The determinants of continuous use of social networking sites: An empirical study on Taiwanese journal-type bloggers’ continuous self-disclosure behavior

Abstract

The popularity and growth of social networking sites (SNSs) have resulted in fierce competition among SNS providers. A critical concern of SNSs is to identify how to have users continuously use a specific SNS. This study examines the determinants of journal-type bloggers’ continuous self-disclosure. An analysis of 283 samples with continuous self-disclosure experiences in journal-type blogs shows that personal factors, specifically the habit of self-disclosure, are the major factors affecting bloggers’ continuous self-disclosure, followed by self-benefits. In contrast, social factors, such as positive audience feedback and social benefits, are not related to continuous self-disclosure. These results suggest that SNS providers must encourage users to develop the habit of using their web sites regularly. By providing differential benefits to users, SNS providers may attract users to continuously use their services.