Understanding Motivational Factors in Social Media News Sharing Decisions

Abstract

News sharing has become prevalent on many social media platforms. Users are not only exposed to news shared by others, but also actively share information with a diverse set of motivations. In this work, we propose five news sharing motivations based on the intrinsic and extrinsic factors found in prior literature. Through an online experiment, we further examine how a host of factors, including motivations, influence participants' decision to share news online. We then prompt participants to switch their original decision for extra compensation, observing how different news types, motivational and demographic factors may affect the switch. Our analysis suggests that sharing decisions can be reversed when a strong external stimulus (higher bonus) is presented. Further, there are motivational factors that independently influence participants' reversal decisions. Finally, using our work as an empirical basis, we propose designs for future new sharing systems.