Purpose and Preference of Using Social Networking Sites by Adolescents

The present study was conducted to know the preference and purpose of using Social Network Sites (SNS) by adolescents. Social networking has become part of the daily life experiences for an increasing number of people. The study was conducted in Hyderabad and Secunderabad twin cities using ex-post facto research design. The sample consisted of 200 adolescents of aged between 18–20 years who were studying professional and non-professional degree courses. The results showed that Facebook was ranked I and it is the most popular and widely used social network site followed by YouTube and Twitter. Another finding of the study showed the difference between the Professional and Non-Professional students in their purpose of usage i.e. professional students used the social network sites for chatting, fun, to get information and for flirting others whereas Non-Professionals used for making friends, playing games and reading blogs. This study was helpful to understand why and how Social networking sites are being used by the adolescents. Social Network sites can be used to create awareness on social evils and to generate the knowledge.