Social networking sites across cultures and countries: Proximity and network effects

Abstract

International social networking sites (SNSs), such as Facebook®, outnumber domestic networks in terms of membership numbers in many countries. This article reports on focus group interviews with Estonian, Russian-Estonian, and German SNS users whose aim it was to investigate their desire for cultural or geographic proximity in SNSs, as well as the attraction of network effects of large international SNSs. Based on a new model of proximity in SNSs, the interviews suggested that users self-create proximity in SNSs more than they desire it from what the SNSs offer to them. The interviews also suggested that the extent to which users self-create or desire cultural and geographic proximity differs across cultural groups, as the Russian-Estonian SNS users indicated the greatest need for cultural proximity, but a comparatively small need for geographic proximity. Furthermore, the interviews suggested that users are attracted to SNSs with a large international membership base, as it reassures them that no change of network is required if they ever wished to connect with people from different cultures or countries. Large international SNSs attract users with network effects, and it lies in the nature of SNSs that they allow users to self-create as much proximity as they wish.