IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jscscx/v10y2021i4p114-d523607.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Differentiated Uses of Social Networking Platforms among Young People in the Autonomous Region of Madrid

Author

Listed:
  • María Cruz López-de-Ayala

    (Department of Communication Sciences and Sociology, Rey Juan Carlos University, Tulipán s/n, 28933 Madrid, Spain)

  • Antonio García-Jiménez

    (Department of Communication Sciences and Sociology, Rey Juan Carlos University, Tulipán s/n, 28933 Madrid, Spain)

  • Yolanda Pastor-Ruiz

    (Psychology Department, Rey Juan Carlos University, Tulipán s/n, 28933 Madrid, Spain)

Abstract

Young people make intensive and varied use of social networks, which depends on individual differences and use motives. This study analyses the different ways in which young people use the main social media platforms and the role that gender, age and social class play in users’ behaviour with a representative sample of young people aged 17–24 in the Community of Madrid (Spain) (N = 533). Women and the youngest people (17–19 years of age) used social networks more consistently. Instagram and Facebook were the most widely used social networks with greater diversity of use in the areas of sociability and entertainment. While women and the younger age group spent more time using Instagram, young people from the upper class and upper-middle class used Facebook more often in a variety of ways. YouTube was used less frequently, and it was used mainly for entertainment purposes. Snapchat played a small role in this segment of the population. We conclude that age and social class play an important role in defining the different ways in which young people in the Region of Madrid use social media, and such influences vary depending on the platform under study and the types of activities being carried out.

Suggested Citation

  • María Cruz López-de-Ayala & Antonio García-Jiménez & Yolanda Pastor-Ruiz, 2021. "Differentiated Uses of Social Networking Platforms among Young People in the Autonomous Region of Madrid," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-14, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jscscx:v:10:y:2021:i:4:p:114-:d:523607
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/10/4/114/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/10/4/114/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Fergie, Gillian & Hunt, Kate & Hilton, Shona, 2016. "Social media as a space for support: Young adults' perspectives on producing and consuming user-generated content about diabetes and mental health," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 170(C), pages 46-54.
    2. Sanghee Oh & Sue Yeon Syn, 2015. "Motivations for sharing information and social support in social media: A comparative analysis of Facebook, Twitter, Delicious, YouTube, and Flickr," Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 66(10), pages 2045-2060, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Nour El Houda Ben Amor & Mohamed Nabil Mzoughi, 2023. "Do Millennials’ Motives for Using Snapchat Influence the Effectiveness of Snap Ads?," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(3), pages 21582440231, July.
    2. Femke Hilverda & Margôt Kuttschreuter, 2018. "Online Information Sharing About Risks: The Case of Organic Food," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 38(9), pages 1904-1920, September.
    3. Jang-Won Moon & Yuting An, 2022. "Scale Construction and Validation of Uses and Gratifications Motivations for Smartphone Use by Tourists: A Multilevel Approach," Tourism and Hospitality, MDPI, vol. 3(1), pages 1-14, January.
    4. Diana Tsoy & Danijela Godinic & Qingyan Tong & Bojan Obrenovic & Akmal Khudaykulov & Konstantin Kurpayanidi, 2022. "Impact of Social Media, Extended Parallel Process Model (EPPM) on the Intention to Stay at Home during the COVID-19 Pandemic," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(12), pages 1-32, June.
    5. Kadić-Maglajlić, Selma & Lages, Cristiana R. & Pantano, Eleonora, 2024. "No time to lie: Examining the identity of pro-vaccination and anti-vaccination supporters through user-generated content," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 347(C).
    6. Hamby, Anne & Kim, Hongmin & Spezzano, Francesca, 2024. "Sensational stories: The role of narrative characteristics in distinguishing real and fake news and predicting their spread," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 170(C).
    7. Yang Yang & Keqiao Liu & Siqi Li & Man Shu, 2020. "Social Media Activities, Emotion Regulation Strategies, and Their Interactions on People’s Mental Health in COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(23), pages 1-16, December.
    8. Hofman-Kohlmeyer Magdalena, 2021. "Brand-Related User-Generated Content in Simulation Video Games: Qualitative Research Among Polish Players," Journal of Management and Business Administration. Central Europe, Sciendo, vol. 29(1), pages 61-87, March.
    9. Grover, Purva & Kar, Arpan Kumar & Davies, Gareth, 2018. "“Technology enabled Health” – Insights from twitter analytics with a socio-technical perspective," International Journal of Information Management, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 85-97.
    10. Zhu, Chunxiao & Shou, Minghuan & Zhou, Yitong & Li, Wenrui, 2023. "Modeling the effect of social media on older adults’ usage intention of public transport," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 239-250.
    11. Shah, Zakir & Chu, Jianxun & Feng, Bo & Qaisar, Sara & Ghani, Usman & Hassan, Zameer, 2019. "If you care, I care: Perceived social support and public engagement via SNSs during crises," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 59(C).
    12. Shankardass, Ketan & Robertson, Colin & Shaughnessy, Krystelle & Sykora, Martin & Feick, Rob, 2019. "A unified ecological framework for studying effects of digital places on well-being," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 227(C), pages 119-127.
    13. Charry, Karine & Tessitore, Tina, 2021. "I tweet, they follow, you eat: Number of followers as nudge on social media to eat more healthily," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 269(C).
    14. Schneider-Kamp, Anna & Takhar, Jennifer, 2023. "Interrogating the pill: Rising distrust and the reshaping of health risk perceptions in the social media age," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 331(C).
    15. Jiabei Xia & Tailai Wu & Liqin Zhou, 2021. "Sharing of Verified Information about COVID-19 on Social Network Sites: A Social Exchange Theory Perspective," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(3), pages 1-12, January.
    16. Xi Wang & Zhiya Zuo & Xing Tong & Yushan Zhu, 2024. "Talk more about yourself: a data-driven extended theory of reasoned action for online health communities," Information Technology and Management, Springer, vol. 25(3), pages 233-246, September.
    17. Saijun Zhang & Meirong Liu & Yeefay Li & Jae Eun Chung, 2021. "Teens’ Social Media Engagement during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Time Series Examination of Posting and Emotion on Reddit," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(19), pages 1-17, September.
    18. Starr, Richard G. & Zhu, Andrew Q. & Frethey-Bentham, Catherine & Brodie, Roderick J., 2020. "Peer-to-peer interactions in the sharing economy: Exploring the role of reciprocity within a Chinese social network," Australasian marketing journal, Elsevier, vol. 28(3), pages 67-80.
    19. Hajir Al-Mawali & Kamla Ali Al-Busaidi, 2022. "Knowledge Sharing Through Enterprise Social Media in a Telecommunications Context," International Journal of Knowledge Management (IJKM), IGI Global, vol. 18(1), pages 1-27, January.
    20. Virginia Navajas-Romero & Rosalía Díaz-Carrión & Antonio Ariza-Montes, 2019. "Decent Work as Determinant of Work Engagement on Dependent Self-Employed," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(9), pages 1-17, April.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jscscx:v:10:y:2021:i:4:p:114-:d:523607. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.