THE INFLUENCE OF SOCIAL MEDIA ENGAGEMENT ON CONTENT SHARING BEHAVIOUR: EVIDENCE FROM GEN-Z SOCIAL MEDIA USERS IN SRI LANKA

Abstract

In today’s digital world, social media plays a prominent role becoming an integral part of daily life. Users across multiple generations, including Gen Z, millennials, Gen X, and baby boomers have become active consumers of social media, highlighting the importance of understanding user behaviour. This study aims to determine whether there is a definite relationship between one’s engagement on social media platforms and their content sharing behaviour. The study investigates three key dimensions of social media engagement: consumption, contribution, and creation as independent variables, while content sharing behaviour is treated as the dependent variable. Previous studies have largely examined these variables in isolation, incorporating descriptive models and scales to determine the influencing factors. This study adopted a hypothetico-deductive approach, supported by a quantitative, cross-sectional research design. Data were gathered from 800 individuals using a purposive, structured questionnaire targeting Sri Lankan individuals aged between 18 and 29 years. To examine the relationship between social media engagement and content sharing behaviour, correlation and linear regression analyses were utilized. The results indicated a significant positive relationship, suggesting that higher levels of social media engagement are associated with increased content sharing behaviour. The study provides significant benefits to anyone who expects to gain a thorough understanding of a typical Sri Lankan individual’s social media behaviour and to any digital marketing professional who intends to utilize the study's conclusions to effectively target consumers based on their social media behaviour, both in terms of engagement and content sharing. Furthermore, future researchers could explore the behavioural aspects of content sharing, specific content types, or generational differences to gain deeper insights into how social media engagement influences sharing behaviour.