Would you go invisible on social media? An empirical study on the antecedents of users' lurking behavior

With the ubiquity of social networks, users of social network apps are likelier to lurk rather than interact. Accordingly, users' lurking behavior in online communities deserves more attention and research. Our research explores the causes of social media users' lurking behavior through three constructs: refusal to disclose information, social browsing, and social network fatigue and the antecedents of these three constructs. Evidence from 786 valid questionnaire data indicates that the users lurk on social media platforms primarily out of a refusal to disclose information and social network fatigue rather than for social browsing. Notably, social network fatigue was the major contributor to the users' lurking behavior. In summary, our research enhances the understanding of the users' lurking behavior and its antecedent variables and reveals key lurking determinants that provide social media vendors with practical insight.