Exploring the inhibitors and triggers of social media users’ motivation for food photo sharing

Figures & data

Figure 1. Research hypothetical model.

Table 2. Results of confirmatory factor analysis and the reliability and validity of the questionnaire.

Constructs	Factor loading	Average variance extracted	Composite reliability	Cronbach’s alpha
Factor 1: Social intimacy concerns		0.508	0.804	0.829
1. You think you will not spend time sharing food photos on social media in your spare time.	0.819
2. You think you will not share personal information with other members of your social media platform while sharing food photos.	0.760
3. You think you will not share your feelings with other members of your social media platform while sharing food photos.	0.748
4. You feel that you will not understand the feelings of other members of the social platform while sharing food photos.	0.728
5. You feel that you have a low level of intimacy with other members of your social platform while sharing food photos.	0.819
Factor 2: Privacy and security concerns		0.721	0.911	0.91
1. You may be concerned about your privacy when you share food photos on social media.	0.855
2. You are concerned that personal information may be misused when you share food photos on social media.	0.869
3. You are concerned about excessively revealing personal and family information when you share food photos on social media.	0.917
4. You may be concerned that people you do not know may obtain your personal information while sharing food photos.	0.895
Factor 3: Environmental concerns		0.547	0.856	0.856
1. It takes a long time to respond to comments on social media platforms while sharing food photos.	0.736
2. The quality of food photos shared on social media platforms is poor.	0.822
3. The response rate to your food photos posted on social media platforms is low.	0.752
4. Food photos shared on social media platforms are of no value to you.	0.851
5. You are concerned about provocative or hostile reactions to food photos shared on social media platforms.	0.800
Factor 4: Personal concerns		0.550	0.826	0.839
1. You are not confident about sharing food photos on social media platforms.	0.820
2. You are concerned that the food photos you share will be unpopular or not relevant to a particular discussion.	0.817
3. You are shy about sharing food photos on social media platforms.	0.841
4. You can satisfy your needs by browsing other people’s shares, so you do not need to share food photos.	0.727
Factor 5: Enjoyment		0.666	0.887	0.882
1. You find it enjoyable to share food photos on social media.	0.859
2. You have fun sharing food photos on social media.	0.901
3. It is fun to share food photos on social media.	0.807
4. You are happy to help your friends by sharing food photos on social media.	0.710
Factor 6: Commitment		0.785	0.936	0.934
1. You build close relationships with friends by sharing food photos.	0.812
2. You maintain relationships with your friends by sharing food photos.	0.895
3. You tend to build long-term relationships with your friends by sharing food photos.	0.870
4. You would like to maintain a long-term relationship with your friends by sharing food photos.	0.881
Factor 7: Self-development		0.675	0.861	0.918
1. Sharing food photos on social media platforms enables you to expand your social circle.	0.882
2. Sharing food photos on social media platforms allows you to learn new things.	0.888
3. Sharing food photos on social media platforms makes you more proficient and enhances your professional knowledge.	0.853
Factor 8: Reputation building		0.691	0.899	0.938
1. You can earn respect from others by sharing food photos on social media.	0.827
2. You gain more prestige by sharing food photos than people who do not share them.	0.792
3. By sharing food photos, you increase the recognition of others.	0.862
4. Sharing food photos will improve your photos on social media.	0.799
Factor 9: Motivation for food photo sharing		0.562	0.884	0.888
1. It is meaningful to share food photos on social media platforms.	0.704
2. It is fun to share food photos on social media.	0.686
3. You share food photos on social media platforms to get many likes.	0.844
4. You share food photos on social media platforms to get many comments.	0.839
5. You share food photos on social media platforms to get attention.	0.702
6. Sharing food photos on social media platforms is your habit.	0.705

Table 1. Respondents’ demographic characteristics (N = 309).

Characteristic	N (%)	Characteristic	N (%)
Gender		Ethnicity
Male	132 (42.7)	Mainland China	295 (95.5%)
Female	177 (57.3)	Hong Kong, China	10 (3.2)
Age		Taiwan, China	3 (1)
19 years old or below	5 (1.6)	Other	1 (0.3)
20–29 years old	157 (50.8)	Income
30–39 years old	56 (18.1)	CNY4999 or below (USD693 or below)	73 (23.6)
40–49 years old	44 (14.2)	CNY5000–9999 (USD694–1386)	104 (33.7)
50–59 years old	40 (12.9)	CNY10,000–14,999 (USD1387–2080)	76 (24.6)
60 years old or above	7 (2.3)	CNY15,000–19,999 (USD2081–2773)	32 (10.4)
Education level		CNY20,000–24,999 (USD2774–3467)	13 (4.2)
Primary school	3 (0.9)	CNY25,000 or above (USD3468 or above)	11 (3.6)
Middle school	27 (8.7)	Time spent as a social media user
Junior college	70 (22.7)	Less than a year	14 (4.5)
Undergraduate	134 (43.4)	1–3 years	48 (15.5)
Master’s degree and above	75 (24.3)	4–6 years	53 (17.2)
Marital status		More than 6 years	194 (62.8)
Unmarried	136 (44)	Internet usage time
Married	169 (54.7)	Less than a year	2 (0.6)
Divorce/separated	4 (1.3)	1–3 years	25 (8.1)
Current occupation		4–6 years	72 (23.3)
Student	53 (17.2)	More than 6 years	210 (68)
Housewife	11 (3.6)	Time spent on social media daily
Civil servant	33 (10.7)	Less than a year	38 (12.3)
People in the service industry	46 (14.9)	1–3 years	2 (0.6)
Faculty	31 (10)	4–6 years	25 (8.1)
Businessman	44 (14.2)	More than 6 years	72 (23.3)
Self-employed	32 (10.4)
Personnel engaged in manufacturing	27 (8.7)
Others	32 (10.4)

Table 3. Results of measuring the discriminative validity of questionnaires.

	RB	SD	C	E	PC	EC	P&S	SI	PS
RB	0.831
SD	−0.009	0.822
C	0.374	0.024	0.886
E	0.456	−0.005	0.397	0.816
PC	0.232	0.039	0.004	0.093	0.742
EC	0.04	0.175	−0.028	0.052	0.148	0.74
P&S	−0.108	−0.003	−0.012	0.012	0.062	0.023	0.849
SI	0.083	0.051	−0.186	0.006	0.161	0.104	0.02	0.712
PS	−0.075	0.008	0.303	0.164	0.227	0.009	0.074	−0.296	0.749

Note. RB: reputation building; SD: self-development; C: commitment; E: enjoyment; PR: personal concerns; ER: environmental concerns; P&S: privacy and security concerns; SI: social intimacy concerns; PS: photo-sharing

Figure 2. Total sample structure model analysis. Note. *, *** and - - - denote p < 0.05, p < 0.001 and ‘not significant,’ respectively.

Table 4. Model path test results.

Path	Path coefficient	T	p	Hypothesis
H1: Social intimacy concerns → motivation for sharing food photos	−0.262	3.976	0.000	Valid
H2: Privacy and security concerns → motivation for sharing food photos	0.034	0.753	0.451	No
H3: Environmental concerns → motivation for sharing food photos	−0.008	−0.118	0.906	No
H4: Personal concerns → motivation for sharing food photos	−0.322	4.742	0.000	Valid
H5: Enjoyment → motivation for sharing food photos	0.204	2.854	0.004	Valid
H6: Commitment → motivation for sharing food photos	0.237	5.37	0.000	Valid
H7: Self-development → motivation for sharing food photos	0.012	0.243	0.808	No
H8: Reputation building → motivation for sharing food photos	0.219	4.982	0.000	Valid