Eye tracking analysis of user behavior in online social networks

Abstract

Social network has become a global phenomenon which attracts a wide range of population from all around the world of different ages, and cultures. People are using online social networks for several purposes like sharing information, chatting with friends, sharing photos and commenting. However, the analysis of users' behavior in social networks received little attention. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to analyze user behavior in terms of users' activities in social network sites by adopting eye tracking techniques. Four main measurements were examined which includes the first place user looks, time spent on areas of interest, main activities and completion time. Results from eye tracking analysis based on the first place user looks and on the time duration have indicated that wallpost recorded most users' attention. Results have shown that the main activity was reading friends' status on the wall posts area. The findings provide support for the effort to understand and to model user behavior using eye tracking technique. © 2013 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.