College students’ disclosure of location-related information on Facebook

• We developed a new model to explain why people share their locations on Facebook.
• Our model explained 61% of the variance in why people share locations on Facebook.
• Findings are discussed in relation to behavioral-intention models.
• Practical implications for social media companies are offered.

This study drew on existing research and three behavioral intention models to develop the beginning of a new model to explain why college students share their locations on Facebook. Findings showed that students were more likely to disclose their location on Facebook if their friends did so, a concept called subjective norm. Results also showed that subjective norm had an indirect effect on whether people disclosed their location, mediated through people’s attitude toward disclosure, while controlling for usefulness of disclosing. Collectively, this model explained 61% of the variance in why college students share locations on Facebook. Findings are discussed in relation to behavioral-intention models, and practical implications for social media companies are offered.