The role of intentions in facebook usage among educated youth in Pakistan: An extension of the theory of planned behavior

The purpose of study was to test an extended model of Ajzen's theory of planned behavior (TPB) to understand the usage of social networking websites (SNWs) particularly the Facebook in Pakistan. The extended model consisted of variables that were past behavior of using Facebook, its manifest and latent functions. A sample of 480 students, between 16 and 24 years of age, was randomly selected from four universities located in Lahore, Pakistan using multistage sampling method. Descriptive statistics of demographic variables were generated to see patterns of Facebook usage. Simple linear regression and multivariate regression analysis was carried out to see the association between independent and dependent variables. The findings of the present study validated the efficacy of standard as well as extended model of TPB by identifying tendencies that can help explain an individual's usage of SNWs in societies like Pakistan. The analysis suggest that an individual's positive attitude towards Facebook, the approval of its usage by significant others' and perceived control over the usage increases the intention to use it. Additionally, higher the intentions to use Facebook, higher will be the actual usage. The intention to continue using Facebook was further strengthened by perceived manifest and latent functions of Facebook.