POST-ADOPTION OF SOCIAL NETWORK SITES: A LITERATURE REVIEW AND A PROCESS FRAMEWORK

This article provides a comprehensive literature review about the post-adoption stage of social network sites (SNS) usage with the special focus on habitual use and terminating stages. The extant research has examined this topic mainly from two perspectives: namely, intentional and habitual. Findings from each of these two perspectives are synthesized and used to build a process model to better understand how different intentions and behaviors of users manifest in different stages of SNS post-adoption phase. The process model suggests that disturbances such as technical glitches and privacy leaks trigger users’ awareness of the ‘dark sides’ of habitual SNS use. In addition, the awareness of negative impacts of addictive use, which are perceived as threats, motivates people to switch from or quit SNS. This paper contributes to SNS research by synthesizing fragmented theoretical explanations and providing a visual tool that helps researchers to develop a deeper understanding of the dynamics in the SNS post-adoption phase. Practitioners will gain insights into how to retain existing users and better manage processes related to users who wish to quit

Cracking Facebook

This book presents a Facebook study on members of the Cusp Generation, or those born before the “great digital divide” of 1995. This delineation allows for a discussion on the possible socio-cultural implications of Facebook use for people of all ages. Members of the Cusp Generation are in a unique position as “part digital natives” to easily acquire and use new media technologies, while being more critically aware of the personal, social, and cultural effects that may arise from them thanks to having some memory of the pre-digital era. Readership: Educational Researchers and their student

Cracking Facebook

This book presents a Facebook study on members of the Cusp Generation, or those born before the “great digital divide” of 1995. This delineation allows for a discussion on the possible socio-cultural implications of Facebook use for people of all ages. Members of the Cusp Generation are in a unique position as “part digital natives” to easily acquire and use new media technologies, while being more critically aware of the personal, social, and cultural effects that may arise from them thanks to having some memory of the pre-digital era. Drawing on identity theories rooted in critical theory and cultural studies, the author shows that there are potential constrictions on people’s agency in their Facebook use caused by consumer discourse, Facebook’s hyperreal nature and structure, psychological predispositions, and the potential for avatar attachment. In raising concerns over the impacts of technology-based communication, this book explores how the medium of Facebook extends and exacerbates processes of offline social reproduction and discusses how the positive social and political aspects of Facebook can be enhanced

The role of social networking sites in career management skills

The influential work of Rainie and Wellman (2012) posits that use of social networking sites as tools to harness resources of social relations are transformational in context of equality of opportunity in career attainment. This conceptualisation is rooted within social capital theory, whereby personal connections are viewed as potential resources (Lin, 1999) with important benefits for accessing new opportunities and knowledge (Granovetter, 1973, Burt, 1995). Social networking sites offer opportunities for people to network and expand their social capital networks (Rainie and Wellman, 2012), an important career management skill (SDS, 2012). Whilst many consider social networking site usage to be ubiquitous, skill levels required to use the internet productively are unevenly distributed amongst the online population, and closely reflect traditional forms of social and economic inequality (Hargittai, 2008a). This study investigates utility of SNS as a career management tool as envisaged by Rainie and Wellman (2012), whilst accounting for the second-level digital divide. Enquiry incorporates examination of the relationship between SNS use and career-related outcomes across these key themes. Secondary survey data are utilised exploring the general population, with primary data gathered on mothers of small child, students in further education, and people who have recently been made redundant. These groupings represent people at different career stages, with differing age profiles and different relationships with social media and the internet more generally. Findings show no consistent benefit to career outcomes associated with SNS use, suggesting that potential benefits are not realised. Although analyses related to the second-level digital divide hint at existence of systematic online inequality, precise identification is not achieved. There is no compelling evidence found that people’s social networking site usage is associated with career-based outcomes

Involvement of Gen Y in online social networking media : role in developing attitude towards brands

Attitude is often seen as a precursor of behaviour, including of consumer behaviour regarding brands. Understanding the underlying elements of attitude is crucial for anyone who wants to learn about behaviour or induce desired behaviours. Though, so far, extensive research has been carried out on attitudes and brands, no research has focused on Gen Y’s attitude formation towards brands, particularly in relation to Gen Y’s involvement in online social networking media. In view of this gap in the literature, this research addressed the following research problem: How does Gen Y’s involvement in online social networking media facilitate the development of their attitudes towards brands through their online friends? By analysing relevant current literature, a framework was developed to investigate the effects of involvement in online social networking media, electronic word of mouth and subjective norms on the formation of attitudes towards brands. Informational influence, trust and tie strength were introduced as mediating variables between involvement in online social networking media and electronic word of mouth. Results indicate that there is a positive influence of Gen Y’s involvement in online social networking media on the electronic word of mouth they receive. It was also found that informational influence is a catalyst (partial mediator) between involvement in online social networking media and word of mouth that Gen Y receive from their online social network friends. Electronic word of mouth has a positive effect on subjective norms and attitudes towards brands. Subjective norms also have a positive effect on attitudes towards brands. Although both male and female Gen Y groups share similar beliefs, female attitudes towards brands are more likely to be affected by the electronic word of mouth they receive than are male attitudes towards brands. On the contrary, males are more affected by the subjective norms to develop attitudes towards brands than are females. Results also indicate that there are intra-generational differences on developing attitudes towards brands: the older group of Gen Y is more affected by electronic word of mouth and subjective norms than the younger group of Gen Y

Risks and motivation in the use of social network sites: an empirical study of university students

DISSERTATION SUBMITTED IN FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF COMMERCE IN INFORMATION SYSTEMS TO THE FACULTY OF COMMERCE, LAW AND MANAGEMENT UNIVERSITY OF THE WITWATERSRAND, JOHANNESBURG FEBRUARY 2015Social Network Sites (SNS) such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Piniterest and Google+ have made it easy for youth to communicate, produce and share information. Using SNS has become a daily activity for many youth and young adults around the world, including South Africa. The use of SNS by youth may be motivated by needs for safety, belonging, self-esteem and self-actualization, and others such as enjoyment. Yet, the use of SNS by youth may also carry a number of risks. They include risks to violations of privacy, social and psychological risks that may harm the user’s self-image, as well as time and financial risks resulting from excessive SNS usage. The purpose of this study is to understand the tension between risks and motivation in the use of SNS by university students. To do so, this study developed an extended Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). Multi-dimensional risk and motivation constructs were examined for their interactions with TAM constructs of perceived ease of use and perceive usefulness and their effects on SNS usage intentions and actual usage were examined. To test the model, a non-probability convenience sampling method was adopted using students from the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. Five hundred and fifteen students participated in the study. The ages ranged between 18 and 34 years, 26% males and 74% females took part in the study, and included students from 1st year through to 4th year undergraduate or Honours level. Facebook was found to be the most used SNS. Approximately 80% of respondents reported accessing SNS on their mobile phones and 66% reported being always connected. More than 25% of respondents were actively using SNS for more than 3 hours a day, with 35% using less than one hour per day. Interestingly, only 35% reported having public profiles although 10% did not know whether their profiles were public or private, and nearly 40% of respondents knew less than half the “friends” they were connected to on SNS Partial least squares approach to structured equation modelling was used to test the hypothesised research model. Results showed that motivation influences perceived usefulness (β=0.239, p<0.001) and perceived ease of use (β=0.319, p<0.001) positively. The results suggest that when motivations such as enjoyment and need to belong are high, SNS will be perceived as useful and easy to use. Risk was found to have a negative influence on perceived usefulness (β=-0.0764, p<0.05) and perceived ease of use (β=-0.3265, p<0.001). The results show that when risks are considered high, users are likely to increase their vigilance and consequently will report SNS as less easy to use. Moreover, as a result of risk users may find the SNS less useful. Perceived usefulness (β=0.295, p<0.001) influences intention to use SNS positively. This suggests that when SNS is useful to users, they will have intentions to use it. Intention to use SNS is also influenced by perceived ease of use (β=0.0396, p<0.01). An easy to use SNS will make users want to use it, as opposed to one considered more complex and requiring more effort. Motivation (β=0.281, p<0.001) was found to have more of an effect than risk (β=-0.071, p<0.05) on intentions to use. Respondents thus appear to recognize some risks associated with SNS use, but they appear to be driven more by motivations and less by risk avoidance when deciding on SNS usage. The study will have implications for researchers, SNS providers and users. The results of the study have implications for how researchers conceptualize risk and motivation. The study shows how different dimensions of risk and dimensions of motivation affect the overall risk and overall motivation construct respectively. Currently SNS providers may not have deep understanding of the risks which hinder the use of SNS and motivations which drive the use of SNS. Providers will be better informed to design SNS that are less risky and where possible mitigate the risks. Results also show that SNS providers should not only mitigate risks but also provide online social networks that better fulfil motivational needs of youth. Users will be aware of different risks they are exposing themselves to by using SNS. Since users will be aware of the different types of risks, they can be vigilante when using SNS.MT201

Navigating the Social Landscape: An Exploration of Social Networking Site Usage among Emerging Adults

This study explores how emerging adults (Arnett, 2000) in their first- and second-year of undergraduate study make use of social networking sites (SNSs) for their day-to-day sociality. This study compares emerging adults’ use of Facebook, which is the most popular and widely used SNS among this particular demographic, to increasingly popular SNSs Twitter and Instagram. This project seeks to discover how the use of different SNSs supplements, changes, or replaces the use of Facebook, considering social capital exists on each platform, and if and how each sites’ uses and gratifications differ. This study employs face-to-face semi-structured interviews to pursue the proposed research questions, using a grounded theory approach informed by social capital and uses and gratifications theory

Taiwanese girls’ self-portraiture on a social networking site

An increasing number of young girls produce contents in social media on a everyday basis for the opportunities to express, explore and connect. Public misunderstanding and concern are about whether girls are being narcissistic and vain. Academic works address how girls exercise agency while negotiating structure in the construction of their gendered adolescent identities. This thesis is situated in relation to our hopes and fears about girls’ self-representation through digital media production, and examines the role that photographic self-portraiture plays in girls’ social relations, personal and gender identity work. The theoretical framework combines the perspectives of gender performativity and symbolic interactionism, supplemented by analyses of personal photography. This thesis chose as its case study the popular Taiwanese social networking site Wretch, and employed a mixed method of quantitative content analysis of 2000 self-portraits of teenagers to understand how they represent themselves, and qualitative online interviews with 42 girls aged 13-20 to learn about their relationships with self-portraiture. The content analysis shows that most teenagers represent themselves in a gender stereotypical manner, while some adopt non gender-specific styles to represent themselves as friendly, suggesting that teenagers may use ideals about femininity, masculinity and sociality as shortcuts to present themselves in a positive light. Interview findings reveal how girls use camera technologies and the affordance of SNS for visual self-disclosure, which isimportant for the development of theirinterpersonal relationships. The findings also suggest that self-portraiture is not simply an act of photographing a ‘reality’ of the self, but of formulating self-image(s) and identity in the process of making self-portraits. In self-portraiture, girls are constantly confronted with the ‘who am I’ question, and construct and revise their biographies as they manage an array of audiences from different contexts all collapsing in one space. Furthermore, selfportraiture creates a distance between the ‘I’ and the ‘me’, allowing one to ‘play’ with self-image(s) and identity. It creates a space for the negotiation of ideals and anxieties, for experiments with different subject positions that may be socially or individually rewarding, and it is through these seemingly casual endeavoursthat one gradually works out their position in the social world. The thesis contributes to the scholarship on girls’ media culture, and suggests current theoretical perspective be expanded in order to better understand different ways of ‘doing girlhood’

Youth and Digital Media: From Credibility to Information Quality

Building upon a process-and context-oriented information quality framework, this paper seeks to map and explore what we know about the ways in which young users of age 18 and under search for information online, how they evaluate information, and how their related practices of content creation, levels of new literacies, general digital media usage, and social patterns affect these activities. A review of selected literature at the intersection of digital media, youth, and information quality -- primarily works from library and information science, sociology, education, and selected ethnographic studies -- reveals patterns in youth's information-seeking behavior, but also highlights the importance of contextual and demographic factors both for search and evaluation. Looking at the phenomenon from an information-learning and educational perspective, the literature shows that youth develop competencies for personal goals that sometimes do not transfer to school, and are sometimes not appropriate for school. Thus far, educational initiatives to educate youth about search, evaluation, or creation have depended greatly on the local circumstances for their success or failure