The role of online social network travel websites in creating social interaction for gen y travelers

This paper aims to evaluate Generation Y users' social interaction with online social networks (OSNs) by testing a theoretical model, which consists of antecedents and consequences of social interactions in an OSN travel context. An online self-administered questionnaire was sent to a systematic random sample of 12000 college students at six US universities, and 513 respondents in total participated in the study. Study results suggest that innovativeness, perceived utility, and information sharing are effective for developing online social interaction. The paper discusses theoretical and practical implications of study results and provides suggestions for future research.