Gender Differences in Motivations for Identity Reconstruction on Social Network Sites
Social network sites provide people a unique opportunity for self-presentation. Due to various reasons, people may build an online identity that is partly or even completely different from their identity in the real world. Adopting social role theory as the theoretical foundation, the current study...
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| Format: | Article |
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Taylor & Francis
2018
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| _version_ | 1796961519774203904 |
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| author | Huang, Jiao Kumar, Sameer Hu, Chuan |
| author_facet | Huang, Jiao Kumar, Sameer Hu, Chuan |
| author_sort | Huang, Jiao |
| collection | UM |
| description | Social network sites provide people a unique opportunity for self-presentation. Due to various reasons, people may build an online identity that is partly or even completely different from their identity in the real world. Adopting social role theory as the theoretical foundation, the current study investigated gender differences in the motivations for virtual identity reconstruction on QQ, a social network site based in China. A total of 418 respondents participated in the study. As hypothesized, the results showed that men and women are motivated differently when reconstructing their identity–while women focus more on physical vanity, men emphasize achievement vanity. The authors also identified gender differences in other motivations for online identity reconstruction: bridging social capital, disinhibition, and privacy concerns. The results, which suggest that men and women behave in gender-specific ways, are in line with the propositions made in social role theory. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-06T05:55:19Z |
| format | Article |
| id | um.eprints-21858 |
| institution | Universiti Malaya |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-06T05:55:19Z |
| publishDate | 2018 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | um.eprints-218582019-08-09T01:36:22Z http://eprints.um.edu.my/21858/ Gender Differences in Motivations for Identity Reconstruction on Social Network Sites Huang, Jiao Kumar, Sameer Hu, Chuan Communication. Mass media QA75 Electronic computers. Computer science T Technology (General) Social network sites provide people a unique opportunity for self-presentation. Due to various reasons, people may build an online identity that is partly or even completely different from their identity in the real world. Adopting social role theory as the theoretical foundation, the current study investigated gender differences in the motivations for virtual identity reconstruction on QQ, a social network site based in China. A total of 418 respondents participated in the study. As hypothesized, the results showed that men and women are motivated differently when reconstructing their identity–while women focus more on physical vanity, men emphasize achievement vanity. The authors also identified gender differences in other motivations for online identity reconstruction: bridging social capital, disinhibition, and privacy concerns. The results, which suggest that men and women behave in gender-specific ways, are in line with the propositions made in social role theory. Taylor & Francis 2018 Article PeerReviewed Huang, Jiao and Kumar, Sameer and Hu, Chuan (2018) Gender Differences in Motivations for Identity Reconstruction on Social Network Sites. International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction, 34 (7). pp. 591-602. ISSN 1044-7318, DOI https://doi.org/10.1080/10447318.2017.1383061 <https://doi.org/10.1080/10447318.2017.1383061>. https://doi.org/10.1080/10447318.2017.1383061 doi:10.1080/10447318.2017.1383061 |
| spellingShingle | Communication. Mass media QA75 Electronic computers. Computer science T Technology (General) Huang, Jiao Kumar, Sameer Hu, Chuan Gender Differences in Motivations for Identity Reconstruction on Social Network Sites |
| title | Gender Differences in Motivations for Identity Reconstruction on Social Network Sites |
| title_full | Gender Differences in Motivations for Identity Reconstruction on Social Network Sites |
| title_fullStr | Gender Differences in Motivations for Identity Reconstruction on Social Network Sites |
| title_full_unstemmed | Gender Differences in Motivations for Identity Reconstruction on Social Network Sites |
| title_short | Gender Differences in Motivations for Identity Reconstruction on Social Network Sites |
| title_sort | gender differences in motivations for identity reconstruction on social network sites |
| topic | Communication. Mass media QA75 Electronic computers. Computer science T Technology (General) |
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