A study on the motives of high school and undergraduate college students for using the social network site Facebook

An online survey conducted at a mid-Atlantic university and two high schools located in close geographical proximity sought to determine the motives for using the social network site Facebook.com. A redesigned instrument based upon the Interpersonal Communication Motives (ICM) scale used in past uses and gratifications research measured motivations for Facebook use. Motives of undergraduate college students and high school students for using Facebook attempted to predict attitudinal and behavioral outcomes of Facebook use. The study compared the descriptors of the behavioral and attitudinal outcomes of high school students to the descriptors of the behavioral and attitudinal outcomes of undergraduate college students. High school students were motivated to visit Facebook to pass time. In contrast, relationship maintenance was the most salient motive of undergraduate college students to visit Facebook. Four of six behavioral and attitudinal questions on the instrument failed to produce statistical significant differences between undergraduate college students and high school students. The amount of Facebook use, frequency of Facebook use, satisfaction with Facebook, and attachment to Facebook were not notably different. Two of the six behavioral and attitudinal descriptors did show statistically significant differences. These included the duration of Facebook use and amount of Facebook friends. Undergraduate college students had been using Facebook for a longer period than high school students. High school students had significantly more friends on Facebook than undergraduate college students.