The transition of a social network profile to friends-only may also signal a shift in an individual's identity orientation. In virtual communities, a common identity orientation specifies attachment to larger group and social identities [28,29]. A new student may be more likely to adopt a common identity orientation in a social network site, as it affirms the social identity of the individual in their new role as university member. However, setting the profile to friends-only moves the orientation of interaction away from common identities and towards common bonds, representing the individual's attachment to smaller groups in the network. In setting the profile to friends-only, the individual will continue to draw benefit from support provisioning strong ties, but they may miss some of the benefits of new or emergent ties.