Abstract
Social networking sites (SNS) are used for social and professional interaction with people. SNS popularity has encouraged researchers to analyze the relationship of activities performed on SNS with user behavior. In doing so, the term “user behavior” is rather used ambiguously with different interpretations, which makes it difficult to identify studies on user behavior in relation to SNS. This phenomenon has encouraged this thorough research on the characteristics of user behavior being discussed in the literature. Therefore, in this study, we aim to identify, analyze, and classify the characteristics associated with user behavior to answer the research questions designed to conduct this research. A mapping study (also called scoping study), which is a type of systematic literature review, is employed to identify potential studies from digital databases through a developed protocol. Thematic analysis is carried out for the classification of user behavior. We identified 116 primary studies for full analysis. This study found seven characteristics associated with behavior that have direct influence on SNS use and nine factors that have an indirect effect. All studies were conducted largely under seven areas that set the context of these studies. Findings show that the research on SNS is still in its early stage. The range of topics covered in the analyzed studies is quite expansive, although the depth in terms of number of studies under each topic is quite limited. This study reports that activities performed on SNS are either associated with user behavior or reflect personality characteristics. The findings of this study could be used by practitioners to evaluate their SNS platforms and develop more user-centered applications. These studies can also help organizations to understand better the needs of their employees.
Highlights
Social networking sites (SNS) are virtual communities that allow people to interact and connect with each other by making profiles and sharing and uploading of photos and statuses [1, 2]
This research has employed a mapping study, which is a type of systematic review
To answer the overarching research questions posed early in the paper, we identified features that are related to user behavior from 116 studies summarized in Tables 9 and 10
Summary
Social networking sites (SNS) are virtual communities that allow people to interact and connect with each other by making profiles and sharing and uploading of photos and statuses [1, 2]. The use of SNS is a mere trend, but has become part of every person’s life [3]. MySpace, Google Plus, and Flicker [6, 7]. This trend has lead researchers to conduct studies on SNS and its relation to user behavior. Some studies have focused on the motivational factors of users to use SNS Their identified factors include social consciousness, acquiring social presence [8], avoiding loneliness [2], leisure and entertainment [9, 10], acquiring the feeling of connectedness [9, 11, 12], extending ones social circle [13], and to voice ones opinion [14, 15]
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