Scholars have studied personality traits predicting social network site usage habits. Ross, Orr, Sisic, Arseneault, Simmering, and Orr (2009), for instance, found that the majority of undergraduates employ Facebook for social purposes, but in different ways dependent on their personalities. Other scholars have studied why some users tend toward “lurking” online—silently moving through discussions and online content, without contributing (e.g., Muller, 2012). In early discussion boards, based in Web 1.0, lurkers were seen as users that only read, but did not add to, discussion board and forum posts. Some deemed lurking negative, citing that sites need new content to remain relevant. Conversely, lurking has been deemed a necessary component of the online world. Crawford (2009) relates lurking to listening, purporting that lurking is akin to paying attention, just online.
Although scholars have studied the intersection of personality and social network habits as well as lurking habits, yet to be considered is why certain users lurk in certain ways. Thus, a gap exists in studying types of lurking and how, if at all, lurking choices are related to personality characteristics. This study explores lurking on social network sites at a more micro level—I investigate how personality characteristics can predict types and frequency of lurking.
Emerging adults (n=466) at three universities were surveyed. Participants answered questions regarding their personalities, self-esteem, and social network site and lurking habits. Preliminary results indicate that users with lower physical self-esteem are more likely to lurk photos, users who lurk more often are less likely to seek socio-emotional support offline, and users who lurk less often are more likely to seek socio-emotional support offline. Eventual conclusions will aid in answering questions such as: How are social network site users’ personality traits related to their lurking tendencies? and How can personality traits predict types of lurking?
About the presenterAngela M. Cirucci
Angela received her PhD from the School of Media and Communication at Temple University and is an Associate Professor of Communication Studies at Rowan University. Angela is a digital media scholar focusing on the symbolic meaning of programming languages, the intersection of institutional practice and user knowledge, and user experience. Often focusing on identity, she has a passion for studying how digital spaces impact the lives of marginalized communities.