Attitudes toward online behavioral advertising on Facebook. : A quantitative study of Generation Y's attitudes toward targeted ads on Facebook.

Social media and networking sites are an integral part of many individuals’ everyday life and the platforms are growing in both popularity and number of users every day. Facebook, being the most popular social networking site in Sweden, is an excellent place for advertisers to communicate with potential customers and consumers. Today’s advertisers provide Online Behavioral Advertising (OBA), which is the practice of tailoring advertising based on an individual's online activities and personal information. This targeting technique might be a successful way for advertisers to increase advertising effectiveness, but it also causes privacy concern. Using an online survey, the current study aims to examine Generation Y’s (individuals born between 1984-2003) attitudes towards OBA on Facebook. A total of 165 respondents participated in the study. The results ascertained that Generation Y in general had a negative attitude towards OBA and felt uncomfortable with their online activities being tracked. However, the findings suggest that young adults (aged 16-25 years old) had a slightly more positive attitude to Facebook advertising compared to the older individuals within Generation Y. Females also had a somewhat more favorable attitude towards Facebook advertising compared to males. Moreover, ads are considered more annoying by those who spend more time on Facebook. Theoretical and prac- tical implications of findings as well as areas for future research are discussed