**6. Why do people share?**

According to Berger and Milkman [25] there are five (5) main reasons why users are compelled to share content online, whether it is every detail or what they deem as highlights of their lives. These are:


People generally share because they believe that what they are sharing is important. It is hoped that the shared content will be deemed important to others which will ultimately result in more shares, likes and followers.

**Figure 1** below sums up the findings of Berger and Milkman [25] which shows that the main reason people feel the need to share content on the varying social media platform is that the content relates to what is deemed as worthy cause. 84% of respondents highlighted this as the primary motivation for sharing. Seventyeight percent said that they share because they feel a personal connection to the content while 69 and 68%, respectively said the content either made them feel more

**Figure 1.** *Why people share source: Global Social Media Research. thesocialmediahat.com [26].*

involved with the world or helped them to define who they were. Forty-nine percent share because of the entertainment or information value of the content. A more in depth look at each reason for sharing follows.
