Facebook Profiles Research Articles

Who are we? Discursive construction of collective identity in youth organisations in Poland: a citizenship orientation perspective

ABSTRACT Collective identity (CI) is one of the levels of the social construction of citizenship. It was assumed that since citizenship as a state-centred notion is difficult to maintain today, an analysis of CI should exceed national, ethnic, language and cultural identifications. What does it look like in the case of CI constructed discursively by youth organisations? The aim of the research presented in the paper is to reconstruct collective identities (CIs) based on a discourse analysis of selected youth organisations operating in Poland and an assessment of their community-individual orientation. The research material constituted 696 documents produced in 2018 by six youth organisations on their official websites and Facebook profiles. The approach by Ruth Wodak and Martin Reisigl was adopted. We analysed the application of discursive strategies in the texts referring to the ‘we’ and ‘they’ categories. The conclusions indicate, among others, that in the analysed discourses the CI is differentiated by the manner of distinguishing from ‘others’ and the constellation of predicates relating to the category ‘we’.

Religious references in political campaigning: a comparative analysis of Latin America and Western Europe on social media

The relationship between religion and politics is receiving increasing attention in political science, although the focus is often on voter attitudes. Despite secularization trends, scholars expect a resurgence of religion in Western European party politics, where Christianity as a native identity is opposed to non-native Islam by populist radical right parties. In this context, it is primarily hostility toward other religious groups that structures religious elements in political communication. In most Latin American societies, religiosity plays a much greater role for individuals, which is reflected in the discourses of political elites who use genuine religious references to appeal to religious voters (“sacralization of politics”). Using data from my own recent research on content analysis of parties’ and candidates’ Facebook profiles, this article compares how political actors in Latin America and Western Europe use religious references in electoral campaigns and how salient these discourses are. The results help to explain the different prominence of religious discourses in different democratic regions and religious markets. The article contributes to the ongoing debate on the role of religion in 21st century politics.

Predicting the Transition From Depression to Suicidal Ideation Using Facebook Data Among Indian-Bangladeshi Individuals: Protocol for a Cohort Study.

Suicide stands as a global public health concern with a pronounced impact, especially in low- and middle-income countries, where it remains largely unnoticed as a significant health concern, leading to delays in diagnosis and intervention. South Asia, in particular, has seen limited development in this area of research, and applying existing models from other regions is challenging due to cost constraints and the region's distinct linguistics and behavior. Social media analysis, notably on platforms such as Facebook (Meta Platforms Inc), offers the potential for detecting major depressive disorder and aiding individuals at risk of suicidal ideation. This study primarily focuses on India and Bangladesh, both South Asian countries. It aims to construct a predictive model for suicidal ideation by incorporating unique, unexplored features along with masked content from both public and private Facebook profiles. Moreover, the research aims to fill the existing research gap by addressing the distinct challenges posed by South Asia's unique behavioral patterns, socioeconomic conditions, and linguistic nuances. Ultimately, this research strives to enhance suicide prevention efforts in the region by offering a cost-effective solution. This quantitative research study will gather data through a web-based platform. Initially, participants will be asked a few demographic questions and to complete the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire assessment. Eligible participants who provide consent will receive an email requesting them to upload a ZIP file of their Facebook data. The study will begin by determining whether Facebook is the primary application for the participants based on their active hours and Facebook use duration. Subsequently, the predictive model will incorporate a wide range of previously unexplored variables, including anonymous postings, and textual analysis features, such as captions, biographic information, group membership, preferred pages, interactions with advertisement content, and search history. The model will also analyze the use of emojis and the types of games participants engage with on Facebook. The study obtained approval from the scientific review committee on October 2, 2023, and subsequently received institutional review committee ethical clearance on December 8, 2023. Our system is anticipated to automatically detect posts related to depression by analyzing the text and use pattern of the individual with the best accuracy possible. Ultimately, our research aims to have practical utility in identifying individuals who may be at risk of depression or in need of mental health support. This initiative aims to enhance engagement in suicidal ideation medical care in South Asia to improve health outcomes. It is set to be the first study to consider predicting participants' primary social application use before analyzing their content to forecast behavior and mental states. The study holds the potential to revolutionize strategies and offer insights for scalable, accessible interventions while maintaining quality through comprehensive Facebook feature analysis. DERR1-10.2196/55511.

Unconstrained Descriptions of Facebook Profile Pictures Support High-Dimensional Models of Impression Formation.

Dominant models of impression formation focus on two fundamental dimensions: a horizontal dimension of warmth/communion/trustworthiness and a vertical dimension of competence/agency/dominance. However, these models have typically been studied using theory-driven methods and stimuli of restricted complexity. We used a data-driven approach and naturalistic stimuli to explore the latent dimensions underlying >300,000 unconstrained linguistic descriptions of 1,000 Facebook profile pictures from 2,188 participants. Via traditional (Exploratory Factor Analysis) and modern (natural language dictionaries, semantic sentence embeddings) approaches, we observed impressions to form with regard to the horizontal and vertical dimensions and their respective facets of sociability/morality and ability/assertiveness, plus the key demographic variables of gender, age, and race. However, we also observed impressions to form along numerous further dimensions, including adventurousness, conservatism, fitness, non-conformity, and stylishness. These results serve to emphasize the importance of high-dimensional models of impression formation and help to clarify the content dimensions underlying unconstrained descriptions of individuals.

Parody Facebook Accounts as Facilitators of Fake News: Perceptions of South Africa

The purpose of this study was to examine the use of Facebook as a platform for reporting fake news. Researchers investigated the following problem: Facebook users tend to disseminate fake news, adversely affecting the credibility of content posted on Facebook as factual information. Facebook is misused by individuals who post fake news fabricated to degrade the integrity and credibility of others. However, organizations and other community groups are also drawn to the platform because it connects them to the public in valuable ways. This occurs as participation increases and the amount of data generated improves the platform's ability to advise, recommend, and share information among all parties. Therefore, the study was underpinned by practice theories. An exploratory research design was implemented to provide a strong and robust connection between a cause and an outcome. This exploration represents how Facebook users tend to use this platform to address social problems and their attitudes toward each other, as it was originally meant for socialization, entertainment, and education. Hence, the need to inquire about the use of Facebook for fake news was qualitatively researched. For the data collection process, semi-structured interviews were conducted with Facebook users. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data and develop themes. The key conclusion of the study is that there has been an increase in the quantity of fake news on Facebook across the country. This study aims to theoretically contribute to the existing body of knowledge in media and communication studies. It indicates that in the future, researchers will discover current knowledge regarding parody Facebook profiles as facilitators of fake news perceptions from Polokwane Municipality, Limpopo South, in the field of media and communication studies.

Social identity construction in expert-lay dialogue on Facebook

Abstract The paper focuses on identity construction on the Facebook profiles of medical professionals. Drawing on existing conceptualisations of identity and proximity, the study explores how five Polish medical experts construct their social identity and create affinity spaces in their interaction with an audience. The analysis shows that affinity spaces are established through the reduction of social distance and epistemic asymmetry between the professionals and their audience. Increasing emotional proximity and stressing the proximity of experience between the interlocutors also contributes to the creation of affinity. Affinity spaces are co-constructed in dialogue with the profile visitors through e.g. deictic resources indicating proximity, personal stories, recontextualisation of medical concepts, expressiveness, and the stressing of commonalities between the orthopaedic surgeons and their followers.

Abstract P366: Targeted Facebook Ads Increased Engagement Among Rural Communities During Pre-Recruitment Phases of the Mississippi Core of the Risk Underlying Rural Areas Longitudinal Study

Background: Data is sparse regarding the utility of social media in engaging southern, rural communities to participate in health research. Community Advisory Board (CAB) members of the Mississippi (MS) Core of the Risk Underlying Rural Areas Longitudinal (RURAL) Study suggested the use of the Facebook social media platform to promote the RURAL Study. During the pre-recruitment phase of engagement (6 months prior to initiation of examinations and 3 months prior to official recruitment), RURAL investigators used Facebook posts to help increase awareness of and interest in the RURAL Study. Objective: To use Facebook metrics to identify the types of posts that garnered the most engagement. Methods: The Principal Investigator of the RURAL Study’s MS Core collaborated with the University of MS Medical Center Social Media Coordinator to implement a Facebook page for the Study. The MS team implemented social media posts to promote the RURAL Study. Data on the number of post reactions, comments, and shares, as well as the reach of organic and paid ads, were collected to identify posts with highest engagement. Findings: In Oktibbeha County, the greatest number of Facebook profile visits occurred October 15-November 7, 2022. Facebook posts had the greatest reach between June 24-27 and September 19-30, 2022. Paid ads (boosted posts) produced greater reach than organic ads. In addition, post reactions positively correlated with the number of people reached. Posts with the greatest number of reactions were related to RURAL-sponsored events (e.g., the County Health Fair and the RURAL Open House event). There was significant Facebook activity around popular community events during which the RURAL Study was promoted (e.g., Fannie Lou Hamer event, the Open House event, and the Black Jack Morning Church Service). Although MS Core of RURAL investigators participated in interviews on local TV media prior to recruitment, organic Facebook ads that included links to videos of these interviews did not receive many reactions on the MS Core of the RURAL Study’s Facebook page. Conclusion: Using social media may be an effective tool for reaching communities during the pre-recruitment phase of engagement. Our findings support that paid ads that targeted specific audiences were more effective than organic ads. Facebook posts that documented RURAL’s participation and engagement in community events were more effective than posts about RURAL’s promotion in broadcast media.

Wie kommunizieren Heimwerker:innen digital? Aspekte der Kommunikation ausgewählter Facebook-Gruppen

This article deals with the digital communication of Do-It-Yourselfers who are active in various Facebook groups and contact each other. For the purpose of research were selected Facebook profiles that publish a wide range of posts. Ideas and tips as well as own successful projects and implementations of DIY projects are presented. The aim of the study is to examine the linguistic structures and stylistic elements and to show how Do-It-Yourselfers communicate in the digital environment. It will also be discussed which technical terms appear in Facebook communication related to DIY and in which contexts they are used.

The Body that Menstruates: countervisualities in the graphic humor produced by Fabiane Langona (2014-2021)

The article examines the use of graphic humor to guide menstruation in cartoons and strips by cartoonist Fabiane Langona, published between 2014-2021 in the Folha de São Paulo newspaper and in her Instagram and Facebook profiles. The central purpose is to point out how, through the use of the grotesque and irony, graphic and discursive elements that characterize her work, the cartoonist strives to destigmatize the theme, facing the established taboos about the menstruating body and menstrual blood. I defend the premise that by putting the menstruating female body on stage, with the pain and discomfort it carries during this period, Fabiane Langona seeks to modify the meanings that are historically attributed to them, as something dirty and shameful, and break with the visual silence in which it’s wrapped. In this way, the artist builds counter-visualities, that is, transgressive images that go in the opposite direction to the historically interdicts placed on this theme, provoking reflections on them and on the meanings imputed to female bodies.

The Media and Information in the Content Diet of Colombian Social Media Users

The mass media are central to everyday life, a meeting point for citizens with the facts of the current social situation, and a space for the meaning, perception, interpretation, and construction of the notion of reality in the collective imagination. The impact of technology and communication platforms on the social fabric has opened up access to information and atomized trust and credibility in the face of the journalistic brand, an instance of crisis on the smartphone screen in which the media are relegated to the background and influencers, opinion leaders, and the protagonists of the facts themselves, in direct contact with the followers, gain relevance. The transformation configured in the users’ content diet aims to review the industry’s behavior on social networks to interpret why it is losing its place in the citizens’ consumption agenda. This research, which relied on a mixed methodology, downloaded messages from Facebook, X/Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok profiles of two written, five audio, and two audiovisual media in a period of 91 days, and added them to what was carried out in the same period in 2019 and 2021. The corpus of the study made it possible to prove the composition of the communication, the operational tactics, and the thematic axis. The research concluded that the Colombian mass media need to innovate to establish productive routines that bet on digital native products, corresponding to the dynamics of networked consumption by an audience that concentrates all actions on screen devices.

Promotional tactics of Polish fashion brands in social media on the example of Vesna and Marie Zélie

This article aims to examine the social media strategies employed by select Polish niche clothing brands, identifying which approaches are more effective and the factors influencing this effectiveness. Research methods: The study utilizes media content analysis and economic indicator analysis to explore the portrayal of these brands in media. Specifically, it compares the Facebook and Instagram profiles of two Polish fashion companies, Vesna and Marie Zélie. Additionally, the research incorporates netnography to analyze online consumer behavior. Results and conclusions: Facebook and Instagram emerge as primary online marketing platforms for the examined fashion brands, used for product showcasing and audience engagement. These companies initiate engagement through questions in posts and maintain dialogue by responding to comments. A comparative analysis of Vesna and Marie Zélie’s post nature and frequency indicates a more successful social media promotion strategy by Marie Zélie. Cognitive value: This article sheds light on contemporary strategies for social media promotion among companies. It uniquely analyzes the promotional tactics of niche fashion brands Marie Zélie and Vesna in social media, providing a comparative study of a successful and a less successful strategy. This comparison could guide other actors in formulating their social media advertising strategies.

Machine Learning Based Detection of Fake Facebook Profiles in Afan Oromo Language

Machine Learning Based Detection of Fake Facebook Profiles in Afan Oromo Language

Dzieje parafii w sieci Internet (kroniki, strony www, profile społecznościowe). Przykład archidiecezji przemyskiej

Parish history online (chronicles, websites, social media profiles) on the example of the Archdiocese of Przemyśl The paper is a synthetic presentation of the contents of parish websites and Facebook profiles in terms of historical information posted online. For the purposes of the analysis, a representative group of one-third parishes of the Archdiocese of Przemyśl has been selected (125 out of 392). The research lasted from April to early June 2022. The analysis showed that 64% of the parishes had their own websites, another 8% (without a website) had a Facebook profile, and 28% of the examined parishes remained offline. Within the group of parishes with their own websites, 84% included historical information in the form of texts of considerably varied size and quality, prepared for the purposes of the website. Some of the texts had a quality of reliable scientific monographs. In rare cases calendars of events from the parish life or parish chronicles were found. Parish Facebook profiles were hardly ever used for publishing historical content.

Gender in Facebook during the Local Electoral Campaign for Bucharest City Hall in 2020. The self-construction of the candidates

Abstract: Romanian politicians have been using Facebook profiles as a digital tool. This study aims to analyze the gender dimension in the local electoral campaign for Bucharest City Hall in 2020 and to establish how the candidates portray themselves on their Facebook pages by going against hegemonic views. One of the focuses of the study in on gender and social media personalization and the second one is on building a personal political brand during the electoral campaign through gender identification. The hypothesis is that new media, (interactive, social, multimodal, user-centered, and circularly networked) play key role in this new communicative paradigm and they may become an important discursive space for redefining gender stereotypes and reproducing (new) social identities. The analysis focuses on the media and digital tools and on to what extent gender influences the self-personalization in digital campaigning. According to the analysis, the woman candidate engages in a particularly gendered form of personalizing by presenting herself through social media in caregiving roles. At the same time, the two candidates (both female and male) for Bucharest City Hall, used a mixed strategy of gender adaptiveness. On the one hand, the candidates use and present gender stereotypes in their self-presentation, in order to benefit from existing voter expectations and norms. On the other hand, they use a bending or overturning stereotype strategy as an alternative one. Keywords: election campaign; female politicians; male politicians; multimodality; social media; new communicative paradigm; gender stereotypes; digital identity, SC-CDS, personalization.

Structured-Light 3D Scanning as a Tool for Creating a Digital Collection of Modern and Fossil Cetacean Skeletons (Natural History Museum, University of Pisa)

The Natural History Museum of the University of Pisa hosts one of the most important osteological collections of cetaceans all over Europe, as well as a conspicuous paleontological collection, including several holotypes of Archaeoceti (archaic whales), Mysticeti (baleen whales), and Odontoceti (toothed whales). In order to valorize these collections, we used 3D technologies to digitize the most relevant specimens, create an online archive, and make the resulting models accessible and shareable with the broadest audience possible through social media profiles and internet browsers. Tens of specimens were surface-scanned using a structured-light scanner, and the resulting 3D models were processed for post-production through the 3D software Blender whenever necessary. All the 3D scans were then gathered in the online repository Sketchfab, which was chosen for its user-friendly interface and common usage among museum institutions. The result is a web page that hosts 35 surface scans of extant and extinct cetacean specimens. This Sketchfab account was linked to the social media (Facebook and Instagram) profiles of the MSNUP to increase the visibility of the museum and promote the dissemination of its outstanding collections of modern and fossil cetaceans. The preliminary results of such an effort are encouraging in terms of views and online interactions. Hopefully, this effort of digitization and online archiving will soon extend to other vertebrate collections.

The Relationship-building Role of Non-profit Organizations’ Communication on Social Media during the COVID-19 Pandemic

This article examines how non-profit organizations communicate through social media to build relationships with stakeholders during one of the major fundraising events of the COVID-19 pandemic period. In order to achieve the research objective, we used mixed methods, such as a content analysis of selected non-profit organizations’ Facebook profiles, in-depth interviews, and research notes. We divided the collected research material following the facet classification proposed by Herring (2007). Therefore, we described user activity on selected Facebook official profiles which we found to coincide in character with affective publics, namely a group of stakeholders mobilized and united or divided through expressions of sentiments (Papacharissi, 2014). Our research results add to the literature on methods of enhancing organizations’ two-way communication with stakeholders.

From entertainment to extortion: Tunisian children's online experiences

BackgroundInformation and communication technologies (ICTs) have become a fundamental part of children's lives and development. However, children need to acquire the skills and knowledge to manage the risks that technology presents. ObjectivesThis child-centric research on children's online experiences aims to understand the benefits Tunisian children derive from the internet, the risks and harms to which they are exposed, and how aware and resilient Tunisian children are to these online risks and harms. Participants and setting113 children, aged 13–17, participated in focus groups in five governorates across Tunisia. MethodsQualitative data was collected from 16 focus group discussions then data was analyzed using inductive and deductive thematic coding. ResultsThe internet offers Tunisian children educational, social, entertainment, and mental health benefits, in addition to personal development and commercial opportunities.Hacking and the use of fake Facebook profiles were highlighted as facilitators of online bullying, sexual harassment, and extortion, all of which disproportionately affected girls. Children demonstrated personal responsibility for their online activity but recognized that children and parents should have greater awareness about the risks the internet poses. ConclusionsThe young people included in the study reported that they enjoy numerous benefits from internet access and demonstrate some resilience to online risks and harms. However, there is a need for societal and institutional change, through a combination of awareness raising, targeted support for children and parents, and improving the capacity of key actors to prevent online violence while ensuring an effective response and victim support.

He Role of Social Media in the Formation of Political Image: An Analysis of the Facebook Profiles of Boyko Borisov, Slavi Trifonov and Kiril Petkov in 2021

he Role of Social Media in the Formation of Political Image: An Analysis of the Facebook Profiles of Boyko Borisov, Slavi Trifonov and Kiril Petkov in 2021

War and ‘museum front’ in a digital era: The Ukrainian War Museum during the Russian invasion of Ukraine

Based on the extensive literature on the digital transformation of museums, this article explores how war museums can effectively use online media to fulfil their functions related to remembering, interpreting and debating war. The author focuses primarily on the context of ongoing armed conflict as war museums engage in a struggle, shaping, mobilizing and unifying narrative to support the war effort. The main part of the article is an analysis of the online activities of the Kyiv Museum of the History of Ukraine in the Second World War during the first months of the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The author analyses the online exhibitions, online projects and content of the official Museum’s Facebook profile in order to explain how the War Museum uses its digital online resources to inform the local population and the international communities about the Russian aggression against Ukraine, and mobilize them to support the war effort.

Self and counterfeit consumption in emerging markets

urpose: This research has focused on independent and interdependent self-concepts of fake self & pretentious consumption in counterfeit consumption. In this research role of self in the case of fake consumption in the emerging market of Bangladesh has been revealed Research methodology: For this study, qualitative research has been undertaken. Ethnographic and netnographic approaches have been used. Twenty in-depth interviews were conducted with the participants. The participants were approximately equal as far as gender was concerned. The participants were between 20-35 years old; 80% were students, and 20% were employed. The snowball sampling technique was used for sample selection. Participants were selected for the final interview after the initial screening to know the pattern of their behavior, preferences, and experience with counterfeit & luxury brands. The Facebook profiles of these participants were studied to find photos, posts, shares, and preferences for counterfeit and luxury brands. Results: The results reveal that consumers feel their missing self, which means they understand they don't have appropriate possessions, and the extended self means a self that is created by external objects, some particular possessions considered as a part of them. As a result, they try to show their imaginary self, which means they try to copy others, but when they fail, they start to show their fake self through counterfeit consumption. Limitations: The research is conducted within Bangladesh only. Contribution: This research has focused on the patrons of the emerging market of Bangladesh. Findings have been revealed through a projective technique using word and picture associations. The iterative hermeneutic method has been used for data analysis. The research results conclude that variation in self affects the inauthentic consumption behaviors of patrons in the emerging market of Bangladesh.