Motives for Using Social Network Sites (SNSs) – An Analysis of SNS Adoption Among Students

Social Network Sites (SNSs) are widely used and have been object of research for some years. Existing studies have investigated single Social Networking (SN) phenomena or the usage of particular SNSs. However, only little research has been conducted on the motives for using SNSs. The paper at hand will present a survey for gaining insight into the motives of SNS usage and potential contextual factors that might shape these moti-ves. The study was conducted in two steps: 1) Generation of hypotheses by guided interviews; 2) Test of hypotheses by two online surveys. Drawing on the results as well as the current body of research, the authors will identify different motives for the usage and none-usage of SNSs and determine potential contextual factors

How motivations of SNSs use and offline social trust affect college students' self-disclosure on SNSs: An investigation in China

Social Networking Sites (SNSs) have been proliferating and growing in popularity worldwide throughout the past few years, which have received significant interest from researchers. Previous literatures on Internet suggest that offline social trust influences online perceptions and behaviors, and there is linkage between trust and self-disclosure in face-to-face context. Adopting the Uses and Gratifications perspective as the theoretical foundation, this exploratory study aimed to address the roles that motivations of SNSs use and offline social trust play in predicting levels of self-disclosure on SNSs. Taking 640 snowballing sampling on Renren.com, the study found that there was an instrumental orientation of SNSs use among China's college students. Social interaction, self-image building and information seeking were three major motivations when college students use SNSs. As expected, the results also indicated that motivations of SNS use and offline social trust play a more important role in predicting self-disclosure on SNSs than demographics. This exploratory study gives an empirical insight in the influence of motivations of SNSs use and offline social trust on self-disclosure online. --Social Networking Sites,Motivations,Self-disclosure,Offline Social Trust

Internet Social Networking

An overview of the literature on Internetsocial networking (ISN) is presented.The authors identify four dominantstreams of research and reviewthe key contributions to the field. Thereview reveals that the research fieldis fragmented and does not yet facilitatea general understanding of thephenomenon. In particular research isvery much skewed towards certain usergroups (e.g., students) and platforms(in particular Facebook). Further, implicationsfor a corporate context arediscussed. In doing so, three contextsof application are differentiated: Socialnetwork sites (SNSs) for 1) recruitingand professional career development,2) relationship facilitation in distributedwork contexts, and 3) interactions withend customers. The authors discussSNS potentials, implications of existingISN research and future research opportunities.In summary, they seek tocontribute to a better understandingof the phenomenon of ISN and to makingavailable the current state of ISN researchfor the wider Enterprise 2.0 community

Turbulence, Turmoil, and Termination: The Dark Side of Social Networking Sites for Romantic Relationships

Excerpt: Social networking websites (SNSs) have become an integral medium for communicating within and about interpersonal relationships (boyd & Ellison, 2008; Stafford & Hillyer, 2012). SNSs have been lauded for their ability to unite distal friends, maintain relational ties, facilitate relationship development, and promote social capital (e.g., Ellison, Vitak, Gray, & Lampe, 2014; Fox, Warber, & Makstaller, 2013; McEwan, 2013). Although considerable research has elected to focus on the benefits of using SNSs, it is also important to examine the dark side of computer-mediated communication (DeAndrea, Tong, & Walther, 2011). For example, SNS use has been tied to decreases in psychological well-being (Chen & Lee, 2013), and scholars have noted negative psychological outcomes when users experience rejection on SNSs (e.g., Bevan, Ang, & Fearns, 2014; Tokunaga, 2011a, 2014)

Why Do People Stick with a Specific Social Networking Site? An Integrated Relationship and Uses Gratification Perspective

Since their inception, social networking sites (SNSs) have experienced exponential growth. While substantial research has been dedicated to users’ initial adoption of SNSs, the fall of MySpace reminds us that the long-term success of SNSs depends on users’ post adoption staying power. Inspired by this, this work-in-progress investigates users’ “stickiness” with a specific SNS. Based on Li et al. (2006)’s Commitment-Trust Model of Website Stickiness (CTM), this paper focuses on the relationships between SNSs and users. To refine CTM in the new context, we further borrow the Uses and Gratifications Theory from the Communication field to propose an integrated model

Corporate Social Networking Sites – Modes of Use and Appropriation through Co-Evolution

In this paper we investigate the phenomenon of online social networking within organisations. While Internet Social Networking (ISN) as a public phenomenon has drawn considerable interest from the academic community, little knowledge exists about the potentials and modes of use of social networking sites (SNS) that emerge within organisations. We draw on three cases of SNS implementation and use in large, knowledge-intensive organisations. A cross-case analysis reveals a set of three modes of use of corporate SNS, which we discuss in light of existing literature on SNS use in the public sphere. More importantly, we reason on the open and flexible nature of these technologies and discuss implications for organisational implementation. Striking differences in the frequency of use and perceived role of SNS across the cases lead us to reason about the importance and ways of embedding open technologies with existing ICT-enabled work practices in the organisation by way of co- evolution of systems and their use

THE URGE TO CHECK SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES: ANTECEDENTS AND CONSEQUENCES

Social networking sites (SNSs), combined with the rapid growth trajectory of mobile devices, and widespread deployment of mobile data services, have evolved as a primary platform for daily social interaction. While the majority of users enjoy frequent interactions with their friends and family members, some users suffer from incessant urges to check up on the lives of others on their social networks. In the last decade, the use of SNSs has received much attention in the IS literature. Not until recently, researchers have begun to examine the dark side of using SNSs. In this study, we attempt to advance existing literature by exploring the role of urges in the context of SNSs. Particularly, we propose a research model that examines the antecedents and consequences of the urge to check SNSs. We will test the model with SNS users using structural equation modeling. We believe that current work will enrich the existing literature on the dark side of SNS use, and raise the awareness in the community regarding this emerging phenomenon

The impact of Facebook use on micro-level social capital: a synthesis

The relationship between Facebook use and micro-level social capital has received substantial scholarly attention over the past decade. This attention has resulted in a large body of empirical work that gives insight into the nature of Facebook as a social networking site and how it influences the social benefits that people gather from having social relationships. Although the extant research provides a solid basis for future research into this area, a number of issues remain underexplored. The aim of the current article is twofold. First, it seeks to synthesize what is already known about the relationship between Facebook use and micro-level social capital. Second, it seeks to advance future research by identifying and analyzing relevant theoretical, analytical and methodological issues. To address the first research aim, we first present an overview and analysis of current research findings on Facebook use and social capital, in which we focus on what we know about (1) the relationship between Facebook use in general and the different subtypes of social capital; (2) the relationships between different types of Facebook interactions and social capital; and (3) the impact of self-esteem on the relationship between Facebook use and social capital. Based on this analysis, we subsequently identify three theoretical issues, two analytical issues and four methodological issues in the extant body of research, and discuss the implications of these issues for Facebook and social capital researchers

An Empirical Examination of Continuance Intention of Social Network Sites

Social network sites (SNSs) have drawn extensive attention among scholars and practitioners. In this study, we aim at explaining the continuance of SNSs. Specifically, we propose and empirically test a research model of continuance intention to use SNSs. We also examine the relative impacts of SNS-specific motivation factors and social factors derived from the SNS environment on continuance intention to use SNSs. Building upon expectation disconfirmation theory (EDT), our research model was empirically tested with 204 Facebook users through an online survey. While prior studies focus mostly on the SNS-specific motivations, our results demonstrated that social factors derived from the SNS environment play a dominant role in explaining the continuance intention to use SNSs. In particular, this study suggested that perceived critical mass, social presence, and social norms are influential and major factors that determine continuance intention. We believe that this study provides significant contributions to both researchers and practitioners in the context of SNSs