The Antecedents And Effects Of Users’ Active And Passive Behavior On Social Networking Sites

In recent years,although the number of social networking sites(SNS)and the size of social networks users continue to expand.However,at the same time,the SNS usage has brought many negative experiences for the users,and as a result,the usage rate of several large social network platforms has begun to decline.Therefore,many SNS practitioners and researchers focused on SNS use and related user experiences.Active and passive SNS use are the two most common ways of SNS use.Active usage behavior of social networking services can usually be regarded as the foundation of the development and success of SNS platforms.However,not all usage behavior in the social networks is active,SNS users may spend more time passively browsing the content in the social networks.What usage behaviors could be identified as active and passive SNS use? Does active and passive use of social networks have different impacts on user experience? In addition,which impacts? Meanwhile,what are the different factors that affect the active and passive use of social networks? In view of the above questions,this study focuses on the active and passive SNS use.Through three studies and based on social cognitive theory,social capital theory,uses and gratifications theory,this study examines the antecedents and effects of active and passive SNS use.This paper mainly includes the following three aspects:First,this study explores the different effects of active and passive use behavior of social networks users.Combining with the specific environment of We Chat,this study revises and tests the Active and Passive We Chat Use Scale,and finally identifies four types of user behavior: active social use,active non-social use,passive social use,passive non-social use.This classification lays a foundation for subsequent study of the antecedents and effects of active and passive We Chat use.On this basis,according to social cognitive theory,this study develops a theoretical framework of the impacts of active and passive SNS use on social variables,psychological variables and subsequent behavioral variables.This study empirically examines this framework by using survey data.The results show that the active social use and active non-social use of We Chat users contribute to the accumulation of bridging and bonding social capital,whereas passive social use and passive non-social use only positively affect bridging social capital.In addition,active use behavior(active social use and active non-social use)and passive non-social use positively affect users’ online well-being.However,active non-social use and passive social use also increase the depressed mood of We Chat users.Moreover,only active social use will directly promote their continuance intention.Bridging social capital and online well-being positively affect the continuance intention of We Chat users,whereas depressed mood negatively influences users’ continuance intention.Second,this study reveals the different motivations behind the active and passive usage of social networks.Based on the uses and gratifications theory,this study constructs a theoretical framework of the intrinsic motivations that affect the active and passive We Chat use.This study empirically examines this framework by using survey data and data from in-depth interviews.The results indicate that active and passive We Chat use is affected by the same and different motivations.Active social and non-social use behavior of We Chat users is affected by self-expression.Moreover,We Chat users’ active social use is also affected by social interaction motivation,whereas active non-social use is also affected by perceived enjoyment.The passive social and non-social use behavior of We Chat users is influenced by habitual passing time motivation.Besides,the passive social use behavior is also affected by social interaction,whereas passive non-social use is also affected by the information seeking.The results of a qualitative study verify and deepen these findings.The same motivation factor has different effect paths on different usage behaviors.In addition,gender significantly and negatively affects the passive social use behavior of We Chat users.Age negatively affects the active social use,passive social use and passive non-social use.However,both of these two demographic variables do not significantly affect active non-social We Chat use.Third,this study explains the influencing factors of social network users’ active non-social use.Takeing location disclosure as an example,and based on social cognitive theory and the concept of face,this study develops a research model to explain the factors with uniquely Chinese characteristics that predict We Chat users’ active non-social use.This study empirically examines this research model by using survey data.The results indicate that the desire to gain face,fear of losing face and social norms positively affect the intention of We Chat users to post location-related information.Social norms have partially mediated the relationship between fear of losing face and location disclosure intention.Trust in social network members and trust in social network platform also significantly promote the possibility of users’ location information disclosure in ―Moments‖.This study further confirms the trust transfer theory in social networks context.Trust in ―friends‖ of social networks is beneficial for users to further trust social networking platforms.Trust in SNS providers has partially mediated the relationship between trust in SNS members and location disclosure intention.The conclusions of this study will offer new insights for social network enterprises to help them more comprehensively understand different SNS usage behavior.The conclusions of this study also provide a guidance for social network providers to promote services and features in order to improve user experience.The conclusions also provide a guidance for social network providers to understand the antecedents of Chinese user’ location information disclosure,in order to improve mobile advertising services.