Current Social Media Research Articles

A systematic review of the nexus between climate change and social media: present status, trends, and future challenges

Social media and climate change are some of the most controversial issues of the 21st century. Despite numerous studies, our understanding of current social media trends, popular hot topics, and future challenges related to climate change remains significantly limited. This research presents a systematic review of climate change and social media for the first time. Review the studies published between 2009 and 2022 in places like Google Scholar, Science Direct, Web-of-Science, Scopus, ResearchGate, and others. For this systematic review, we found 1,057 articles. Forty-five articles were the most relevant according to our goals and study design, which followed the PRISMA framework. The results of this review demonstrate that Twitter is the most popular platform. Every year, we identify rising trends in the number of publications. Past studies often focused on just one social media site, like Twitter (n = 26) or Facebook (n = 5). Although most studies focus on the United States, the study area is primarily “all over the world.” This study offers a theoretical framework by examining the relationship between social media platforms and the discourse surrounding climate change. It looked into how social media trends influence public perception, raise awareness, and spur action on climate change. In practical terms, the study focuses on important and trending topics like nonbelievers and climate change. The contribution consists of synthesizing the body of research, providing insights into the state of the digital world, and suggesting future lines of inquiry for the field of social media and climate change studies. We highlighted the studies’ quality assessment result of “moderate quality.” This systematic review provides information about how climate change is now portrayed on social media and lays the groundwork for further study in this area.

Knowing the Impact of Efficient Social Media Marketing

Twenty-first century, people no longer make time to visit and socialize with each other. Through social platform, people can now remain disconnected while still being linked. In addition to this, “social media platforms like Facebook foster a strong bond between people and products, opening up several chances for advertising”. Similar to this, “other social media platforms like blogs provide a forum for posting comments on any event that has to be publicized and can be used as a promotional tool for both customer adoption and promotions”. This study article focuses on methods that can expand “the current social media's current use of viral marketing”. It can also aid in creating a “community that is robust enough to support your marketing efforts”. As a result of ‘social identity’ and ‘perceived value’, “Social Media Marketing efforts have an indirect impact on satisfaction, according to the analytical data”. Simultaneously, “social identity and perceived value have a direct impact on satisfaction, which in turn drives plans to continue, participate, and spend money”. Finally, “references for improving social media marketing are supplied based on the academic and managerial implications of the study's empirical findings”. According to the literature review, various contemporary consumers turned to social networks for peer guidance. Social media has encouraged consumer-to-consumer contact and made it easier for customers and companies to engage with one another. This study report sheds light on the internet-related literature and online shopper behaviour with regard to the use of online media in small companies. Study aims to pinpoint and examine the factors or behaviours that influence customers' decisions whether to follow or unfollow a specific Brand on social media.

Perceptions of Self-directed Learning among Preclinical Medical Students at Universiti Teknologi MARA

Self-directed learning (SDL) is an important aspect of lifelong learning. Medical knowledge is constantly changing, so, medical students need good SDL abilities to ensure improvement in their academic performance and future work service. This study aimed to evaluate the perceptions of SDL abilities among preclinical medical students at Universiti Teknologi MARA and identify the factors that motivated or discouraged them to undertake SDL. A validated 20-item SDL instrument (SDLI) was used to assess the SDL abilities of the students. They were also asked to respond to open-ended questions about the influencing factors in implementing SDL. The 232 respondents were comprised of Year 1 and Year 2 medical students. The mean SDLI scores of the respondents were higher than those obtained in other studies using the same instrument, indicating these respondents had good SDL abilities. No significant differences in SDLI scores were identified in terms of gender, academic background, or academic year. Important promoting factors for implementing SDL reports included guidance from lecturers or faculty, as well as support from friends and family. Distractions from current technology and social media were listed as significant discouraging factors for implementing SDL. The influencing factors reported in this study should assist the faculty in designing appropriate teaching-learning activities that guide and support SDL.

THE ROLE OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN LOCAL GOVERNMENT ENGAGEMENT

In the current digital era, social media and government have a complicated and important interaction. Social media and government interactions involve a number of significant areas, such as politics, decision-making, education, crisis and disaster management, and community communication. As technology advances and the social and political landscape evolves, so does the connection between social media and the government. As a result, it's critical to strike a balance between security and freedom of speech and make sure that government usage of social media enhances democracy and citizen involvement. As a result, it's critical to strike a balance between security and freedom of speech and make sure that government usage of social media enhances democracy and citizen involvement. Consequently, this article delves deeply into the many social media platforms utilized by local government, since it can offer current guidelines for enhancing the quality of services provided by the local government system in Malaysia, particularly making it more efficient and all-encompassing.

Heroin Chic Resurgence: The Unintentional Romanticization of Female Mental Illness as Depicted in Girl, Interrupted, Prozac Nation and An Unquiet Mind

A research article involving the literary analysis of novels Girl, Interrupted, Prozac Nation and An Unquiet Mind to better understand the unintentional romanticization of female mental illness within the text. Using this information, I connect the three novels to the resurgence in the romanticization of mental illness within current trends and social media.

Factors affecting brand attachment in the social media channels: Case of university in Vietnam

Originated from the reason that Hanoi University of Industry (HaUI)’s current social media network is still limited, specifically HaUI's Fanpage has not yet been green-checked, thereby leading to weak brand attachment have little impact on university admissions. From collecting data from information sources such as newspapers, social networking sites, the author has inherited previous studies to propose a research model and conduct quantitative research analysis. Through designing a survey questionnaire and randomly sending it to individuals who are studying and working at HaUI, specifically lecturers, staff and especially the university students. The study obtained 338 valid responses that were coded and cleaned using SPSS and AMOS software. After the cleaning and coding step, reliability testing, exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling were conducted. The research has made a significant theoretical contribution in terms of the important mediation role of brand awareness, perceived quality and university reputation in the relationship between social media communication and brand attachment. From there, it also provided the practical contribution to improve the association of the brand with students, to perfectionate the social networking sites,to share positive things, interesting, attractive and relevant lessons.

The Influence of Ewom and Fear of Missing Out in the Intention to Buy Skincare Products Through Tiktok

The current social media platform provide a variety of social content that raises new phenomena to become viral and beauty content is one of the most popular content. This study examines the influence of eWOM and Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) in the purchase intention of Skintific skincare products through TikTok. To understand the influence of eWOM, this study combines the information adoption model with self-determination theory as a theoretical basis. Data collection was conducted by an online survey with a purposive sampling method using 235 selected respondents. The data was then processed by applying PLS-SEM to test the proposed hypotheses. The findings show that information usefulness has a positive effect on information adoption, information adoption and FOMO have a positive effect on purchase intention, information credibility and information quantity have a positive effect on information usefulness, and information quality has no significant effect on information usefulness. The direct managerial implication of this finding be a valuable addition to the academic understanding of FOMO in the information adoption model and provide direction for companies in formulating digital marketing designs that focus on the credibility and frequency of content broadcast to provoke consumer desire to use the company's products so as not to be left behind by others.

Current Leading Social Media Platforms Used by Marketers and its Benefits

In 2024, focusing on social media in marketing is paramount due to its unparalleled reach, influence, and ability to engage diverse audiences. With consumers increasingly reliant on digital platforms for information and interaction, leveraging social media ensures brands remain visible, relevant, and competitive in an ever-evolving marketplace. This paper provides an analysis of the rapidly evolving landscape of social media marketing, with a focus on discerning trends, data preferences, and strategic platform utilization among marketers worldwide. The research draws upon extensive data collected from diverse industries, aiming to illuminate the shifting strategies employed by marketers to amplify their impact on various social media platforms. Examining trends, as indicated by marketers', constitutes a significant aspect of this study. Furthermore, the paper delves into the types of marketing data deemed indispensable by global marketing decision-makers, categorizing them based on their perceived importance. Additionally, the paper explores the domains where enhancing marketing data quality is believed to yield the most substantial benefits according to decision-makers in marketing roles across the globe. Moreover, the research endeavors to uncover the social media platforms perceived to offer the highest return on investment (ROI) by marketers, as well as identifying the platforms considered most critical for their marketing endeavors. We also analyze the leading social media platforms preferred by marketers and outline the primary benefits attributed to the utilization of social media for marketing purposes. The findings of this comprehensive analysis offer invaluable insights for marketers, empowering them to refine their strategies, allocate resources more effectively, and harness the full potential of social media platforms. By providing an overview of emerging trends, data preferences, and platform utilization strategies, this paper serves as a strategic roadmap for marketers navigating the ever-evolving digital landscape, facilitating the optimization of marketing outcomes and business success.

Thinking Through Targeting: Social Media an Effective Tool for Influencing People and Society

Every day, a wide range of stakeholders target us on social media platforms in an attempt to influence our decisions and behaviour. These stakeholders might be politicians hoping to win over support from the public and secure votes, organizations trying to convey the benefits of their decisions and actions to us as citizens, or commercials trying to sell us something. We absorb new media content, and it can be difficult to distinguish between fake and real news in this redundant environment with widespread data invasion. Beginning with the INSCOP opinion survey from 2023, which investigates Romania's exposure to propaganda and disinformation, our goals are to analyse how audiences were affected by the disinformation narratives in Ukrainian war context, and look at the current social media trends related to this topic using the analytical techniques made available by new media instruments. We want to highlight how social media is the main channel used in Romania for disseminating false information, and we also want to draw attention to the connections that can be made between those who spread false information and the traits of the individuals they are trying to reach. The present paper is part of a larger PhD research program that focuses on consolidating a society’s security culture through better institutional strategic communication; therefore, all the findings will be used to this end.

Membangun Komunitas Iman Melalui Media Sosial Dengan Menggunakan Platfrom Yang Menarik

Social media has an important role in building and strengthening religious communities. Social media can be used to build and strengthen believers, in the current digital era social media has become a platform that is widely used by many people to interact and share information as well as a means to develop faith and strengthen brotherhood between religious communities. . In a religious context, social media can be a powerful tool for spreading religious messages and building solid religious communities. In this case the discussion includes community, religion and social media. Through this article, it is hoped that readers can find new inspiration and motivation to build a solid and connected religious community through social media. After all of the things above have been touched on, by using the literature study method, this article offers a solution that building a community of believers is not only through meetings or face-to-face encounters but can be done through social media.

Social Media and Nutritional Guidelines in Pregnancy.

Nutrition impacts health outcomes of pregnant people and their fetuses. Discussing nutrition with patients may be challenging for health care providers. In this vacuum, patients use social media for health information during pregnancy. Little is known about the type and quality of nutrition information that is available on social media. The aim of this study was to qualitatively explore the pregnancy nutrition messages contained in social media videos for content and evaluate the information's concordance with evidence-based guidelines. A review of current social media video content for nutrition in pregnancy was conducted across 4 platforms: YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. Content analysis was used to descriptively and categorically analyze the social media video content. In the 62 social media videos reviewed, most were not consistent with established guidelines, were inaccurate, or presented a homogenous and unrealistic image of the pregnant person. Four categories of nutrition in pregnancy social media information emerged: what to eat, what not to eat, what I ate: aspirational, and what I ate: rebellion. Few videos were produced by health care organizations. Some were produced by anonymous organizations, with the majority made by pregnant or postpartum people. Many were testimonial or confessional in style. Despite regulations requiring identification of paid posts and advertisements, it was difficult to discern if videos were authentic sharing of patient experiences or advertisements. There is incorrect and incomplete information on social media surrounding nutrition in pregnancy. Professional guidelines for nutrition in pregnancy are available but are not as accessible to patients as social media videos. Social media use is associated with disordered eating and increased risk of anxiety and depression. However, targeted interventions by health care providers that use social media platforms have been successful in the distribution of credible health information. Midwives and other health care providers should share evidence-based nutrition recommendation with patients to facilitate meaningful conversations around nutrition in pregnancy during in person and online interactions.

Role Of Social Media in Stakeholder Engagement in Universities in Kenya

Researchers and practitioners agree that stakeholder engagement is an important aspect of universities in the 21st century. Social media is changing the way people and businesses communicate and collaborate. Research shows that organizations struggle to develop social media management systems to engage with stakeholders. In today's digital age, social media platforms have become powerful tools for communication and engagement. However, there is limited research examining the role of social media in facilitating stakeholder engagement in universities in Kenya. Therefore, this study sought to fill this knowledge gap by exploring how social media is utilized and its impact on stakeholder engagement within the university setting. The research objectives were formulated to guide the study and include: Assessing the current use of social media platforms by universities in Kenya for stakeholder engagements: Identifying the key stakeholders involved in social media engagements by universities: Examining the benefits and challenges associated with using social media for stakeholder engagements: This study used innovation diffusion theory and excellence theory. To achieve the study objectives, a mixed-methods approach was utilized. The target group included 270 participants. The sample size was 161 participants. Stratified random sampling was used to provide representation from the various universities and departments. data were collected through questionnaires, interviews, and focus group discussions. The data were analyzed using SPSS version 26 and thematic analysis to derive meaningful insights. Analyzed quantitative data was presented through mean, frequency, and standard. The assessment of current social media used by universities indicated that they are actively utilizing platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to engage with their stakeholders. The identification of key stakeholders involved in social media engagements highlighted the importance of targeting students, prospective students, alumni, and the wider community. The examination of benefits and challenges associated with using social media for stakeholder engagements revealed that social media platforms provide opportunities for increased reach, immediate communication, and fostering a sense of community. However, maintaining content quality, and managing negative feedback were also identified. Furthermore, the analysis of the impact of social media on stakeholder perceptions and relationships showed that effective use of social media can enhance stakeholder satisfaction, create a positive institutional image, and foster stronger connections between universities and their stakeholders. However, ineffective use or mismanagement of social media can lead to negative perceptions and strained relationships. The paper concluded that social media plays a vital role in facilitating stakeholder engagements in universities in Kenya. Effective utilization of social media platforms leads to improved stakeholder relationships, enhanced reputation, and increased engagement with the university community. The study recommended that universities should develop a comprehensive social media strategy aligned with the university's goals and target audience and regularly monitor and analyze social media engagement metrics to evaluate effectiveness. This study contributes to the existing literature by providing insights specific to the context of universities in Kenya and emphasizing the significance of social media in stakeholder engagements

UNVEILING ZARA'S LUXURY PERSONA: A COMPREHENSIVE ANALYSIS OF SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGIES AND CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR

This research paper delves into the evolution of luxury in the retail landscape and how Zara, a prominent player in the fashion industry, has strategically positioned itself within this paradigm shift. It examines Zara's social media strategies and their impact on consumer behaviour, elucidating how the brand has effectively cultivated a luxury persona through its digital endeavours. The paper begins by exploring the historical context of luxury in retail, tracing its evolution from exclusivity and heritage to accessibility and innovation. It highlights how globalization and digitalization have reshaped consumer perceptions of luxury, setting the stage for brands like Zara to redefine the concept. Zara's social media strategies emerge as a focal point of analysis, emphasizing the brand's adept use of platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter to engage with consumers in real-time. The paper discusses Zara's emphasis on user-generated content (UGC) and content curation, showcasing how these strategies contribute to the brand's luxury image by fostering authenticity and community. Furthermore, the paper delves into the intricate relationship between Zara's social media endeavours and consumer behaviour. It elucidates how Zara's aspirational content and seamless shopping experiences influence consumer decisions, driving brand loyalty and attracting new customers. The discussion also encompasses the role of social proof, scarcity tactics, and case studies to exemplify Zara's impact on consumer behaviour. In addition to analysing Zara's current social media strategies, the paper provides insights into future outlooks and recommendations for the brand. It suggests embracing emerging technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) and prioritizing data analytics to deepen consumer insights and personalize marketing efforts. The research paper concludes by underscoring Zara's journey towards cultivating a luxury persona through social media as a testament to its adaptability and innovation. It highlights the brand's continued relevance and prominence in the retail industry, solidifying its position as a trailblazer in the realm of luxury fashion. By providing an in-depth analysis of Zara's social media strategies and their impact on consumer behaviour, this paper offers valuable insights for marketers, researchers, and industry professionals seeking to understand the dynamics of luxury branding in the digital age.

Consumers’ ambiguous perceptions of advertising disclosures in influencer marketing: Disentangling the effects on current and future social media engagement

Based on a large real-world dataset comprising Instagram posts of popular influencers, this study empirically analyzes the impact of disclosed and undisclosed advertising on consumers’ engagement with (a) the advertisement and (b) future non-advertising posts of the same author. As extant research reports inconsistent effects of ad disclosures based on inferred motives, persuasion knowledge, and source credibility, this study develops a conceptual framework incorporating these theoretical concepts. To identify undisclosed advertisements, we use data from regions with proper disclosure culture to train a model to predict if posts are advertising. Based on the predictions for > 65,000 posts of 239 macro-influencers, we find that advertising posts gather less engagement than non-advertising posts. Regarding immediate ad engagement, we find that disclosed ads gather less engagement than undisclosed ads. Contrastingly, when analyzing future engagement, we identify positive persistent effects of disclosed advertising and negative persistent effects of undisclosed advertising on consumers’ engagement with future posts of the same author. We conclude that source credibility explains the effect of disclosures on future posts, while the Persuasion Knowledge Model can explain the effect of disclosures on the current advertisement. Thus, consumers’ coping strategies triggered by activated persuasion knowledge are mostly limited to the advertisement. Our findings can explain the opposing results of extant research. From a managerial perspective, we find that by not disclosing advertising posts, influencers and marketers increase an ad’s engagement levels at the expense of persistently lowered attitudes. Conversely, in the long run, they may benefit from transparent disclosures.

Social Media Influencer Communication Efficiency On Instagram

These days, with the speed at which technology is developing, a lot of businesspeople employ digital platforms as a tool for their marketing strategies. There are advantages and disadvantages to the unrestricted flow of knowledge across time and place. The public's use of social media has changed as a result of the quickly evolving internet technologies. A true example of technological advancement from the emergence of new media is social media. Social media is an internet platform that facilitates communication between users. one of the phases of product marketing that involves developing a consumer perception of the brand. The capacity of customers or potential customers to recall a brand is known as its brand image. Endorsements are one method for doing this. Marketing communications has led to the current social media endorsement phenomena. Businesses use influencers, who are typically celebrities or well-known personalities with societal notoriety, to pique customers' interests. Determining Influencer Communication on Instagram Social Media is the aim of this study. Quantitative research methodology is applied. There were 51 responders in the sample. The correlation coefficient (r) between influencer communication and brand image is 0.325, indicating a somewhat good link, according to the findings of calculations performed with SPSS 25.

The Virtual and Realistic Journey of Digital Human: An Assemblage of Urban Communication

Artificial intelligence technology provides conditions for the development, improvement, and promotion of digital humans. As a hot spot in current social media, digital humans have formed a continuously changing but relatively stable urban assemblage with elements such as urban image architecture, urban cultural communication, and urban image in social platforms. From the assemblage perspective, this paper analyzes the content of virtual people and urban culture communication in social media though assemblage ethnography. These materials show that in the social environment of rapid development and change of new technology, active use of new technology and new media platforms is conducive to the dissemination and development of traditional culture, while increasing the attraction to young audiences and building a dynamic urban imagination. It also emphasizes the importance of paying attention to the interaction between humans and non-humans and breaking the boundary between virtual and reality in the ever-changing social environment.

Social media-based e-commerce consumer behavior prediction model in marketing strategy

Abstract The rapid development of information technology has entered the era of network big data, online shopping for young people has become a fashion, and social media platforms have gathered a large amount of consumer purchase data. In this paper, for the current social media facing the problem of user consumption behavior prediction accuracy, data mining technology is referenced to analyze and predict user consumption behavior. The entropy weight method is used to segment e-commerce consumers based on RFM, and on this basis, the simple Bayesian method is used to model consumer behavior and construct an algorithm suitable for analyzing and predicting consumer behavior using social media data. Consumers are categorized into important value customers (7.21%), important development customers (18.76%), important retention customers (7.32%), general value customers (9.86%), general development customers (37.14%), and general retention customers (19.71%). The accuracy rate (ACC) for social media-based e-commerce consumer behavior is 84.92%, which allows for more accurate predictions. The study provides a scientific foundation for e-commerce platforms or enterprise decision-making, incubates emerging industries by analyzing big data, addresses major user needs, and becomes a new engine for promoting social progress.

PLATFORM POWER, XR, AND THE METAVERSE: NEW CHALLENGES OR OLD STRUCTURES?

While social media platforms continue to dominate the ways in which people connect using computational devices and digital media, a transition towards more immersive platforms and experiences is underway. Extended reality (XR) is the umbrella term for media that enable experiences in augmented, mixed, and virtual reality. Through XR technologies, new digital spaces are being developed that combine features of existing digital platforms with elements of the immersiveness of gaming, sometimes referred to informally as ‘the metaverse’. Notably, many of the corporations behind the dominant social media platforms are active in the XR economy. Meta has garnered much attention in this regard, but Google, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon and Sony have all either entered the market or have been reported as having XR/metaverse ambitions. Through a multiple-case study of three companies—Meta, Epic Games/Unity Engine and ROBLOX—this paper maps out key dimensions of the emerging metaverse economy and shows how the platform characteristics of XR providers, similar to the current social media economy, can enable the concentration of social and economic power around a few actors. We propose that in the transition to a more immersive digital era, to enable a competitive, vibrant and fair XR economy, policymaking and governance must proactively address the issue of concentrated platform power. The paper concludes with a discussion of potential policy and regulatory pathways for taking up this challenge.

Embracing the (r)evolution of social media and digital scholarship in pediatric nephrology education.

Free Open-Access Medical Education (FOAMed) has transformed medical education in the past decade by complementing and substituting for traditional medical education when needed. The attractiveness of FOAMed resources is due to their inexpensive nature, wide availability, and user ability to access on demand across a variety of devices, making it easy to create, share, and participate. The subject of nephrology is complex, fascinating, and challenging. Traditional didactic lectures can be passive and ineffective in uncovering these difficult concepts and may need frequent revisions. Active teaching methods like flipped classrooms have shown some benefits, and these benefits can only be multifold with current social media tools. Social media will inspire the involvement of students and allow them to create and share educational content in a "trendy way," encouraging the participation of their peers and thus building an educational environment more conducive to them while promoting revision and retainment. FOAMed also promotes asynchronous learning, spaced learning, microlearning, and multimodal presentation with a meaningful variation. This article discusses the evolution of digital education, social media platforms, tools for creating and developing FOAMed resources, and digital scholarship.

Ethical social media use for dementia prevention research: Perspectives of research professionals and community members

AbstractBackgroundEthical social media use underpins effective online engagement for dementia prevention research. Current social media guidelines are broad and lack empirical justification reflecting the values and priorities of the dementia community. By engaging professional and community experts, we seek to identify the ethical parameters of using social media for dementia prevention research.MethodWe conducted semi‐structured, qualitative interviews with professional experts working in dementia research (n = 15; e.g., researchers, coordinators) and experts by experience (n = 14; e.g., persons with lived experience). Experts were from Canada, the USA, the UK, and South America. Discussions were analyzed using thematic qualitative analysis methods.ResultProfessional experts revealed a dearth of ethical guidelines when using social media for research engagement, relying on informal sources of guidance to supplement ethics board approval. Areas identified as needing more attention included privacy concerns, handling instances of misinformation and self‐disclosure, the constraints of prescribed language, and moderating public reactions to posts. Experts by experience appreciated the educational benefits of social media for learning about healthy aging. They valued accessible resources but expressed uncertainty on distinguishing between facts and misinformation. Factors enhancing trust of social media content included transparent presentation, traceable sources, relationship‐building, and partnering with community organizations. Having a family history of dementia was a key motivator for engaging on social media. The negative consequences of diminished online privacy, such as stigma or being targeted for predatory practices, were a major ethical concern. Both groups discussed factors that dampen social media’s theoretical reach to diverse publics, such as existing inequalities permeating digital access (i.e., age, socioeconomic, literacy, English fluency, urban/rural) and past violations undermining trust. Nevertheless, participants cited social media’s wide reach as a societal benefit to improve research participation and awareness of dementia prevention. They acknowledged that younger aging populations have more digital fluency and may benefit more from social media research engagement.ConclusionResearch professionals and community members identified ethical and contextual factors surrounding the use of social media for dementia prevention, and a need for more guidance. The next project phase will use these data to inform the creation of consensus‐based guidelines for brain health research.