Teenagers’ perceptions of advertising in the online social networking environment 
                        TEENAGERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF 
                    ADVERTISING IN THE ONLINE SOCIAL 
                         NETWORKING ENVIRONMENT: 
                               An exploratory study 
                                               
                      A Master of Business (Research) Thesis 
                                               
                                            By 
                                               
                          Louise Kelly, B Bus (Marketing) 
                                               
                                     Submitted in the  
                  School of Advertising Marketing and Public Relations 
                          Queensland University of Technology 
                                           2008 
                 Louise Kelly B Bus (Marketing)                       Page i 
                                     Teenagers’ perceptions of advertising in the online social networking environment 
             Keywords 
             Advertising, avoidance, online social networking, perceptions, privacy, teenagers, 
             trust  
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                                     Teenagers’ perceptions of advertising in the online social networking environment 
             Abstract 
             This study explores teenager perceptions towards advertising in the online social 
             networking environment.  The future of online social networking sites is dependant 
             upon the continued support of advertisers in this new medium, which is linked to the 
             acceptance of advertising on these sites by their targeted audience.  This exploratory 
             study used the qualitative research methods of focus groups and in-depth personal 
             interviews to gain insights from the teenager participants. 
              
             The literature review in Chapter Two examined the previous research into 
             advertising theories, consumer attitudes and issues such as advertising avoidance, 
             advertising as a service and trust and privacy in the online social networking 
             environment.  The teenage consumer was also examined as were the influences of 
             social identity theory. From this literature review eleven propositions were formed 
             which provided a structure to the analysis of the research.  Chapter Three outlined 
             the multi-method research approach of using focus groups and in-depth interviews.  
             The key findings were outlined in Chapter Four and Chapter Five provides 
             discussion regarding these findings and the implications for theory and advertising 
             practice. 
              
             The main findings from this study suggest that teenagers have very high levels of 
             advertising avoidance and are sceptical towards advertising on their online social 
             networking sites.  They have an inherent distrust of commercial messages in the 
             online social networking environment; however they are extremely trusting with the 
             information that they disclose online.  They believe that if their site is classified as 
             private, then the information disclosed on this site is not accessible to anyone.  The 
             study explores the reasons behind these views.  This research has resulted in the 
             identification of seven motivations behind online social networking use.  A new 
             model of advertising avoidance in the online social networking environment is also 
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                                     Teenagers’ perceptions of advertising in the online social networking environment 
             presented and discussed.  This model makes a contribution towards filling the gap in 
             available research on online social networking sites and advertising perception. The 
             findings of this study have also resulted in the identification of the characteristics of 
             online social networking sites as an advertising medium.  The newness of online 
             social networking sites coupled with the enthusiastic adoption of online social 
             networking by the teenage demographic means that this exploratory study will be of 
             interest to both academics and practitioners alike.  
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