Impression management via content-dependent “liking” on social media.

Lin, Ruoyun; Jeske, Debora

doi:10.1504/IJWBC.2016.080814

Impression management via content-dependent “liking” on social media.

Lin, Ruoyun; Jeske, Debora

Authors

Ruoyun Lin

Debora Jeske

Abstract

A number of studies have examined the motives behind the use of one-click communication features such as the “like” button. This study considered how personality might shape how users employ the “liking” button in order to establish different online impressions, particularly when online posts include both everyday (normal) or risky (controversial) content. Using an online survey, we tested whether self-monitoring, agreeableness, affinity seeking and need for gratification would influence the likelihood with which participants would “like” posts given the transparent nature of social networks. Results based on an online sample (N=217) revealed that “liking” of normal posts was positively predicted by agreeableness and need for gratification. However, only need for gratification positively predicted “liking” of controversial posts. This indicates that the content of the post as well as the personality characteristics play a role in online one-click interaction, reflecting different means to manage impressions online.

Journal Article Type	Article
Acceptance Date	Feb 12, 2016
Online Publication Date	Dec 7, 2016
Publication Date	Jan 1, 2016
Deposit Date	Oct 5, 2017
Publicly Available Date	Oct 13, 2017
Journal	International Journal of Web Based Communities
Print ISSN	1477-8394
Electronic ISSN	1741-8216
Publisher	Inderscience
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	12
Issue	4
Pages	342-359
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1504/IJWBC.2016.080814
Keywords	Liking; social-media; one-click communication; social networks;
Public URL	http://researchrepository.napier.ac.uk/id/eprint/9491
Contract Date	Oct 5, 2017