Demystifying online personas of Vietnamese young adults on Facebook: A Q-methodology approach

Authors

  • Duy Dang-Pham School of Business IT and Logistics, RMIT University http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7798-6635
  • Siddhi Pittayachawan School of Business IT and Logistics, RMIT University
  • Mathews Nkhoma Department of Business IT and Logistics, RMIT International University Vietnam

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3127/ajis.v19i0.1204

Keywords:

Facebook, social networking site, Q methodology, online identity, online privacy, information behaviour

Abstract

As online social networking sites (SNS) are becoming a part of many people’s daily life, they have become a topic of interest that attracts the attention of both academics and practitioners. The users’ behaviours on those sites are complex and have important implications. Individuals can use a wide range of SNS’s functionalities, for example, to socialise and promote their online identities or find friends of common interests. Reckless online behaviours on SNS have been shown to result in breaches of privacy and other risks such as cyber-bullying, cyber-stalking, and job loss. As a result, there are many concerns over these problems that prevent SNS from reaching their full potential. Given the vast number of user’s concerns, identified by prior studies, there is a need to explore a typology of users that classifies online personas. This typology would reveal more about the users’ needs and help improve their experience on SNS. To achieve that goal, we collected data from fourteen Vietnamese young adults of different backgrounds who use Facebook, which was then analysed with Q factor analysis. The findings suggested three distinctive online personas that include the Outgoing Connector, the Reserved Trustor, and the Threats Perceiver. Implications for marketing tactics and design of better users’ experiences on social networking sites were discussed, and the proposed typology could serve as a starting point for future research to further explore the different types of social media’s users.

Author Biographies

Duy Dang-Pham, School of Business IT and Logistics, RMIT University

Duy Dang-Pham is completing his Ph.D. (Business Information Systems) in the School of Business IT and Logistics, RMIT University, Australia. He has been actively publishing in conference proceedings and journals since his undergraduate study. His primary research interests include information security/privacy behaviour and management, social media risks and supply chain management.

Siddhi Pittayachawan, School of Business IT and Logistics, RMIT University

Dr. Siddhi Pittayachawan holds a Ph.D. in Business Information Systems from RMIT University, Australia. He is a Senior Lecturer of Information Systems and Supply Chain Management and a Program Director, Bachelor of Business (Honours), in the School of Business IT and Logistics, at RMIT University. His research interests focus on information system adoption, information security behaviour, green business, business education, measurement, and latent variable modelling.

Mathews Nkhoma, Department of Business IT and Logistics, RMIT International University Vietnam

Dr. Mathews Z. Nkhoma holds a PhD in Information Security from University of East London, England. He is an Associate Professor of Business Information Systems at RMIT Vietnam University. His major research topics are information systems security, information security investment model, ethical hacking, network defence, network security management and forensic computing.

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Published

2015-11-18

How to Cite

Dang-Pham, D., Pittayachawan, S., & Nkhoma, M. (2015). Demystifying online personas of Vietnamese young adults on Facebook: A Q-methodology approach. Australasian Journal of Information Systems, 19. https://doi.org/10.3127/ajis.v19i0.1204

Issue

Section

Research Articles