A cross-country examination of normative expectations of social media platforms

Normative expectations of social media platforms, or what people believe is important for social media platforms to do, include actions such as “show reliable information” and “ensure that people feel safe.” This study examines whether normative expectations vary by country and platform. A survey of over 20,000 people across 20 countries allowed us to investigate beliefs about 14 normative expectations. Although there is a relationship between the country in which one resides and what one believes is important for social media to do, the effects are small, adding nuance to theories of both globalization and localization. Differences in people’s normative expectations based on the platform they use most are also small. Aggregating people’s normative expectations reveals by-country clusters that are most closely related to Hofstede’s concept of individualism. Platform clusters emerge based on the platform parent company and unique affordances.