Title: Participation of youth in social networking sites in India

Authors: Sita Mishra

Addresses: Institute of Management Technology, Post Box No. 137, Rajnagar, Hapur Road, Ghaziabad, India

Abstract: Social networking sites have become a true force to be reckoned with on the web. This latest trend has caught on in a big way the world over. Relatively new in India, this phenomenon has been an instantaneous hit especially with the Indian youth. In this paper, attempt is made to explore the participatory patterns of youth in social networking sites in India. It seeks to further determine their objectives behind the usage of these sites. Hence, the findings of this study should be imperative to both search engine marketers, and to the social networking sites themselves, as it reveals a number of opportunities for both populations. This concept is leading to interesting debates in the academia and industry on how it will impact communications, connections between individuals and commercial viability for marketers. The results of the study revealed four intentions behind the usage of these sites – building association, spending time, self-image formation and acquiring information.

Keywords: social networking sites; online communication; youth; India; young people; internet; world wide web; virtual communities; web based communities; online communities; participatory patterns; search engines; marketing; commercial viability; leisure; friendship; self-image formation; information gathering.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBIR.2010.033352

International Journal of Business Innovation and Research, 2010 Vol.4 No.4, pp.358 - 375

Published online: 01 Jun 2010 *

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