Gender and Facebook motives as predictors of specific types of Facebook use: A latent growth curve analysis in adolescence

Despite increasing evidence that specific types of Facebook use (i.e., active private, active public, and passive Facebook use) are differently related to adolescents' well-being, little is known how these types function over the course of adolescence and whether gender and Facebook motives may predict the initial level and changes in these types over time. To address these gaps, Flemish adolescents (ages 12-19) were questioned at three different time points, with six months in between (NTime1 = 1866). Latent growth curve models revealed that active private Facebook use increased over the course of adolescence, whereas public Facebook use decreased. Passive Facebook use, however, remained stable. In addition, gender and Facebook motives were related to initial levels of specific types of Facebook use, and predictive of dynamic change in specific types of Facebook use over time. The discussion focuses on the understanding and implications of these findings.