Why Do People Use Facebook and What Do They Do When They Are There?

Why do people use Facebook and what do they do when they are there?

More than a billion people are active on Facebook. What’s the attraction? Social Media platforms satisfy two basic human needs: to meet new people and to strengthen existing relationships. Specifically, Facebook also meets the need to belong and the need for self-presentation. When you sign up on Facebook, you create a Timeline, or “Profile” (an on-going history of your life on Facebook). Timeline has all kinds of privacy controls to specify who you want to see which information. Next, you can connect with friends by “friending” people, which is the main reason why Facebook is so powerful and useful. Establishing connections allows people to communicate and share information easily. Facebook allows you to share your thoughts through posts on your timelines, private messages to friends, comments on photos, status updates, etc, and also view the thoughts of your friends, which facilitates real conversations. People also use the site to upload, organize, and edit photos. It’s a platform that allows people to interact and “participate” in the lives of their friends and family and stay connected when physically, they may be unable to do so. Facebook also facilitates interactions via their Events and Groups tools. You can create an event, invite friends, receive RSPV’s, and send out event reminders/info, making it easier to plan. You can also join a Group that is organized around a common topic where all members can share relevant information, photos, or discussions. People can also use Facebook to promote a business or cause by creating a Page. Liking a Page helps people (fans/customers/users) stay up-to-date with news from them (store/cause/business). Lastly, Facebook is used to play “social” games/applicaitons, such as CityVille, that depend on relationships with friends and “neighbors” to complete goals. Overall, Facebook is mainly used to browse profiles, browse pictures, and interact with applications (Table 1). Until there is another, more secure, and widely accepted platform to obtain the same sort of relationships and fulfill these basic human needs, Facebook will remain the number one social networking site (Table 2).