THE DEPENDENT VARIABLE IN SOCIAL MEDIA USE

What is the dependent variable in social media use? From a research perspective, this is a pertinent question to help explain and understand the behaviors that underpin the widespread adoption and use of social media throughout society. From a practical perspective, the question is relevant for social media technology providers, for businesses that use social media, and community organizations that turn towards social media to reach out to their constituents. We propose the construct 'sense of community' as the dependent variable, which is reflected in four sub-constructs related to the behaviors of social media users. These behaviors are information seeking, hedonic activities, sustaining of strong ties and extending weak ties. Empirical evidence for these constructs comes from a survey of social media use by 18-25 year-olds in Indonesia, a country with exceptionally high utilization of social media. We outline practical implications of the findings and areas for further theoretical development.