Abstract
The role of factors of individual differences in user activity in the Russian social network VKontakte is analyzed. At the moment, in Russian psychology, there are several directions for the study of user activity in social networks. However, none of them has considered user sex and age differences. There are also limitations due to the predominance of subjective indicators in assessing user activity. The aim of this work is to study sex and age differences through the analysis of objective data on the profiles of social network users. The paper also provides an overview of modern Russian studies on sex and age differences in user activity. Using a comparative analysis of groups and analysis of the structure of relationships between indicators of user activity, the 9699 profiles of users of the social network VKontakte at the ages from 18 to 55 were examined. As a result, multiple individual differences were found in relation to the sex and age of the users. Additionally, the structure of user activity was obtained, consisting of two components: Self-presentation and Utilitarianism. These components characterize the personal orientation in the use of the social network. Sex and age play a significant role as factors of individual differences. The most important thing has turned out to be that men are more focused on expanding the circle of acquaintances, which is an attribute of status. Women, on the contrary, are generally characterized by greater activity in the social network, a greater desire to present themselves and a greater focus on other people. Young people - aged 18-25 years - are less active users, they often use the social network as a source of video content. Users belonging to the older age groups differ slightly from one another.
Highlights
The paper provides an overview of modern Russian studies on sex and age differences in user activity
Multiple individual differences were found in relation to the sex and age of the users
Sex and age play a significant role as factors of individual differences
Summary
Половые и возрастные различия личностной направленности пользовательской активности в социальной сети «ВКонтакте»1. Исследуются роли факторов индивидуальных различий пользовательской активности в социальной сети «ВКонтакте». Проанализированы 9699 профилей пользователей социальной сети «ВКонтакте» в возрасте от 18 до 55 лет с помощью сравнительного анализа групп и анализа структуры взаимосвязей показателей пользовательской активности. Для психологов наиболее интересным на сегодняшний день остается исследование различных поведенческих коррелятов так называемых цифровых следов – объективных показателей пользовательской активности в социальных сетях, выражаемых в частоте и охвате использования возможностей ресурсов социальной сети, обновлении собственной информации, характере публикуемых фотографий, обратной связи в виде количества лайков и др. При рассмотрении и интерпретации факторов индивидуальных различий современные исследователи придерживаются тенденции рассматривать социальные сети как часть повседневности, где профили социальных сетей в большинстве своем отражают реальное Я пользователей (Back et al, 2010; Gosling et al, 2011; Белинская, 2013; Пилишвили, 2015)
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have