Motives leading to the use of social network Facebook: comparison of youth and adult motives

This diploma thesis aims to map and compare motives which lead users of two different age groups to the use of a social networking site Facebook. We try to distinguish particular types of users and we also attempt to create a typology of Facebook users. The research was conducted through in-depth interviews with twelve respondents. The theoretical part deals with the phenomenon of social networking, Facebook and statistical data and the features that are important in terms of the research. We also analyze terminology of Marc Prensky and the criticism of these concepts, the phenomenon of the digital divide and the theory dedicated to the dissemination of communication. Further we will mention the typologies that have already arised in the academic world and look for thematically similar studies. The second part is devoted to methodology, research questions, strategies, and the actual course of the research. The last section provides an insight into the social world of individual users. Case studies allowed us to observe user's habits and motivation which have brought them on the social networking site Facebook as well as to find out which motives keep them active. In the conclusion of the thesis we summarize the findings and the research results of each group, we compare them and we attempt to..