Matching Types of Social Media Sites (SNS) to Motives and Profiles of Youths in Malaysia

Social network sites (SNS) have been used to bring people across the globe closer to each other, especially youths. It is important to match the types of SNS to the motives for using them as well as to acquire a profile of youth users. Specifically, this study tries (1) to find out the types of SNS subscribed to by youths, (2) to gauge the frequency of their using the SNS per week, (3) to rank their motives for using the SNS, and (4) to study and compare the differences or variance in the profiles of youths using the SNS. A survey was conducted nationwide among youths aged 17-40 years old using a self-developed questionnaire. A total of 703 respondents were identified for the study. Data were analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) WIN 20. There were more male respondents than female, and they were mainly Malay, single, Muslims, adolescents and undergraduates. Results of the youth profiles revealed that there were differences among the youths’ demographic characteristics and the types of SNS they subscribed to. The top three SNS identified were Facebook, Yahoo and Skype. Almost one third used them daily. Most of the SNS were used for social, followed by education and communication motives. Specifically, Twitter is also used for social, communication and entertainment motives while blogs were used for the religious, education, business and politics motives. The study applied both the social network theory and information-seeking theory with the purpose of finding out how youths could be motivated to draw on the vast knowledge available and accessible in the SNS for their own benefit, and not merely for social networking.