Benefits of Browsing? The Prevalence, Nature, and Effects of Profile Consumption Behavior in Social Network Sites
Miriam Metzger
Christo Wilson
Ben Y. Zhao
Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication (JCMC), Vol. 23, No. 2, March 2018.
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Paper Abstract
This study examines the effects of profile browsing on social network sites (SNSs) on
social capital via information propagation between users. We analyze data from a study of
42 million users of the Chinese equivalent of Facebook called Renren, with over 1.8 million
profile browsing events collected unobtrusively from the network to understand the
prevalence and nature of "passive" profile browsing versus more visible forms of social
interaction. Results show that profile browsing is more frequent than visible interaction
on the SNS and can be modeled on the basis of a user's network size, account longevity, and
production or reception of visible content. Drawing upon scholarship on social capital, we
then evaluate the capacity of profile browsing to propagate information within the network
and thus to affect bridging social capital. Our results challenge some commonly-held
notions about profile consumption behavior on SNSs and its capacity to increase social
capital.