A case study in serendipity: environmental researchers use of traditional and social media for dissemination.

In the context of the 2015 Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) outbreak in South Korea, this study examines the multifaceted effects of media use considering the current complex media environment. Analysis of a two-wave online panel survey found that traditional media use had a positive influence on MERS knowledge while social media use did not. However, knowledge did not facilitate preventive behaviors. In contrast, negative emotional responses due to media use stimulated desirable behaviors. Furthermore, social media use directly influenced behavioral responses but traditional media use did not show the same effects. Different functions of traditional and social media during an epidemic are discussed.

Youth Social Media Use and Health Outcomes: #diggingdeeper

In recent years, the role of media in individuals’ alcohol consumption has been touched upon by several researchers. Nevertheless, the underlying processes explaining the relationship between media use and alcohol consumption, as well as the differences in strength of the associations between social and traditional media use and alcohol consumption remain understudied. The present exploratory cross-sectional study (N = 381) among emerging adults (M = 21.83, SD = 2.04, 75.3% females, 67.7% college students) examined drinking identity and non-drinking identity as underlying mechanisms of the relationship between alcohol-related media use and alcohol consumption, while comparing the role of social and traditional media in these processes. We found no associations between traditional media use and drinking identity, non-drinking identity or alcohol consumption. In contrast, social media use was both directly and indirectly related to alcohol consumption via drinking identity and non-drinking identity. This demonstrates that social media can play a socializing role in emerging adults’ alcohol consumption.

The exposure to relevant social and/or historical events can increase the generation of false memories (FMs). The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is a calamity challenging health, political, and journalistic bodies, with media generating confusion that has facilitated the spread of fake news. In this respect, our study aims at investigating the relationships between memories (true memories, TMs vs. FMs) for COVID-19-related news and different individual variables (i.e., use of traditional and social media, COVID-19 perceived and objective knowledge, fear of the disease, depression and anxiety symptoms, reasoning skills, and coping mechanisms). One hundred and seventy-one university students (131 females) were surveyed. Overall, our results suggested that depression and anxiety symptoms, reasoning skills, and coping mechanisms did not affect the formation of FMs. Conversely, the fear of loved ones contracting the infection was found to be negatively associated with FMs. This finding might be due to an empathy/prosociality-based positive bias boosting memory abilities, also explained by the young age of participants. Furthermore, objective knowledge (i) predicted an increase in TMs and decrease in FMs and (ii) significantly mediated the relationships between the use of social media and development of both TMs and FMs. In particular, higher levels of objective knowledge strengthened the formation of TMs and decreased the development of FMs following use of social media. These results may lead to reconsidering the idea of social media as the main source of fake news. This claim is further supported by either the lack of substantial differences between the use of traditional and social media among participants reporting FMs or the positive association between use of social media and levels of objective knowledge. The knowledge about the topic rather than the type of source would make a difference in the process of memory formation.

Navigating Social Media in #Ophthalmology

Media use and insomnia after terror attacks in France

The growth of social media use raises significant questions related to political information and its effect on political knowledge and participation. One issue is whether social media delivers news and political information in a similar manner as traditional news media sources, like newspapers, TV, and radio, by contributing to political knowledge, which is linked to voter turnout. This dissertation examines the relationship between an individual's social media use, their use of traditional news media sources, and whether they turn out to vote. It utilizes American National Election Survey data from the 2016 U.S. Presidential election to complete three studies. First, the dissertation compares people who prefer social media and those who prefer traditional news media sources across as series of political habits and attitudes. Second, it looks at the expansion of the media environment and examines whether a person's social media use and preference for news or entertainment is related to political knowledge and voter participation. Finally, this dissertations examines at whether social media use increases the odds an individual will turn out to vote, thus acting in a similar manner as traditional news media. The results identify differences between people who prefer social media and people who prefer traditional news media sources. In particular, people who prefer social media tend to be younger, have less political knowledge, and have a lower voter turnout rate. However, unlike traditional news media use, the use of social media did not increase the odds an individual turned out to vote in 2016. Further, the use of social media and an individual's content preference of entertainment versus news was not related to political knowledge nor voter turnout. While social media does not appear to have a positive relationship with turnout, it does not appear to discourage a person from voting either. The results suggest that more work needs to be done, including examining the relationship between age, social media use and turnout, as well as how content length may be related to political participation. Finally, further examination is needed of the possible indirect ways social media may be related to voter attitudes and participation.

Academics in the UK Use Social Media to Enhance Traditional Scholarly Reading

This study explores how audiences seek information from social and traditional media, and what factors affect media use during crises. Using the social-mediated crisis communication (SMCC) model, an examination of crisis information and sources reveals that audiences use social media during crises for insider information and checking in with family/friends and use traditional media for educational purposes. Convenience, involvement, and personal recommendations encourage social and traditional media use; information overload discourages use of both. Humor and attitudes about the purpose of social media discourage use of social media, while credibility encourages traditional media use. Practically, findings stressed the importance of third-party influence in crisis communication and the need for using both traditional and social media in crisis response.

Dynamic reciprocal relationships between traditional media reports, social media postings, and youth suicide in Taiwan between 2012 and 2021

Cooperative Mentorship: Negotiating Social Media Use within the Family

Spatial Patterns of Purposeful Social Networking and Socioeconomic Influences: Towards a Mature, Inclusive Networked Society in the U.S.

This study aims to explore how social media use influences people’s political efficacy and political participation in China, and how such relationships are moderated by a need for orientation, “the most prominent of the contingent conditions for agenda-setting effects” (McCombs, 2004). Results show that social media use can boost all dimensions of political efficacy among Chinese netizens, including internal, external, and collective efficacy. Moreover, social media use has much stronger relationships with different dimensions of political efficacy than traditional media use. Social media use is also more strongly associated with online political participation than with offline participation. The need for orientation accentuates the relationship between social media use and political efficacy as well as political behaviors. As social media have become an increasingly important platform for Chinese people’s political life, this study has shed light on the political role of social media and its psychological conditions.

Social media use, community participation and psychological well-being among individuals with serious mental illnesses

The increasing prevalence of social media has given rise to the Fear of Missing Out (FoMO) phenomenon, characterized by an acute awareness of the rewarding experiences others might be enjoying. FoMO is hypothesized to affect various aspects of individuals' lives, including their psychological well-being and academic performance. This study explores these relationships among university students, a demographic particularly vulnerable to social media influences. To examine the relationships between FoMO, social media use, psychological well-being (as measured by life satisfaction), and academic performance (as measured by GPA) among university students and determine the mediating roles of FoMO and social media use. A quantitative, correlational design was employed, collecting data from 521 university students through a cross-sectional survey. Participants completed the Fear of Missing Out Scale (FoMO), the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), and self-reported GPA. Social media use was assessed via a customized questionnaire. Data were analyzed using SPSS, employing correlation analysis, multiple regression, and mediation analysis. Findings indicated a strong positive association between FoMO and social media use (R 2 = 0.633, p < 0.001), suggesting that higher levels of FoMO lead to increased social media engagement (B = 0.834, p < 0.001). Contrary to expectations, FoMO was positively rather than negatively correlated with life satisfaction (R 2 = 0.064, p < 0.001, B = 0.158). Additionally, a strong positive correlation was observed between social media use and academic performance (Spearman's rho = 0.765, p < 0.001). Mediation analyses revealed that FoMO does not significantly mediate the relationship between social media use and life satisfaction, as the indirect effect was not statistically significant (B = 0.0785, 95% CI: -0.0164 to 0.1467). Similarly, the non-significant indirect effect indicated that social media use did not mediate the relationship between FoMO and academic performance (B = 0.005, 95% CI: -0.0045 to 0.0146). Moderation analyses showed that FoMO moderates the relationship between social media use and life satisfaction, where social media use hurt life satisfaction at low levels of FoMO (B = -0.1713, p = 0.0001) but had a positive effect at high levels of FoMO (B = 0.2848, p < 0.0001). This suggests that individuals with high FoMO may derive psychological benefits from social media use. Additionally, results indicated that social media use moderates the relationship between FoMO and academic performance, where FoMO had a significant adverse effect on GPA at low social media use (B = -0.030, p < 0.0001). Still, this effect became non-significant at high levels of social media use (B = 0.0097, p = 0.1028). Finally, life satisfaction moderates the relationship between FoMO and social media use, with higher life satisfaction strengthening the positive association between FoMO and social media use (B = 0.9277, p < 0.0001). These findings highlight the complex interplay between FoMO, social media use, life satisfaction, and academic performance. While FoMO increases social media engagement, its positive association with life satisfaction contradicts theoretical expectations. These results underscore the importance of considering psychological and social factors when evaluating the impact of social media use among university students.