Discovering the Social Interaction Patterns of Younger and Older Facebook Users

Abstract

Increased use of social networking applications has resulted in an explosion of user generated content; however the online interactions and differences in behaviour of younger and older users have not yet been fully explored. Traditionally, social network analysis has had a macro level focus, with little attention paid to individual behaviours. Interaction analysis is an emerging social behaviour analysis approach, investigating issues at a more micro level, providing an enriched capability to understand and contrast individual and group behaviour(s). In this study we test if age is a factor underlying the behaviour of users within Facebook. Data was gathered from 500 users, composed equally of younger and older users. To determine behavioural patterns, user data was analysed on a daily and weekly basis, detailing the day and hour of each user interaction. Results showed that distinct behavioural characteristics are identifiable between the cohorts, concluding age is a determining factor.