Purpose of Using Social Networks
William Barnett, James T. Wood

Abstract
Social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter have become a widely adopted communication tool in today’s society. Through the use of such networks, people from all over the world are able to find each other and share information. Although initially just a fad among young people who wanted to share pictures and stories with their friends, it would appear that there has been a recent shift in the purpose of the use of social network sites (SNS). We have adapted the Social Network Site Adoption model to examine the effect playfulness, privacy/ trust, frequency, and ease of use have on the use of social network sites. The goal of this research will be to show that social networks are not only used for hedonic purposes, but are being used more frequently as a communication tool for utilitarian purposes.

Full Text: PDF