A SURVEY STUDY ON ONLINE SHARING BEHAVIORS AND MOTIVATIONS

PROVIDENCE Predicting the online virality of digital entertainment and news content Goal survey study study online sharing behaviors and motivations to share information online

STRUCTURE 1.Who are the respondents? i.Demographics ii.Media and news repertoire iii.ICT knowledge and experience 2.Motivations to share information online 3.Four types of online sharers 4.Predictors of online sharing activity

WHO ARE THE RESPONDENTS?

I. DEMOGRAPHICS N =1237 GenderMen = 52.6%; Women = 47.4% AgeM=32 (SD=12.81) EducationHigher education (33.4%); University (29.3%) Professio n White-collar (39.7%); Student (33.7%)

II. MEDIA AND NEWS REPERTOIRE ▷ 85.9% own a smartphone ▷ Online platforms ▷ Weekly to daily use of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat Facebook96%Instagram49.6% Twitter66.7%Snapchat38% LinkedIn59%Foursquare27.6%

II. MEDIA AND NEWS REPERTOIRE ▷ Following news Top 3 (scale 1-4) 1.Reading news on computer (M=3.75; SD=.63) 2.Following news on Facebook (M=3.67; SD=.77) 3.Reading news on smartphone/tablet (M=3.65; SD.74) ▷ News interest Top 3 (scale 1-10) 1.Societal issues (climate, economy, education, health…) (M=7.95; SD=1.8) 2.Politics (parliament, ministers, elections, parties… (M=6.7; SD=2.31) 3.Cultural activities (music, film, theater…) (M=6.49; SD=2.39) ▷ Overall, the respondents can be considered active news searchers (scale 1-5): M=4, SD=.67

III. ICT KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE ▷ ICT knowledge –Book restaurant/hotel online: 98.3% –Safe photo’s/documents in cloud: 83.9% –Install add blocker: 70.7% –Make a WIFI hotspot: 65.4% –Make website: 48.8% ▷ Overall, the respondents are confident in their online skills (scale 1-5): M=3.89; SD=.73

MOTIVATIONS TO SHARE INFORMATION ONLINE

FINDINGS ▷ The participants are more motivated to share information because of social connection than self- presentation ▷ The social component is an important motivator for both sharing and NOT sharing information online ▷ Informative and more serious information is preferred when sharing

FOUR TYPES OF ONLINE SHARERS

CLUSTER ANALYSES ▷ K-means clustering analyses based on –Online sharing activity (i.e., status updates, likes, sharing online articles, songs, videos) –Self presentation (i.e. gaining status, feeling important, make a good impression) –Social connection (i.e. staying in touch with others, changing ideas)

“15-35” VERSUS “35+” Sig. level Social connection scaleM=3.66; SD=.69M=3.75 SD=.69p<.05* Self presentation scaleM=2.59; SD=.91M=2.48; SD=.89p>.05 Online activity scaleM=3.1; SD=.71M=2.7; SD=.83p>.05 Online platforms Facebook89.7%83.5%p<.01** 35.8%63.4%p<.001*** Twitter44.8%40.5%p>.05 LinkedIn7.9%13.3%p<.05* Blog10.5%12.9%p>.05 Audience Wide audience25.3%27.2%p>.05 Professional network19.4%28.7%p<.01* Personal network70.1%66.7%p>.05 Self-confidence scaleM=4.01; SD=.63M=3.78; SD=.77p<.001***

PREDICTORS OF ONLINE ACTIVITY

REGRESSION ANALYSES Online sharing activity Social connection Self- presentation Self- confidence News searcher Age Gender MODEL 1 MODEL 2 MODEL 3 MODEL 4

TO CONCLUDE ▷ The ‘social’ in SNS make it preferred sharing platforms ▷ Viral might work best when it connects people through content ▷ Self-confidence, hence online experience could mark a ‘sharing divide’

▷ Thank you! ▷ Ike Picone – ▷ Sarie Robijt – ▷ Ralf De Wolf –

SUMMARY OF HIERARCHICAL REGRESSION ANALYSIS FOR VARIABLES PREDICTING ONLINE ACTIVITY

SOCIAL SHARERS Social sharers (n=330) score high on online activity and are motivated to share for exchanging ideas and staying in touch with others. Self-presentation is less important. They especially use Facebook to share online articles and their intended audience primarily consists of family and friends. Similar to reflective sharers they are self- confident in their online activity (i.e. able to check the reliability of an internet source, participate in an online discussion, etc.) and have a positive view on ICT.

REFLECTIVE SHARERS Reflective sharers (n=353) are also active online and are motivated to share because of social connection and self-presentation. Hence, making a good impression and gaining status is equally important as staying in touch with others. Facebook is the most important platform to share online articles, but in comparison with the other three types, Twitter, LinkedIn and Blog are also important. The personal network is the first intended audience, but sharing for a wide and professional network is significantly greater than in the other three types. They also have a positive view on ICT.

MODERATE SHARERS Moderate sharers (n=299) score average for online activity and self-presentation and average to high on social connection. They share many characteristics with the uncaring sharers: is the second most important platform for sharing articles and their intended audience also consists of family and friends and those whom they share specifically. Their view on technology and experience is also similar to that of uncaring shares, but less pronounced. On all levels they are moderate.

UNCARING SHARERS Uncaring sharers (n=255) rarely share information online and score low on self-presentation and social connection as motivators. They are less active on Facebook and Twitter for sharing online articles, while e- mail is still the second most important online platform (after Facebook). Their intended audience consists of family friends and one or two people with whom specifically they want to share. Although their ICT experience and vision on technology is not negative they are less self-confident and more worried about privacy than the social and reflective sharers.