Understanding Interpersonal Goal Adoption and Pursuit on Social Media: A Qualitative Investigation

Interpersonal goals can guide behaviours on Social Networking Sites (SNSs) that inform experiences. People with compassionate goals focused on supporting others or self-image goals focused on conveying a desirable image, can exhibit distinct behaviours on SNSs and experience different social, emotional and well-being outcomes. However, what contributes to adopting and pursuing these goals in SNS contexts remains unclear. To develop a foundational understanding and identify variables that may contribute, the current study conducted 21 semi-structured interviews using the snapshot scroll-back technique to explore people’s experiences of self-image and compassionate goals via SNS posting. Reflexive thematic analysis was used to analyse the data, and three themes were generated: evaluating internal desires before goal adoption, observing others when making decisions about goal pursuit, and determining effective means for goal achievement. Our findings offer initial insights into antecedents influencing interpersonal goals as well as how perceptions of others and platform features shape interpersonal goal adoption and pursuit in SNS contexts. Specifically, findings suggest several variables such as self-esteem, self-concept clarity, need to belong, meaning in life, gratitude, affordances, and feedback, play influential roles in goal processes. Additionally, findings shed light on how SNS users manage multiple goals. These insights expand understanding of interpersonal goals, which can guide how people use SNSs.