Factors Contributing to the Use of Social Networking Sites - Essay Example

A Study on the Factors Contributing to the Use of Social Networking Sites Introduction The word social network was first introduced by JA Barnes in his 1954 standard, class and committees in a Norwegian Island Parish. Usually it indicates that the map of the relationship between individuals denoting the way in which they are connected to build up relationship with various social communities. In the field of organizational behavior and human resource management, management thinkers conducted several researches to understand social network. So they acquired better knowledge and techniques from sociology and anthropology like they focused in to the Maslow on the shape of groups and human resource behavior and the attitude in the organizational settings. The social networking websites are online based or web based services which link various individuals from across the global and it allows them to create their own profile, blog, articulate and helps to communicate with different people across the world. Hence the study identifies seven important factors which influences to the motives behind the use of social networking sites. And also it takes into consideration the frequency of use and the influence of the social network site use to the user. According to Boyd and Ellison (2007) the social network system or the service can be defined as it is web-based services which allows the individuals to following consideration, Construct semipublic or the public outline with in a bonded system. Communicating with the other group users each other. Within the system viewing the profile or detail given by the other r people. Social network sites are also called social networking sites' to emphasize relationship initiation, often among strangers. The social networking websites have evolved as a combination of personalized media experience, within social context of participation. The practices that differentiate social networking sites from other types of computer-mediated communication are uses of profiles, friends and comments or testimonials-profiles are publicly viewed, friends are publicly articulated, and comments are publicly visible (Boyd, 2007). Literature Review Research has revealed five types of motives associated with the use of the Internet, such as interpersonal utility, pastime, information seeking, convenience and entertainment (Papacharissi and Rubin, 2000). Some or all of these motives may overlap with the motives behind the use of social networking websites; however, they may not be complete. The motives behind the use of social networking by teenagers in the US were examined through a qualitative research (Boyd, 2007). The motives explored were entertainment, building self-image among peers and use of technologies. The social implications of the public display of one's social network were explored by Donath and Boyd (2004), which indirectly revealed the motives of the individuals using social networking websites; e.g., if they have a profile with many qualifications, they tend to reveal their true identity and want to project a friendly personality. However, Boyd and Ellison (2007), the pioneers in the area, have clearly indicated that there is a limited understanding of who the users of social network sites are, and why and for what purpose a social network site is used outside the US. This research is conducted to fill this literature gap. Research Aims The objective of this research is to explore the various factors that which drive the use of social networking sites in The U K. The other objective is to identify the predictors of use and influence of social networking sites. Methodology A questionnaire was developed on the basis of the literature review and initial investigation. In the initial investigation, an e-mail was sent to a known group of users, requesting them to send a write-up on what they expect from a social networking site and why they are using it. This was followed with an analysis of the different features provided by popular social networking sites. The Questionnaire included 28 items, indicating the reasons for the use of social networking sites, which were framed based on the existing features of the social networking sites, the items of the scale developed for Internet use and content analysis of the responses received during initial investigation. The respondents were asked to mark their responses on a 5-point Likert scale (5 = Strongly Agree, 1 = Strongly Disagree). The other questions asked were regarding the frequency of use and the influence of social networking sites on their lives. It was administered to 152 respondents based on judgment and convenience through e-mail and direct contact. The respondents were in the age group of 15-35 years and, used atleast one social networking site. The sample breakdown was: 68 percent male (n = 103) and 32 percent female (n = 49); 69 percent science educational background (n = 105) and 31 percent non-science educational background (n = 47); 51 percent in the age group of 19-23 years (n = 79) and 49 percent in the age group of 24-35 years (n = 73). The method of Principal Components Analysis (PCA) with varimax rotation of factor analysis was carried out to extract and interpret the factors. The step-wise regression analysis was carried out to identify the predictors of frequency of use and influence, using the factor scores computed earlier. The model proposed was as follows: Motivating factors = Combinations of reasons behind use of social networking sites Frequency of use = Function of motivating factors Influence = Function of motivating factors Analysis and Discussion The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) measure of the sampling adequacy was 0.8 and the Barlett's Test of sphericity was significant justifying the use of PCA. The factor analysis of the motive statements yielded seven interpretable factors: self-reflection and image-building, utility, information-gathering and problem-solving, networking, simply-spending time, revisiting-memories, and peer influence. The analysis accounted for 62.67 percent of the variance. The first factor accounts for 12.25 percent of variance, followed by the second factor accounting for 11.64 percent of variance. The variables in each factor have an internal consistency > = 0.6, as shown in Table 1. Table No. 1 Factors behind the use of Social Networking Sl. No Name of the factor Variables Variance Explained Cronbatch's Alpha (Measure of Internal Consistency) 1 Self-reflection and image building Write good about oneself. Make a public presence. Project good things about oneself Enjoy building profiles. Use it to project a friendly personality. Influence others 12.25 0.85 2 Utility Communicate with friends and family. Chat with friends Upload photographs It is entertaining Watch and share videos Recall birthdays 11.64 0.78 3 Information gathering and problem solving Look for information Get information for free Helpful in my life Solve problems 9.53 0.76 4 Networking Participate in discussions Give my input Meet lie minded people Form and maintain communities Know what other people have got to say 9.52 0.77 5 Spending leisure time Pas time I just like to use it Occupy y time 6.73 0.66 6 Revisiting memories Search old friends Relish memories 6.52 0.60 7 Peer influence My friends want me to use it My friends are using it 6.48 0.68 Self-reflection and image-building factor is an expression of oneself on the social networking site. A person is concerned about one's image, and with an objective to socialize, tries to build an impressive profile which may attract other persons. The image of the person is typically reflected in the way the contents of the profile are built. Utility is a factor representing the typical use of features and functionality of the social networking sites. This motive is just to make the best use of social networking sites in terms of features. Information-gathering and problem-solving motive represents the hunt for right information from right people, which is generally useful in their work, for example, students look for help in specific communities regarding their assignments. Networking motive is the core objective of social networking sites. This is the most fundamental functionality of social networking sites. Social networking sites provide a platform for meeting new people, creating communities, sharing common interest, etc. Spending leisure time is a motive, where the person uses the social networking sites to occupy one's leisure time as s/he finds fun in using different applications and scraping. Revisiting-memories is an interesting motive wherein the person tries to search for old friends, whom the person might have lost touch with because of various reasons. The persons who are going places perhaps lose touch with their best friends and there can be cases, where the persons do not know the whereabouts or any information about their friends. In such cases, they try to search for their old friends on the social networking site, hoping to meet them if their friends have a profile. Peer influence is not exactly a self-instigated motive. In general, friends or peers would invite a person to register on social networking site and view their profiles. As a result, a person starts using it to fulfill the protocol of communication among peers or friends. The factor scores were computed and the factors were used as independent variables. The frequency of usage, influence of social networking sites in social life, professional life and overall are treated as dependent variables. Four individual multiple linear step-wise regressions were carried out to find out the significant determinants. The predictors of frequency of usage of social networking sites in the decreasing order are utility, networking, spending leisure time and revisiting memories. Before the advent of social networking sites, there were many online communities; however, networking did not become very popular. There was a need to embed online communities in a larger shell, which provided a broader perspective, more features other than communication. Thus, the frequency of use has increased because of the utility that is the features associated with the social networking sites, which has a higher impact than networking on the frequency of use. Information use and problem solving did not appear to be significant in explaining the frequency of use, as social networking sites have become a source of entertainment with more enhanced features rather than just an online community, where opinions and information are shared. The predictors of influence of social networking sites in lives of users in The U K in general, are self-reflection and image-building' and networking'. This can be explained by the argument that there are persons who find it difficult to socialize and project their true selves in person and social networking site has proven to be a solution for their problems. However, revisiting memories has been an important predictor of influence of social networking sites in social life, whereas information use and problem solving' and utility' have been an important predictor of influence in professional life. Revisiting memories, as discussed earlier, has been an interesting motive and has been instrumental in bringing together old friends, typically childhood friends, with whom people have lost touch because of numerous reasons. Hence, revisiting memories as a predictor of influence of social networking sites in social life is justified. Information use and problem-solving' and utility' are motives to enhance professional relationship and knowledge, and so they being the determinants of influence in professional lives are justified. The results of regression are shown in Table 2. Table No. 2 Factors affecting the frequency of usage and influence of Social Networking sites Dependent Variable R1 Model (Significant Variable other than Constant) Beta Coefficient Frequency of usage 0.175 Utility Networking Simply spending time Revisiting memories 0.288 0.190 0.187 0.152 Influence of social networking sites in social life 0.162 Self-reflection and Image building Networking Revisiting memories 0.273 0.260 0.176 Influence of social networking sites in personal life 0.328 Information gathering and problem solving Networking Self-reflection and Image building Utility 0.486 0.446 0.275 0.178 Influence of social networking sites overall 0.264 Self-reflection and Image building Information gathering and problem solving Revisiting memories Networking 0.359 0.283 0.196 0.160 Conclusion This is the first empirical study on the use of social networking sites in the U K. This study, being a pioneering one, faces the limitation of literature. However, this study provides a general structure of motives behind the use of social networking sites. The following aspects in social networking sites can be considered for future studies: Influence of social networking sites on individual behavior; User satisfaction of social networking services; Relationship study of user demographics and social networking sites; and Business perspective of social networking sites. References Boyd Danah and Ellison Nicole (2007), Social Network Sites: Definition, Histoy and Scholarship, Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, Vol. 13, No. 1. Boyd Danah (2007), Why Youth (Heart), Social Network Sites: The Role of Networked Publics in Teenage Social Life, MacArthur Foundation Series on Digital Learning-Youth, Identity and Digital Media Volume, David Buckingham (Ed.), MIT Press, Cambridge, MA. Madhavan N (2007), India Gets More Net Cool, Hindustan Times, July 6, accessed on 13th August, 2009, from Papacharissi Zizi and Rubin M Alan (2000), Predictors of Internet Use, Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, Vol. 44, No. 2, pp. l75-196 Donath J and D Boyd (2004), Public Displays of Connection, BT Technology Journal, Vol. 22, No. 4 Read More