The research “The Facebook and the Greeks ”was performed by Stelios Papathanassopoulos, Maria Xenofontos, Achilleas Karadimitriou, Ioulia Daga, and Elias Athanasiadis. Posted by Medianalysis.net.
Summary
Social media offer users the ability to present themselves and allow them to either stick to existing ones or create their own social networks. From various social networking sites and social media in general, Facebook is a thing of particular interest to communication scholars because it integrates a variety of scientific findings about the social benefits of new technologies, especially digital and web applications . The aim is to capture the key features and usage data of Facebook users, as well as the relationship between users and traditional SMEs, as well as the social capital they acquire from their Facebook membership.
IMPORT*
Social media nowadays shapes the ways in which we understand sociability, active participation, passivity and the general involvement of the public with new media. After all, their importance is significant, as long as one considers that, if Facebook users formed a country, it would be the third largest in the world after China and India. Social networking sites reach 82% of the global web population and have attracted 1,2 billion users worldwide. The adoption trends of social networking largely reflect the global adoption trends of the internet that have developed accordingly. However, social media nowadays is ranked as the most popular category of content globally (Economist, 2012).
Undoubtedly, social networking platforms are geared towards social activity and on the other hand they provide the ability to develop flexible and individualized ways of socializing as they allow users to develop social behaviors through different levels of participation, activity, and multiplicity of work (Rosen et al., 2010).
These strategies are developed in an environment of converging media and converging social, cultural, political practices and fields. In this new communication environment, research requires the development of theories and analytical tools, which examine the uses, activity, participation and content of the media. It is important, of course, that in this new environment the use of media allows users to have a dual role: on the one hand to consume and on the other hand to produce content, and often this is done at the same time.
Social media offers users the opportunity to present themselves as well as their personality, as well as allow them to either cling to existing ones or create their own social networks, social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace , LinkedIn and GooglePlus, which are typically structured and developed around a potential initially niche audience, regardless of whether their impact in practice usually extends beyond that specific "target audience". . The users of these websites, through the participation or creation of a network of friends and acquaintances, in essence mediate between the technological representation of reality and their own version to capture a community, which is virtual or potential but for themselves, since and their own identity really exists.
From various social networking sites and social media in general, Facebook is a thing of particular interest to communication scholars because it integrates a variety of scientific findings about the social benefits of new technologies, especially digital and web applications (Rosen et al., 2010). At a first level, it makes it possible to express the elements that shape the identity of an individual and, at the same time, create, "build" social bonds. In other words, it supports those two uses of the Internet, which the scholars of the new media have defined as a single and integral feature of modern and future internet as a means of communication.
At a second level, Facebook, unlike other social media platforms that prioritize user creation - whether or not connected to networks - allows for real convergence. In this way it reinforces the findings, which show that new digital and internet technologies work optimally as "functional alternatives", sometimes replacing and sometimes complementing the social environment of the participant (Papacharissi and Mendelson, 2011) .
Also important is the structure of Facebook itself, as according to several scholars, the optimal exploitation of the internet is achieved with its open architecture. On the other hand, Facebook is an efficient advertising message vehicle, as in the case of traditional media (Fuchs, 2012. Carter, 2012).
This article, combining the uses and satisfaction approaches with that of the social network, aims to capture the way in which motivations and socio-psychological features affect Greek women and Greeks about the type of use they make on Facebook.
THEORETICAL APPROACHES
Το διαδίκτυο βρίσκεται στο κέντρο των εξελίξεων των νέων τεχνολογιών επικοινωνίας, αφού η έλευση και η διάδοσή του έχουν ανατρέψει τις οριοθετήσεις ανάμεσα στα παραδοσιακά και τα νέα μέσα. Αυτή η σύγκλιση αντανακλάται όχι μόνον στο επίπεδο production περιεχόμενου αλλά και σε αυτό της λήψης προκαλώντας το ενδιαφέρον των μελετητών που αποπειρώνται να καταγράφουν τη νέα σχέση του κοινού με το μέσο αυτό και τις νέες υπηρεσίες που φέρει.
Uses & Gratifications approaches examine how people use and consume communication media. In general, most of these approaches consider audience members to be active participants in the use of communication media and not passive recipients. These approaches, to a significant extent, prioritize the individual and his interaction with the messages of the media. McQuail, Blumler and Brown, in their now classic study, pointed out that: "Media use is more of an interactive process, linking media content, personal needs, perceptions, roles, values and social context within which a person fits and functions' (McQuail, Blumler and Brown, 1972, (Rosengren, Palmgreen & Wenner, 1985).
In general, the approach of "uses and satisfaction" has been used in various studies on the study of the use of various media and their content (Papathanassopoulos, 2000). Recently, these approaches have been used to understand how people use the internet based on their socio-psychological predispositions. More specifically, studies have examined the link between online news and political participation, public opinion and political behavior, or how individuals choose or combine their online and offline sources of information. Research has identified motivations for using the internet by linking them to distinct psychological-social characteristics and types of internet use. A common component of research is that online media are alternatives to interpersonal and mediated communication by providing other options or complementing aspects of the individual environment that were not "fulfilled" (Ellison et al., 2011).
Although scholars continue to use traditional tools and methodologies to answer questions about using the media, we should also extend existing approaches and patterns of uses and satisfaction to include concepts such as interactivity, demenţionarea, hyper-subjectivity and asynchrony. Researchers should also explore the interpersonal and qualitative aspects of mediated communication, potentially presenting a more integrated methodology.
Surveys on social media consider the design and maintenance of online media that support existing ones as well as new social ties. Their analysis unit is the interaction or relationship between individuals[1]. Με άλλα λόγια, οι εν λόγω μελέτες προσπαθούν να καταγράψουν τον τρόπο, με τον οποίο τα άτομα επιλέγουν και οικειοποιούνται δυνητικά περιβάλλοντα για την ικανοποίηση υπαρκτών επικοινωνιακών αναγκών. Άλλες έρευνες, οι οποίες εστίασαν στη χρήση του μέσου (e-mail, fax, phone and videoconference) σε εργασιακά ή και πανεπιστημιακά δίκτυα, κατέληξαν στο συμπέρασμα ότι τα άτομα τα οποία διατηρούσαν ήδη ισχυρούς δεσμούς, είχαν μεγαλύτερο αριθμό επαφών και επικοινωνούσαν συχνότερα (Papacharissi & Mendelson, 2011). Στο πλαίσιο αυτό οι μελετητές διαπίστωσαν ότι η διαδικτυακή διάδραση συχνά υποκαθιστούσε ή λειτουργούσε εναλλακτικά στη διαπροσωπική επικοινωνία, με τρόπο που θα επέφερε θετικά Results στο κοινωνικό κεφάλαιο. Επίσης, στα περισσότερα μέσα κοινωνικής δικτύωσης οι χρήστες δεν αναζητούν νέα πρόσωπα ή να δικτυωθούν αλλά διατηρούν τις ήδη υπάρχουσες σχέσεις με ομάδες, φίλους ή γνωριμίες. Ορισμένοι μελετητές έχουν εντοπίσει μια σχέση ανάμεσα στο ναρκισσισμό και τη συχνότητα χρήσης του Facebook (Buffardi & Campbell, 2008. Ong et al., 2011). Others have pointed out that narcissism is linked to the number of participating friends they have on Facebook (Bergman et al., 2011). The fact is that social media is the medium that shows the greatest growth globally.
Social media can be perceived as a group of new forms of web-based media configured according to the following features (Mayfield, 2008):
1) Participation: social media encourage the contribution and reaction of any interested party. In practice, the boundaries between the media and the public blur.
2) Open character: most social media are open to feedback and participation. They encourage comments and participation in the information. They present few barriers to accessing and producing content and do not encourage password protection of content access.
3) Conversation: in contrast to traditional media, social media are considered to encourage significantly feedback and dialogue.
4) Community: Social media allows individuals' communities to form quickly and communicate effectively. Communities share common interests, such as a love of photography, a political issue, or a favorite TV show.
5) Connectivity: most social media categories promote connectivity, use links to other websites, sources, and people.
There are currently six categories of social media. These are:
Social Networks
These sites allow people to build their own websites and then connect with friends, share content and communicate. The major social networks are MySpace, Facebook and Bebo.
Blogs
Possibly among the most popular social media tools, blogs (or blogs) are web-based "forms" of the calendar, where the most recent texts are displayed.
Wikis
Πρόκειται για ιστότοπους που αντιμετωπίζονται ως κοινόχρηστα έγγραφα ή βάση δεδομένων: επιτρέπουν την προσcase περιεχομένου ή την επεξεργασία των ήδη υπαρχόντων πληροφοριών. Ο πιο γνωστός ιστότοπος είναι η διαδικτυακή εγκυκλοπαίδεια Wikipedia, με περισσότερα από 2 εκατομμύρια κείμενα.
Podcasts
Audio and video folders available through subscriptions to companies such as Apple with iTunes.
Forums
There are places for online discussion about specific topics and interests. Forums have become a social media tool and are a powerful and popular element of online communities.
Content Communities
They are the communities that organize and share specific kinds of content. The most popular as a trend are those containing photos (Flickr), links (del.icio.us) and video (YouTube).
Microblogging
The social networking that combines very small blogs that are updated whenever the interested user wants and distributed through the internet or mobile phone. Twitter is the reference point-leader in this category.
In other words, through social media users can easily share and create content, including blogs, social networks, wikis, forums and potential worlds. Social networks are the channels through which individuals can interact with each other. Such networks allow individuals to structure a series of actions: 1) form a public or semi-public profile within a bounded system, 2) construct a list of other users with whom they share a connection, and 3) see and cross-check their list of connections with that created by others within the system (Hampton and Wellman, 2003; boyd and Ellison, 2007). Moreover, in most social networks users are not looking for new people or to network, but seek to maintain contact with already existing groups of friends and acquaintances, although with Facebook software one can easily find mutual friends. By extension, we can say that social networks are fields of interconnection of individuals for potential social interaction (Haythornthwaite, 2000, 2005).
Several studies show that verbal and structural differences between different social networks (eg, Facebook, Friendster, My Space) contribute to variations in the display of personal data presented in user profiles (Liu, 2007). For example, surveys have shown that Facebook users share unrestricted access to personal information, and few modify their default privacy settings to enhance their protection (Gross & Acquisti, 2005). As the structure of YouTube has evolved for "publicly private" behaviors (individuals share videos anonymously) and "privately public" behaviors (individuals share videos without revealing their identities), different levels of relationships and mutual understanding, respect or integration between individuals (Lange, 2007).
Facebook-focused surveys have shown that people are using this networking tool to get more information about people with whom they already have some out-of-network contact, thus substantiating the link between in-and out-of-network behaviors and trends. Other studies have demonstrated a strong link with the emergence of a social capital (see Ellison, Steinfield and Lampe, 2007). These studies have shown correlations between user orientations and the subsequent creation of social capital.
In general, the structure of technology that favors the aforementioned online interaction platforms is based on the principles of media convergence, as it strengthens diverse and overlapping interfaces between a number of different spheres of sociability. Social media is supported by converging technologies that emphasize the contribution, flexibility, and reflection of media content (Jenkins, 2006). "Self-presentation" is also an exciting and complex aspect of social networking sites, as a user of the profile can present themselves through texts, relevant information (eg, demographics, and contact information, updating). writing on the other user's "wall"), as well as through visual means of notification, such as sharing photos and videos. Users of these networks have more control over their self-presentation than through interpersonal communication. On the other hand, it can be argued that users have control over the text and visual content they decide to share or reveal on their profile, for example on Facebook. In addition, users can, to some extent, protect the content they disclose on Facebook by taking the necessary measures through the use of personal information, thus restricting the display of content to specific groups of people.
THE CASE OF IT FACEBOOK
Most people who have seen the movie "The Network" have noticed the way in which its founders envisioned Facebook. The most famous of them, Mark Zuckerberg, has argued that when designing Facebook, he did not want to create an impressive social network, but functional (Cassidy, 2006). With this in mind, it emphasized the balance between access to information and control of information by the user (Cassidy, 2006). The history of this network is more or less known. Launched in 2004 as a social networking site for Harvard University students only. It gradually expanded to almost all US universities, colleges, high schools and high schools, from there to professional associations and finally around the world.
Facebook is, as we know, the most popular social network in the world.[1] Its greatest success may be due to the fact that its access is free and easy to anyone who wants to open an account simply by using an email address. Once someone enters the network, they are used to connect with friends, students or friends of friends through links called friends. One of its most popular features is the ability to enroll its registered users to share photos with their friends (Paradise, 2012), as well as texts, comments and gadgets, all at no cost confirming the basic principle of "free culture". of the Internet (Cassidy, 2006). Studies on Facebook suggest that users use the social network to have better information about the people they are going to meet or meet offline. It is worth noting here that the ability provided by "smart phones" to connect to Facebook has given the network a new impetus in terms of its use.
Also, a study has shown that there is a strong correlation between the use of Facebook and the formation and maintenance of social capital. The most important correlation was that of social capital accumulation, which broadens social perspectives and encourages the "sharing" of information between previously weak relationships, and those who reported low levels of satisfaction and self-esteem (Ellison, Steinfield & Lampe) . People on social media often take initiatives to develop their own communication codes regarding the degree of liking, dislike, interest and relationship with other people who present themselves on the relevant network (Fono & Raynes-Goldie, 2007). . The process of accepting or not friends is negotiated and resolved by several social media, which allow users to identify not only their public exposure, but also the creation of lists of close friends, acquaintances or friends from work with respective access rights. (Boyd, 2006). In addition, social media users often try to decode other members / users through the profile they have created on Facebook or even through what they post on their "walls" or what their friends write accordingly (Walther ET AL., 2006). In short, social media studies have demonstrated the ways in which individuals select and adapt their potential spaces to meet their perceived communication needs. This adjustment seems to be related to an individual's expectation regarding a particular outcome. Such behavior is not only in line with the basic premise of the "uses and satisfaction" approach, but also shows the formation of social capital among users.
THE RESEARCH
The research of Papacharissi and Mendelson (2011) is based on the theoretical framework combining the "use and satisfaction" approach with the social network approach to study the way in which motivation and socio-psychological characteristics affect the Greeks for the kind of use they make on Facebook.
One of the aims of the present study is to distinguish whether Facebook users form some form of social capital through the online relationships and contacts they develop. In social theory, different approaches to social capital have been developed, resulting in different views of social capital. For example, Bourdieu (1986) uses the concept of social capital to explain the reproduction of social inequalities. Here, relationships between people refer to the knowledge of people from other social strata who can benefit from one's social status (Swain, 2003; Sum, Mathews et al, 2008). In this sense, Bourdieu (1986) is mainly interested in vertical social relations between social classes. Putnam's approach (1995, 2000) examines the horizontal integration of social capital, both at the community level and at the individual level. His approach focuses on the formal dimension of social capital (e.g., membership and participation in organizations) and informal social capital (e.g., socializing with friends and neighbors at home or elsewhere), which shows shrinking trends in recent decades (Putnam, 2000). Wellman, Quan-Haase, Witte and Hampton (2001) distinguish two forms of social capital: network capital and equity. A third area consists of behavioral concepts, such as interpersonal trust and a sense of community (Shah, McLeod & Yoon, 2001).
Despite the differences in approaches, there are some commonalities: They all emphasize the relationships of people with each other who use these relationships for certain purposes (eg, social support, camaraderie, development). Some approaches refer to the formation and maintenance of real relationships (eg, socialization), others to potential relationships (ie members of a network). Still others (eg, interpersonal trust) argue that social relationships are facilitated or encouraged.
The relationships that develop on social networking sites are evaluated on the basis of the social capital view. Social capital is embedded in the structure of social networks and the position of individuals in these structures. As social networking sites have the potential to reshape social networks and reduce the cost of communication within the network, their use can have an impact on users' social capital. Social capital research suggests three different forms of it: 1) the social capital unit focuses on the resources that people have to strengthen their bonds within their closed groups, 2) social capital bridging focuses on one approaches groups that are not similar to one's own, 3) the maintenance of social capital focuses on one maintaining ties with groups that come from past moments of one's life. It is not clear, however, whether there are particular uses of Facebook that are more likely to result in positive results for social capital. In other cases, researchers have argued that while the Internet makes huge amounts of information available and accessible, only those who have the necessary skills to locate and evaluate content can take full advantage of it. In the light of the above findings, five statements were used for each form of social capital.
Affinity with the media is associated with many motivations such as habit, fun, companionship (see A. Rubin, 1981. A. Rubin, 1985. Papacharissi and Rubin, 2000). In this context, the television affinity of A.Rubin (1981) was adjusted to the case of Facebook. So, we have come up with a series of general questions, such as:
- What are the main features of users?
- What are the basics of usage, such as usage frequency, type of applications they use, etc?
- Ποια είναι σχέση των χρηστών με τα παραδοσιακά ΜΜΕ, όπως η τηλεόραση, το radio, οι εφημερίδες και ο κινηματογράφος;
- What are the main incentives and affinity of Facebook for its Greek users?
- If users form a kind of social capital from their Facebook membership.
METHODOLOGY
The survey was conducted via the Internet, and more specifically through the freeonlinesurveys-based online research platform for 6 November 2011 to 28 April 2012. The link to the questionnaire response was distributed via Facebook by sending to users and posting to open teams.
Motivation, as we have mentioned, refers to general moods that influence people's actions in order to fulfill a need or desire. Recent studies of Internet use have added to the interpersonal benefits, information retrieval, convenience of a service, entertainment, and a way to spend time (see Pornsakulvanich, Haridakis & Rubin, 2008). ). In the present study we followed, as mentioned, the model of Papacharissi and Mendelson (2011), and combined questions about interpersonal issues (integration / companionship) with the media (fun, habit, information, social interaction, escape and relaxation) and motivation for professional development, to structure eleven categories of possible motivations for using Facebook: Relaxation, fun, information exchange, professional development, companionship, social interaction, cool and new technology, means of expression, habit, escape. Three categories of statements were used for each motivation, which emerged from the aforementioned research by Papacharissi and Mendelson (2011).
Survey participants were asked to answer the extent to which the questions we posed to them were answered in their own cases based on the Likert scale rating (1 = strongly disagree, 2 = strongly disagree, 3 = strongly disagree, 4 = agree, 5 = Strongly Agree). Then, the questions grouped by motivation examined were ranked based on the average that emerged for each group of questions.
Respondents stated the level of agreement or disagreement with the logic of the Likert scale. The answers to the questions were added and the average was found. The average (M.O) for the scale is 3,5 and the TA (standard error) is 1,2 and the Cronbach alpha is 0,74.[2] Finally, participants had the opportunity to submit their opinions on Facebook through three open-ended questions.
RESULTS OF THE INVESTIGATION
In this research we have tried to look at the uses and satisfactions that Greek users have of using Facebook correlating with the structural factors of the social networks (network size, density, type of links) and the social capital created.
450 Greek Facebook users were included in the survey, of which 72% were women (324) and 28% men (126). Of these, approximately 86,9% of respondents belong to the age group of 18-40 years (45,3% at 18-25 age and 41,6% at age 26-40 years). 92,9% of respondents were university-educated with 26,5% holding a postgraduate degree. The survey participants Greek Facebook users are connected to the internet on an average of 219 minutes per day and on average use the internet in the last 8 years.[1] More specifically, 74,9% of the participants look at their Facebook page daily, on average 5 times (4,9) a day and about 30% of them are connected to this medium for more than 3 hours a day . 25,1% of Facebook users do not log in on a daily basis and estimate that on average they spend about 13 hours a week on Facebook. However, 66,2% of Facebook users surveyed have not formed a group on the network, although 51,1% state that they participate in 1 to 10 groups. Also, 92% have more than 51 friends (33% say they have 300 to 600 friends) and 36,7% have uploaded more than 51 photos, while fewer (38,4%) have posted add-ons (gadgets) on their page. Few users maintain more than one Facebook account (8,2%), while according to their answers a large percentage choose to use their real name (78,4%).
Most often they send messages (66% Often / every time they log in) and write on their friends' walls (44%), while they rarely update their profile, play Facebook games or upload or tag (tagging) the photos they upload to Facebook (Table 1). At the same time, as it appears from their answers (Table 2), they are not or do not feel dependent on Facebook, as the majority of them state that they would not feel lost without Facebook (86,4% I strongly disagree / I disagree), they could easily leave it for weeks (66,9% Strongly Agree / Agree) and do not rate it as an important factor in their lives (75,6% Strongly Disagree / Disagree). At the same time, only a very small percentage of users state that they would really miss Facebook if for some reason they could not access it (3,8%). On the other hand, there are many users who "when they have their computer open at the same time" enter "Facebook, regardless of what work they do (59,3%, I strongly agree / I agree). Also, a significant percentage state that when they open their computer the first thing they do is to "log in" to Facebook (37,8%, I strongly agree / I agree) or when they have access to the internet regardless of device (PC, iRad , smartphone), "enters" Facebook (32,4%).
A) The relationship of its users Facebook with traditional means
21,6% of the respondents in the survey connect with their website on Facebook for more than 3 hours and 24,5% from 2 to 3 hours, while 25,1% do not connect with Facebook on a daily basis. On the other hand, 37,6% of them state that they do not watch TV every day and only 6,4% state that they watch TV more than 3 hours a day. Around 27,1% state that they watch TV for 2 to 3 hours daily. Also, 28,9% of Facebook respondents say they do not listen to the radio on a daily basis and 56,7% do not buy newspapers. At best 19,6% say they listen to the radio 2 to 3 hours a day and 31,8% say they read newspapers 1-2 times a week. They often go to the cinema (62,4%), more rarely to the theater (34%) and very often "download" movies from the internet (47,6%).
B) The reasons for using it Facebook
The use of leisure time (MN = 3,2, TS = 1,2) is emerging as the most important incentive to use Facebook. As expected communication capability (MM = 3,1 TS = 1,2) and exchange of information (MM = 2,9 TS = 1,3) provided to users by Facebook, are important incentives for using the medium, and the features are what differentiate it from the motivations and uses found in traditional media. In the same context, entertainment is ranked among the main motivations for using Facebook (MM = 3 TS = 1,0). Moreover, research has been motivated by the use of traditional means, such as habit (MM = 2,5 TS = 1,3) and relaxation (MM = 2,5 TS = 1,1), which highlights the converging nature of the services provided by Facebook and at the same time suggests that there are tacit motives. Contrary to what one would expect, the motivation of personal expression / expression of personal views is very low (MM = 2,2 TS = 1,2), which is linked to the distinction made by respondents between general and individual information. At the same time, the incentives to flee (MM = 1,7 TS = 0,9) or pet (MM = 1,9 TS = 1,1) associated with television was less pronounced. Possibly the success of social media is based on the model of use and satisfaction offered by traditional means to the public.
1 Chart: Incentives to use it Facebook
(M.O. Scale Likert 1 = No and 5 = Exactly / a lot)[1] 
Figure 2: Percentage distribution (%) of responses to communication motivation questions (Scale Likert 5 = Exactly 1 = No) 
At the same time, although the exchange of information is an important factor in the use of the instrument, it is limited to the general interests of the users and less to the provision of information about themselves at the individual level. More specifically, at 49,1% they say they use Facebook to share material-information about their interests, while 84% (No / No Right) state that it they use the medium to view personal information.
3 Graph: Percentage distribution of responses to information sharing questions (% Scale Likert 5 = Exactly 1 = No) 
From the answers to the open-ended questions posed in the research, the issue of privacy and the exposure of personal information seems to be of great concern to Greek users who are bothered by the "ability of others to see them", to be monitored ("Big Brother", " espionage "," keyhole "," panoramic ", in their comments), from disclosure and" freedom of expression "," over-exposure "of personal data (" in public "), that" strangers manage to "watch" the life ”and have the right to publish their personal data (photos) without their prior approval. At the same time, users are annoyed by the fact that it is not possible to permanently delete any personal data from Facebook, which, as they say, are stored in the platform database ("folder") and are "exploitable" or can be controlled. Reservations about the medium are significantly linked to the suspicion they face of privacy, privacy gaps and low levels of protection. Users state ignorance of how they are used and which of their personal information is disclosed to third parties. These reservations may be related to the various posts, which concern problems that occur in the form of leakage of personal data from Facebook.
However, an interesting feature resulting from the association of use of the tool and the motivation questions is that although users refuse to use the means to view personal information, however, the 78% of uploaded users in their profile beyond 51 photos, declare that they do not use the medium to view personal information.
Table 3: About how many images (absolute number) you have uploaded to your page * I use Facebook to provide personal information about myself
In the same context, few use the medium because it enables them to express themselves freely (13,5%). Still, unlike what you would expect, survey respondents say they do not use Facebook in particular for political reasons (complaints, protests). Besides, few respondents agree (27,3%) with the position that their Facebook membership "makes their voice heard more".
4 Graph: Percentage distribution of responses to personal expression queries (% Scale Likert 5 = Exactly 1 = No) 
The habit of using Facebook also seems to play a role, something that also applies to television, but to a lesser extent. 29,6% (Enough / Exactly) of users state that they use Facebook because it is a habit and 17,1% (Enough / Exactly) state that they use it only because it exists. The factor of using the medium for professional development is less important, as few people use the medium to network professionally (21,8%) or because they consider that it may be useful for their professional future (19,8% ).
Other motivations such as relaxation or escape do not seem so strong for using the medium. However, although some users (18,9%) state that they use the medium because "it 's fun to try new things", 79,6% (No / Not much) state that they do not use Facebook because it is fashionable. The inclusion / companionship factor seems to have an even smaller effect, as only a small percentage state in the relevant questions that they use Facebook, why in this way they feel less lonely (14,2%, Enough / Exactly) or why in this way feels that he / she is not alone (12,4%, Enough / Exactly).
At the same time, out of the open questions of the survey, there were also motives that were not included in its closed questions, such as the directness of communication ("ease of contact", exchange of messages) and information ("at all times"). Continuous availability in communication is also highlighted by users as, as they say, "you always find your company to enjoy your time."
It is also important for users to be able to selectively update and gather information - as they feel they are sharing the information with people with whom they have common interests - so, as they say, updating Facebook in some way replaces searching for different sources. ("I can see the most important news in the home instead of searching the website of each newspaper separately"). Some even say that they are informed through Facebook about the current developments, but it is not obvious to what extent they feel covered by the information provided by Facebook.
Some users admit that Facebook enables them to shape an ideal profile, different from the "real", where they can be "what they would like" to be. Typical are the answers to the fact that Facebook provides the opportunity to "reinvent yourself, as you want, to have a digital entity", to create a "strong identity". These formalities often involve a critical mood and, at the same time, an awareness that it is a virtual reality. The user's answer to the question of what makes Facebook appealing is characteristic: "The illusion of" personal "networking (while talking about mediation and potential) and the" temptation "of the public exposure. The converging nature of the services (audiovisual material - photos, videos - text, communication, games) provided by Facebook and their delivery on a platform was also reported by users as an element that makes the medium attractive. Other motives resulting from the qualitative analysis are curiosity, gossip ("one can monitor the everyday life of many people with whom he has no personal personal contact").
It is also important that Facebook is a relatively economic means of communication ("cheap communication", "mobile substitute") with possibilities of unlimited communication. In this case, the comparison extends to other social networks with constraints on the characters being posted (Twitter). In addition, for parent users, it is also a tool for "what their children write". Of course, the tooling of the means for free promotion / advertising of products and services or informational websites is, for some, the only motivation to use it.
However, from the answers of the respondents it is found that, unlike television, they use Facebook and by extension the internet mainly to communicate with other people, and less to display information about themselves on an individual level: to express their personal opinions or to network professionally. An important motivation for users is also the ability to gather information, exchange information and select information. Finally, what appears to make Facebook attractive is also the one-stop shop it offers with parallel possibilities for entertainment, communication and information.
C) Social capital
Contrary to other research that highlighted the paradox of social networks to isolate users in their private sphere and contrary to the stereotype of antisocial internet user, the results of the research showed that people who have a social activity and have an active social reap the social benefits of Facebook and use it to increase forms of bridging and maintaining social capital. These networks maintain the social networking of members, who are already quite active and mobilized. It is also important to note that although the strengthening of close social relationships is an incentive to use Facebook, the forms of social capital unity appear to have the lowest average compared to the other forms.
It is also quite interesting that for these people the use of Facebook secretly results in a sense of social capital, as on the one hand they feel that they can mobilize other people / groups who have common opinions with them but on the other hand do not are sure that the people he meets on Facebook would risk their reputation for them or that their participation in this social media makes their voice heard.
Graph 5: Percentage distribution of answers to questions on social capital bridging (% Scale Likert 5 = I agree very much and 1 = I disagree very much) 
64,2% (I agree / Strongly agree) of the respondents state that "their socializing with others on Facebook reminds them that everyone in the world is connected", that "it would be easy to find people on Facebook" (62,7%) , that socializing with others on Facebook makes them interested in things that people other than them think (53,8%) and that socializing with others on Facebook helps them to know new opinions that they would not otherwise know (56,2 %). The bridge of social relations is also perceived in the answers given by the users to the open questions, where they state that what they like most on Facebook is "that people from all over the world have the opportunity to communicate their opinions", "the reminder how we are all constantly connected, the sense of security that this constant communication with others provides "," the fact that you can participate with other people in something in common, "the sense of the online community". However, few believe that Facebook contributes to the voice of their voice (27,6%), while equally small is the number of users who believe that socializing allows them to make new acquaintances and be able to express themselves (30,4, XNUMX%).
Graph 6: Percentage distribution of answers to questions related to the maintenance of social capital (% Scale Likert 5 = I agree very much and 1 = I disagree very much)
The maintenance of social relationships was also evident in the responses of users, who at a percentage of 67,6% (Agree/Strongly Agree) state that through Facebook "I could find out about events in my hometown from someone I know from school , who lives there." Connecting different time periods or phases of people's lives appears to be an important element in the socialization of Facebook users. As can be seen from the open questions, Facebook offers them the possibility to reconnect with people/friends who have been "lost in the past", "old friends and classmates", to restore their relationships. As is characteristically pointed out, "that you can have even a rudimentary contact with other people, who do not move in your daily circle". They feel that somehow they can follow the developments in the lives of their friends ("The ability to "see" the lives of my friends/relatives who are in another city or abroad and communicate with them more often than if we only communicated with Skype/msn") or even that they participate ("you live in parallel with your life and a part of your friends' lives", "you follow the changes in the life of a friend"). A kind of nostalgia and contact with the personal past emerges from the answers. Connecting the different time periods or phases seems to make the new medium attractive. As one interviewee typically says: "I can see the lives of some people who for some reason have disappeared from my life (people from school) and I smile when I find them on Facebook!".
It is also important that although users state that they do not use Facebook for business reasons (incentives), 73% (Agree / Strongly Agree) state that they could take advantage of the opportunity provided by Facebook, by maintaining their social relationships, to find information about a job or internship from a school / university acquaintance. Users also state that "if needed I could ask for a little favor from someone I know from school".
Graph 7: Percentage distribution of answers to questions related to the section of social capital (% Scale Likert 5 = I agree very much and 1 = I disagree very much) 
The low relative share of social capital forms shows that for Greek users Facebook is complementary to strengthening their close interpersonal relationships (friends - family). For some users, it is a way of strengthening social relationships as an alternative to lack of leisure time or many obligations. As a user points out to the open questions raised in the survey «you can communicate with many people that you would not have the time to do in your daily life, even looking only at some of their status ". In no case do users feel that the communication they have with friends and family on Facebook replaces the strengthening of these relationships that take place offline. 55,1% (I strongly agree / Agree) of users state that "there is no one on Facebook that I feel comfortable talking to about my very personal problems", while 58% (I strongly agree / I agree) state that I do not know enough / good people to include them in / associate with something important ". Higher percentages are questions related to the mobilization of individuals, with whom users share common beliefs (69,1%, I strongly agree / I agree) and who could help them to fight an injustice or inequality ( 63,6%, I strongly agree / I agree).
CONCLUSIONS
The most important use of social networks that emerges from this research is that related to spending one's free time on Facebook and possibly because it is enjoyable and fun. Both of these motivations are found in the use of traditional media, especially television. Of course, this does not mean that the services provided by Facebook converge with those of traditional media, but it does suggest that the most important elements of its use tend to acquire a kind of ritual and tool use. Uses such as information retrieval and professional search were not significant, at least in our sample. At the same time, the tendencies of escape and companionship that are important motivations for use, especially for television viewing, were not particularly evident in the respondents of our research. This may signal that Facebook seems to have the ability to converge the needs of using traditional and new media.
On the other hand, can the Greek users consider that they are not dependent on Facebook, but in practice they seem to regress between social activity and passive participation. Through a comfortable situation that combines passivity and sociability, social networking users cross the spheres of social interaction to learn how to communicate with the users they are connected with. Contradictions reflect our everyday life, in which work and play, friends and colleagues, public and private life are not completely discrete concepts.
At the same time, equipped with a tool that activates social networking, individuals simultaneously meet their traditional intermediary and interpersonal needs and at the same time strengthen their social relationships. The relaxed fun offered by Facebook strengthens the form of social capital unity to the extent that it acts as a confirmation of contacts and relationships with friends and family (closed sphere).
In short, the research showed that prominent motivations reveal a user who has the characteristics of a socially active person, who does not seek social activity only through social media, but also in real life. We would say that social media is currently used by Greeks in addition, they do not consider its daily access as the most important act of the day nor are they afraid to use their real name. On the other hand, the results of the research show that those who present a mobility and a social activism can reap the social benefits of Facebook, but also use it to create social capital and strengthen social ties.
However, a topic that emerges and will be a subject of new research is the contradiction between the private and the public sphere through the social networking sites. As it turns out, Greek users seem to worry about protecting their privacy but prefer to focus their efforts on knowing others rather than exposing themselves.
This study was published in the journal COMMUNICATION ISSUES 16-17 ISSUE
[1] 1 = no, 2 = not much, 3 = enough, 4 = about, 5 = exactly / very much.
[1] In a recent pan-Hellenic survey conducted by ELTRUN, the Athens University of Economics and Business, on the attitude, exploitation and trust of Greeks in social media - the survey was conducted at the end of 2011 with 1.050 experienced internet users active in electronic transactions and markets - it was recorded that Greek users can be described as "experienced" because 50% states that they use social media over 3 years. 68% of Greeks visit social networking sites (e.g. Facebook, Twitter) and 60%, blogs and forums. Day, «68% "stuck" with social media, "24 January 2012. Available in http://www.imerisia.gr/general2. asp?catid=12319&subid=20110&pub [last access 12 / 7 / 2012].
[1] Facebook lists 1,2 billions of active users who collectively consume 700 billions of minutes a month to view their websites on Facebook (2010, 2011). The average user shares 90 content units (e.g., links, photo albums, status updates) that is equal to 30 billions of pieces of content per month posted on Facebook (Facebook, 2010). 2001 showed gross revenue of 4-4,5 billion dollars (Economist, 2012).
[2] Cronbach alpha is a creator of intrinsic consistency of queries and used to evaluate the homogeneity of questions that correspond to each motivation. Homogeneity concerns the agreement between the questions that make up the measurement tool.
[1] They count, in particular, the contacts made by individuals to maintain a relationship, types, exchanges, contact frequency, relationship strength, intimacy, quality elements of relationships, size of networks, local or global range of networks and a multitude of other variables.
* We warmly thank Antonis Armenakis for his comments and comments.
