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Motivations of Individuals Participating in Social Media: A Cultural Perspective



Author(s)

Abhipsa Pal

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DOI:10.17265/1548-6583/2018.06.003

Social media is an information technology that allows users to communicate and share information. With steadily rising number of users across the globe, individuals participate in various activities, like connecting with friends and community members, sharing information, posting political messages, disaster recovery activities, reading daily news, learning, and entertainment, each driven by different sets of motivations. Culture has an influence on the kind of motivation―pro-social and personal needs oriented―that drives social media usage by individuals. Using Hofstede’s (1984b) cultural dimensions, the paper suggests that each of the dimensions will have influences on the social media behaviors differently. Such a cultural perspective helps future social media users to plan the kind of activity and information sharing based on the kind of motivation driving the target audience and the platform providers to design and market accordingly.

motivation, social media, hofstede’s cultural dimensions, social media usage