Social networking sites (SNSs) are one of the most widely used means of communication. For a productive and effective design of social media websites, two factors are critical; to know the psyche of the user, and to be able to foresee the latent needs while developing a design or feature of social media. As the use of social media such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Myspace are increasing with the rapid growth especially in mobile users, there are many theories describing the interplay of virtual needs and user expectations in web designing. Social media is not used for the purpose of communication only but also for the sake of playing a part in society, satisfying the need for social acceptance, the realization of one’s self, and form associations with a certain group of people. This study provides a detailed overview of different theories and models that discuss the inherent properties of social media platforms and provides an explanation for the different observations that result from the interplay of these factors.