Profile Creation and Usage in Social Networking Sites

Abstract

Research on the creation of profiles in social networking has been an area of interest in the past few years, and they are used as a major source of information by recruiters and other interested stakeholders. For the purpose of this study we developed hypotheses based on self-presentation theory and the rules / norms applicable for a given networking context. We collected data from 150 network users out of which 85% respondents are maintaining at least one profile for more than two years. Analysis of the descriptive data and some written comments were done to test the hypotheses. Initial results of this exploratory study and subsequent discussion provide multiple insights for future research.