Abstract
Millions of people worldwide visit social network sites (SNSs) daily, such as Facebook, Twitter, and Snapchat. We examined a model based on the privacy calculus theory to better understand and determine what motivates users to disclose personal information on SNSs in Saudi Arabia. A total of 550 respondents participated in an online survey. The analysis results indicate that Saudi SNS users are primarily motivated by the convenience of maintaining and developing new relationships, self-presentation, and platform enjoyment. The results also indicate that privacy risks are a critical barrier to information disclosure. However, users become less concerned about privacy risks—and are thus more likely to disclose personal information—if they trust other SNS members and the service provider. Trust in the service provider increases if privacy control options are provided. In addition, the results show that gender influences the motivations to self-disclose personal information. Based on the analysis results, recommendations for service providers are provided.
Highlights
In the past few years, the use of Web 2.0 technology, social media platforms, has grown tremendously and has changed the ways in which people interact and communicate
We investigated factors that motivate individuals to self-disclose on Social networking sites (SNSs) in the context of Saudi Arabia
The analysis demonstrated that convenience of maintaining relationships followed by building new relationships and enjoyment were the most influential benefits of self-disclosure on SNS in Saudi Arabia
Summary
In the past few years, the use of Web 2.0 technology, social media platforms, has grown tremendously and has changed the ways in which people interact and communicate. Social networking sites (SNSs) are a subset of social media platforms that allow users to create profiles that include personal information. Studies show that 94% of Internet users have at least one social media account and that 98% of those users visited or used a social network in June 2017 (GlobalWebIndex, 2017). Social media penetration is high in Saudi Arabia. Print press, online press, and game consoles, social networking had the most heavy users, and only a low percentage were classified as non-users (GlobalWebIndex, 2017)
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