Adolescents motives on using social network sites - an empirical study on Egypt and Germany

Abstract

Based on uses and gratifications (UG) perspective, this study examines the motives of adolescents social network sites (SNS) use across Egypt and Germany. It focuses on three of the most popular SNS sites in terms of both consumer usage and marketer interest: Facebook, YouTube and Twitter. Exploratory study was conducted utilising mixed method approach. 250 and 215 responses attained through self-administered surveys, were collected from Egypt and Germany respectively. For post verification, semi structured interviews were conducted with 13 Egyptian and 15 German adolescents through theoretical sampling technique. Results revealed that social interaction is a major motive among both Egypt and Germany indicating that marketers should focus on consumer engagement. This study provides preliminary findings on motivation to SNS usage in two different cultures and further develops the UG theory, giving it more prominence within the area of social media.