5 Reasons we share on Social Media platforms and the internet
Why do we share content online every day on TikTok, Instagram, or Facebook? And how does it work in the tourism industry?
According to a survey by WeAreSocial in the first half of 2021, the use of Social Media platforms grew 13% over 2020 with about +4.20 billion active users (about half a billion new users, or about 1.3 million users every day, or 15 people per second). Impressive, isn’t it? The time spent within these platforms reaches a global average of about 2 hours and 25 minutes per day. However, this figure varies from country to country, and at the extremes, we find the Philippines with 4 hours on one side and Japan with 51 minutes on the other. In Italy, the time spent on social media is about 1 hour and 52 minutes below the global average.
However, why do we love to post on social media and spend so much time on these platforms? Here are 5 reasons why:
- The need for social approval, a post is the need to feel socially accepted, showing an image of us that (often) does not reflect reality. The rush to appear on social networks, therefore, seems to be stimulated by a related need for social approval, by feeling accepted and supported by others. For example, the feeling of well-being we get when we upload a selfie that receives many likes or flattering comments (because who doesn’t like compliments?).
The truth we project on social is certainly not complete, as it’s impossible to feel happy all the time; life is full of positive and negative emotions, and ignoring the latter on principle will only hurt us.
2. Need for esteem and self-realization, Sharing our successes and experiences online makes us feel better. Social Platforms leverage the human need to feel satisfied and part of a group to which you can communicate your value.
3. A way to introduce ourselves and connect with others, Social media has long ceased to be just a means of communication and has become a place where we spend most of our time. On these platforms, we communicate with friends, family and meet new people.
4. Are forms of education, in a sense, social platforms are strong tools for informal education, indispensable where there are serious limitations to accessing formal education.In addition, they are useful for raising awareness of places and traditions, such as posts in dialect or featuring traditional clothing, masks, dances, and foods
5. Are protective shields, Online it is possible to show up exactly as we would like to be. In fact, it is possible to be more attractive, establish emotional bonds online because these platforms make us feel safer than in real life. Behind a screen it is possible to be anyone…it’s easier. Social networks also allow us to create a new personality for ourselves and even use a fake profile picture. All of these behaviors, however, are as dangerous to others as they are destructive to ourselves.
And in the tourism world, how are sharing platforms used?
In the Tourism sector where users are increasingly empowered they create, share, and research information online. For this reason, it has become critical to understand the motivations behind sharing content. Post-modern tourists rely more on online reviews, and according to a study by ComScore, it emerges that 74% of users who visit the TripAdvisor platform check reviews of a hotel before making a reservation. This shows that this phenomenon should not be underestimated by industry operators, but there must be a concrete and effective response. Recent studies have shown that responding to all reviews, whether positive or negative, can ensure better reliability, security and improve the perceived image. This shows that there really is a person behind the screen running the webpage and trying to ensure quality service to their guests. According to Bronner and Hoog, there are five main motivational classes that drive a user to write a review and/or post a comment:
1. Self-directed, which corresponds to personal needs such as: to certify that one went to that particular place, to impress other travelers, to pass the time, and for financial reasons.
2. Helping vacationers, refers to all those motivations that allow other travelers to make informed choices based on their experience at that particular destination and to be recognized by other travelers.
3. Social benefits, corresponding to the stage of identifying oneself in society with a specific role and being recognized by it as a traveler; for personal pleasure in recounting one’s travel experiences and to connect with other travelers with similar ideas and tastes.
4. Consumer empowerment, identifies the power attributed by new technologies to the consumer who feels empowered to improve the quality of service of companies and through online channels expects to have a greater chance of success.
5. Helping companies, to help companies in the tourism sector to improve and ensure a more satisfactory customer experience.
The authors highlight how motivations for sharing content online fall into two main macro-categories, one for themselves and one for others. For the first category, USGs (User Generated Content) prefer sites that are commercial in nature, post content in reference to a vacation stop, post multiple negative reviews with only text, and post content on sites not accessible by other travelers. In contrast to the second category, which prefers sites created by other consumers, they post content in reference to multiple aspects of the vacation, post more positive reviews with a combination of text and rating (usually in stars), and post on sites also accessible by other travelers.
Thank you for taking some time to read this article and I hope you enjoy it. If you want to learn the role of social Media this article will help you:
