Proceedings of World Business, Finance and Management Conference
8 - 9 December 2014, Rendezvous Hotel, Auckland, New Zealand, ISBN: 978-1-922069-66-5
Modeling and Validating the Motivation of New Zealanders’ To Use
Social Media
K. Asoka Gunaratne and Christine Lee
Social media is a group of internet based applications that enable users to create and exchange
content online or to participate in social networking. Due to its popularity, social media are
frequently used for online information exchange. A consequence of this is the possible exposure
to the dangers of identity thefts and fraud. Many for such reasons have acknowledged the
importance of utilizing online privacy setting for safeguarding personal information. Another
concern about the usage of this medium is the vulnerability of its users to abuse and harassment.
In spite of the possibility of these adverse outcomes the usage of social media in New Zealand
has recorded a continuous growth. Therefore, to understand the drivers of this growth this study
using a questionnaire survey examines the personal and social reasons of New Zealanders’ to
use social media.
Key Words: Social Media, Privacy Issues, Identity Thefts, Growth of Social Media
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Dr. Asoka Gunaratne, Department of Management and Marketing, Unitec New Zealand, New Zealand
Dr. Christine Lee, Federation Business School, Federation University, Gippsland Campus, Churchill Australia