More Photos From Me to Thee: Factors Influencing the Intention to Continue Sharing Personal Photos on an Online Social Networking (OSN) Site among Young Adults in the Netherlands

Abstract

The current study investigated the factors influencing photo sharing continuance intention of Dutch Facebook users aged 18 to 25 years old. The focus was specifically on personal photos (those that include the person sharing), as their disclosure is expected to result in privacy-related issues for the individual sharing. An online survey with 473 respondents was implemented to test the various research hypotheses and to address the question on whether or not the impact of several disclosure predictors differs between men and women. Results of structural modeling analysis (multigroup analysis) reveal that for both male and female users, self-presentation-related and communication-related benefits and habit positively influence their photo sharing continuance intention. Furthermore, descriptive social norms and competence-based trust in Facebook significantly contribute to female users’ repeat photo sharing intention.