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. 2022 Nov 2:13:994337.
doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.994337. eCollection 2022.

The more engaging, the more enjoyable? Age matters in predicting perceived enjoyment with different Facebook activities

Lianshan Zhang  1 , Eun Hwa Jung  2
Affiliations

The more engaging, the more enjoyable? Age matters in predicting perceived enjoyment with different Facebook activities

Lianshan Zhang et al. Front Psychol. .

Abstract

Drawing upon uses and gratifications perspectives and socioemotional selectivity theory, this study examined the differences in the use of Facebook features among younger, middle-aged, and older adults. Furthermore, it explored the association between Facebook activities and users' perceived enjoyment for different age groups. An online survey was conducted with 647 Facebook users in the United States. An exploratory factor analysis identified four types of Facebook activities: broadcasting, directed communication, content consumption, and information regulation. The results revealed that younger users' broadcasting, content consumption, and information regulation activities substantially differed from those of older users. In addition, broadcasting and content consumption activities were more popular among younger users and more predictive of their enjoyment. Directed communication was more powerful in predicting middle-aged and older users' enjoyment. However, younger and middle-aged users' engagement with information regulation activities was negatively related to their enjoyment of Facebook. The study findings provide more nuanced knowledge regarding user experiences on social media platforms among specified age groups and practical insights into the improvement of social media by addressing their different needs.

Keywords: Facebook activities; middle-aged adults; older adults; perceived enjoyment; socioemotional selectivity theory; uses and gratifications; younger adults.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Moderating effect of user’s age on the relation between broadcasting activities and perceived enjoyment on Facebook; the higher value is one standard deviation above the mean, and the lower value is one standard deviation below the mean.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Moderating effect of user’s age on the relation between content consumption and perceived enjoyment of Facebook; the higher value is one standard deviation above the mean, and the lower value is one standard deviation below the mean.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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