Examining continuance use on social network and micro-blogging sites: Different roles of self-image and peer influence

Social network sites (SNS) and micro-blogging sites are popular yet distinctive social media. Previous studies have focused on one type of social media and thus overlook how the distinctive features of SNS and micro-blogging sites may affect underlying motivational mechanisms. To address this research gap, we draw from the self-regulation framework and propose a research model to explain how different appraisal factors (i.e., self-image and peer influence) affect continuance use through emotional responses (i.e., a sense of belonging and satisfaction). Furthermore, we argue that the effects of these appraisal and emotional factors are different across types of social media. We tested our research model by survey data collected from SNS and micro-blogging sites. The results confirm our hypotheses: First, self-image is a more significant factor in increasing SNS users’ sense of belonging and satisfaction, while peer influence has a greater effect on micro-blogging sites users’ sense of belonging and satisfaction. Second, the sense of belonging explains the greater variance of continuance intention in SNS as compared with satisfaction. A few theoretical and practical implications are discussed related to our findings on different motivational mechanisms.