on the basis of a behavioral report (cf., McAndrew & Jeong, 2012), an inventory for measuring social comparison orientation by Gibbons and Buunk (1999), and demographic questions. Results are based on 335 participants. They confirm both the negative association between age and frequency of Facebook activities and the mediation of this association by comparison orientation. These results are interpreted on the basis of evolutionary theory. This study offers new insights on the mediating role of social comparisons in the relationship between age and Facebook use. In the discussion suggestions for further routes of research on the link between age, comparison orientation, and Facebook use are outlined.     

Understanding how big data leads to social networking vulnerability

Although the term “Big Data” is often used to refer to large datasets generated by science and engineering or business analytics efforts, increasingly it is used to refer to social networking websites and the enormous quantities of personal information, posts, and networking activities contained therein. The quantity and sensitive nature of this information constitutes both a fascinating means of inferring sociological parameters and a grave risk for security of privacy. The present study aimed to find evidence in the literature that malware has already adapted, to a significant degree, to this specific form of Big Data. Evidence of the potential for abuse of personal information was found: predictive models for personal traits of Facebook users are alarmingly effective with only a minimal depth of information, “Likes”, It is likely that more complex forms of information (e.g. posts, photos, connections, statuses) could lead to an unprecedented level of intrusiveness and familiarity with sensitive personal information. Support for the view that this potential for abuse of private information is being exploited was found in research describing the rapid adaptation of malware to social networking sites, for the purposes of social engineering and involuntary surrendering of personal information.     

All the news that’s fit to post: A profile of news use on social networking sites

Facebook and other social networking sites (SNSs)¹ are altering the way individuals communicate. These online environments allow users to keep up with friends, network with colleagues, and share their personal views and observations with others. Previous work describes typical social networking site users as young, extroverted, and technologically savvy. Little research exists, however, on the emerging role of news in the social network environment. With over 500 million global Facebook users, both print and television based media outlets are making concerted efforts to become part of this important and increasingly ubiquitous virtual world. The present study uses a sample of students, faculty, and staff from a large university to investigate the factors that are related to news use on Facebook. Findings indicate that while news use is still a minor component of overall social network site activity, certain key variables, such as gender and life satisfaction, have a significant impact on how Facebook is used for news-related purposes. Future implications for news in the social networking world are presented and discussed.     

An exploration of social networking site use,multitasking, and academic performance among United States and European university students

Studies have shown that multitasking with technology, specifically using Social Networking Sites (SNSs), decreases both efficiency and productivity in an academic setting. This study investigates multitasking’s impact on the relationship between SNS use and Grade Point Average (GPA) in United States (US; n = 451) and European (n = 406) university students using quantitative and qualitative data analysis. Moderated Multiple Regression analysis results showed that the negative relationship between SNS use and GPA was moderated by multitasking only in the US sample. This may be due to European students being less prone to “disruptive” multitasking. The results provide valuable cautionary information about the impact of multitasking and using SNSs in a learning environment on university students’ GPAs.