Why do millennials use Facebook? Enduring insights

Abstract

Purpose This study aims to address the following questions: What is enduring about consumer behavior on social media given that digital and social media (DSM) technologies change rapidly? Why do millennials use social media to the extent they do? The authors’ review revealed that a prevailing theoretical approach that may help answer these questions is inadequate. The technology acceptance model (TAM) from information systems was grafted into marketing to explain consumer technology adoption. TAM predicts Facebook adoption effectively, as demonstrated in the authors’ first study, but does not go beyond that in explaining the why’s behind its use. In a second study, the authors used the means-end approach (MEC) complementarily to unearth the why’s of millennials’ use of Facebook. Design/methodology/approach The authors used a mixed-methods design combining the structural modeling of TAM with the probing one-on-one interviews and laddering of MEC. Findings The authors found that the laddering process both widened and deepened TAM’s scope. It not only confirmed the importance of the TAM attributes, perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness, but it also revealed others, in determining adoption. It was also able to dig deeper from these to uncover a mesh of fundamental values that millennials used Facebook to satisfy, such as belongingness, pleasure, social acceptance and inner harmony, in their quest for inner and relational contentment. The authors also found negative aspects that kept consumers away, such as its lack of privacy and the overwhelming nature of unwanted video in its feed, tying these back to important values. Research limitations/implications The authors build on prior exploratory work relating to DSM use and uncover psychological drivers of consumer behavior on social media, by blending TAM in a consumer context, and the MEC approach. The TAM-MEC framework used here offers a technology-independent template for other DSM research, by focusing on how and why consumers use media socially. Practical implications Managerially, the authors discuss the building of sustainable marketing strategy on enduring consumer values rather than on transient attributes or technologies. The authors also discuss potential areas of vulnerability for Facebook, such as its increasing use of video and live content, which creates negative consumer sentiment and which may drive consumers to competitors. Originality/value By blending the quantitative TAM and the qualitative MEC, something that has not been done before in marketing, this research provides trustworthy answers to the research questions. In so doing, this study also contributes some cohesion to the fragmented DSM research field, as called for recently in prominent journals, by anchoring DSM study in well-established theories in marketing.

Factors Affecting the Use of Social Networks and Its Effect on Anxiety and Depression among Parents and Their Children: Predictors Using ML, SEM and Extended TAM

“…The influence of PU, PEoU, EN, TR, and SI on BI are discussed in many studies in many domains. PU’s influence on BI is evident in studies [ 32 , 44 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 ]. PEoU influence on BI is shown in studies [ 44 , 48 , 51 , 52 , 53 ].…”

“…PU’s influence on BI is evident in studies [ 32 , 44 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 ]. PEoU influence on BI is shown in studies [ 44 , 48 , 51 , 52 , 53 ]. EN influence on BI is also shown in [ 12 , 44 ].…”

“… PU5 : Using social media increases my educational, knowledge, and cultural levels. [ 32 , 44 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 ] Perceived ease of use (PEoU) PEoU1 : Learning how to use social media is easy for me. PEoU2 : My interaction with social media is clear and understandable.…”

Investigating the nexus between the types of advertising messages and customer engagement: Do customer involvement and generations matter?

“…They also emphasized the importance of using generational cohorts to better understand the consumers' characteristics in each segment. Moreover, Ambrose et al, (2020) urged the need for research to examine the drivers of social media use. Therefore, this study will compare the three generational cohorts, generations X, Y, and Z, in terms of investigating how individuals within these groups moderate the impact of the message strategy on social media engagement behavior.…”

“…There are no previous studies that attempted to uncover the interaction relationship of generations X, Y, and Z between message strategies and engagement. The majority of the prior research focused on either X and Y or one of them (e.g., Ambrose et al, 2020;Bento et al, 2018;Heinze, 2010). In their paper, Bento et al, (2018), compared Generation X and Y's brand engagement behavior on social media and suggested that brands must create different types of content when targeting people from these generations.…”