Instant Messaging Apps Research Articles

Implementierung einer Secure Instant Messaging-App in der COVID-19 Pandemie: Nutzungserfahrungen von Hausärzt*innen und Mitarbeiter*innen von Gesundheitsämtern

BackgroundAt the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic general practitioners complained about feeling uninformed and lacking a sufficient flow of information from the local health authorities. Secure instant messaging describes a digital, chat-based form of communication enabling ambulatory care providers to connect in real-time and share information across medial sectors. KomPan, a proof-of-concept study, established a secure instant messaging structure in two model regions in Germany to improve communication between general practitioners and local health authorities via an additional communication pathway. This paper presents results of a qualitative user survey. MethodsWe recruited general practitioners (n = 43) and staff of local health authorities (n=10) in two Hessian model regions for using the secure instant messaging (SIM) app of the Famedly GmbH, starting in December 2020 (2nd COVID-19 wave). We asked participants to share their usage experiences after a usage time of multiple months. In guided telephone interviews, we primarily asked how communication between the two user groups had changed while using secure instant messaging. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed using thematic analysis. ResultsWe conducted ten interviews with general practitioners and two with staff of the participating local health authorities. Using our SIM-based platform promoted professional exchange between general practitioners. In contrast, the app had little impact on communication between local health authorities and general practitioners. Opposing expectations and usage patterns of the two user groups, among other reasons, probably led to a reduced direct trans-sectoral communication via secure instant messaging. ConclusionEstablishing local chat groups for general practitioners was welcomed, especially during the pandemic situation, to improve professional exchange while experiencing challenging working conditions. To use secure instant messaging effectively for trans-sectoral communication a more comprehensive approach seems to be needed, such as digitalisation of institutional communication structures and improved networks of local healthcare providers.

Mobile Instant Messaging Uses and Technostress: A Qualitative Approach

A growing number of people use mobile instant messaging (MIM) apps for a variety of purposes—most commonly related to social interaction, but also to coordinate work-related activities, fulfill informational needs, and discuss politics and public affairs. Despite its convenience for daily life, MIM may also act as an environmental antecedent of technostress due to users’ inability to cope with the demands of the app in a healthy manner. We conducted two qualitative studies (N1 = 26; N2 = 147) to examine why people use MIM apps in their daily life and if diverse uses relate to MIM stress differently. This research (1) develops a general catalogue of MIM uses; (2) suggests a four-dimensional construct of MIM technostress consisting of overload, ambiguity, invasion, and urgency; (3) outlines several differences across age groups and between genders; and (4) describes possible relationships between MIM uses and stress.

Asian Americans suffer within-community discrimination related to COVID-19

Asian Americans suffer within-community discrimination related to COVID-19

The Impact of Mobile Social App Usage on Offline Shopping Store Visits

This research is a first empirical investigation into the effect of mobile social app usage on consumers’ decisions to visit offline stores and how such an effect varies across consumers and carries over time. The analysis combines data on mobile app usage at the individual consumer level with a fine-grained geolocation data set. The authors find a positive effect of social app usage on consumers’ visits to brick-and-mortar stores. This effect is amplified by the consumer's mobility level and the offline store density in the consumer's neighborhood. The positive impact of social app usage carries over for up to nine days, indicating a short-term effect. Additional analyses indicate that such an effect is likely due to consumers’ social discovery of product- and store-related information via word of mouth on strong-tie social apps (i.e., instant messaging apps). These results point to new opportunities for offline retailers seeking to acquire customers via the mobile channel.

New trends in digital marketing emergence during pandemic times

PurposeThis study relies on an integrated model to study the role of instant mobile messaging apps in the pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic is reshaping different forms of businesses; one of them is digital marketing. Many aspects of digital marketing augmented in response to the consequences of the virus. A comparative study between Pakistan and Iraq is conducted to investigate the resistors of innovation with the mediation of intention toward actual system usage. It examines the behavioral intentions and actual behavior of individuals in response to the resistance toward innovation.Design/methodology/approachA total of 800 responses were collected through a convenient sampling method from individuals residing in Pakistan and Iraq in the first wave of COVID-19. The data was analyzed through covariance-based structural equation modeling; SPSS and Smart PLS 3.0 were used as efficient data analysis tools in the study.FindingsThe results inferred that individuals are faced with resistance to innovation when they adopt innovative technology. It was inferred that technology adoption is not poised through image both in Pakistan and Iraq. Intention toward actual behavior was determined to be a potential mediator, which enhances the stature of the integrated model.Originality/valueThe significance of this study considering practical and theoretical implications is incorporated for marketer’s policymakers and consumers, along with recommendations for future research.

WeChat and the Sharing of News in Networked China

This article takes a close look at news sharing on the immensely popular Chinese instant messaging app WeChat. The study is an example of how an affordances perspective can be useful for understanding a key concept of digital journalism, namely news sharing. Most research on news sharing focuses on its antecedents or consequences; in contrast, this study demonstrates how a focus on the affordances of WeChat can illuminate ways in which news sharing on social media in China works. It also explores how the interplay of the platform’s owner, Tencent’s commercial logics and the technology company’s relations with the state may have shaped WeChat’s news sharing through the lens of the political economy of communication. By analysing the platform’s nuanced interface design and its possible implications, the study finds that the affordances of WeChat can both enable and constrain users’ participation in news distribution.

Feasibility and Acceptability of an Online WhatsApp Support Group on Breastfeeding: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial.

BackgroundMobile health, the use of mobile technology in delivering health care, has been found to be effective in changing health behaviors, including improving breastfeeding practices in postpartum women. With the widespread use of smartphones and instant messaging apps in Hong Kong, instant messaging groups could be a useful channel for delivering breastfeeding peer support.ObjectiveThe aim of this paper is to study the feasibility and acceptability of an online instant messaging peer support group by trained peer counselors on improving breastfeeding outcome in primiparous women in Hong Kong.MethodsA two-arm, assessor-blind, randomized controlled feasibility study will be conducted on 40 primiparous women with the intention to breastfeed. Participants are recruited from the antenatal obstetrics and gynecology clinic of a public hospital in Hong Kong and randomly assigned at a 1:1 ratio to either intervention or control group. The intervention group receives peer support in an online instant messaging group with trained peer counselors on top of standard care, whereas the control group receives standard care. Breastfeeding outcome will be assessed for 6 months post partum or until weaned. The breastfeeding status, the proportion and duration of exclusive and any breastfeeding in each group, and the self-efficacy and attitude of participants will be assessed. The feasibility and acceptability of the study would also be assessed in preparation for a full randomized controlled trial.ResultsThis study (protocol version 1 dated January 5, 2021) has been reviewed and approved by the institutional review board of the University of Hong Kong, Hospital Authority Hong Kong West Cluster (reference UW 21-039), on January 26, 2021. Data collection is ongoing and expected to be completed in December 2021. The findings will be updated on clinical trial registry and disseminated in peer-reviewed journals.ConclusionsThis study aims to assess the feasibility and effectiveness of an online instant messaging peer support group in improving the breastfeeding outcome of primiparous women in Hong Kong. Its findings could inform the feasibility of a full-scale trial with this intervention design.Trial RegistrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT04826796; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04826796International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)DERR1-10.2196/32338

A dynamic network perspective on the evolution of the use of multiple mobile instant messaging apps

ABSTRACT Mobile instant messaging (MIM) services have emerged as digital platforms for closed and private modes of communication. The present study adopts a dynamic network approach to understanding how MIM apps are used in combination with each other. The changing patterns of cross-platform MIM use are reflected in the structural dynamics of the audience overlap network among 58 MIM apps over March 2019 to March 2021 period. The results of the separable temporal exponential random graph model indicated that the formation and persistence of audience overlap was explained by network self-organization and app reach, but not by app engagement. These effects were observed when app-level confounding factors were held constant.

Easy English Teaching in LEE Online Course

The Corona Virus Disease (Covid-19) pandemic at the end of 2019 made people study or work from home to prevent the spreading of the Corona Virus. It made WhatsApp (instant messaging app) gain the most significant number of users during the pandemic. Learning English Easy (LEE), one of the online courses in Indonesia, uses WhatsApp as the primary tool in their teaching-learning process. It gained thousands of student participants with varied cultural backgrounds during its first year. A high enthusiasm of the participants towards LEE online course made the researchers want to describe its implementation of the teaching-learning process and inform the students' perception about the LEE Online Course as an alternative solution during the pandemic. The data were collected from interviews, questionnaires, observation, and documentation. The total participants in this research were 397 students and two stakeholders of LEE. The data analysis technique was done using descriptive interpretive of TPACK framework by Mishra and Koehler (2006). Based on the data analysis, the great combination of three elements: technology, pedagogy, and content knowledge, which were implemented by LEE online course, could manage thousand of participants at one time, and it gave a great outcome based on the students' perception.

Penggunaan Istilah Asing dalam Bahasa Gaul Kaum Milenial di Media Komunikasi Virtual

Over the years, technology has developed and revolutionized our world and daily lives. It becomes the most crucial part in our lives. The amazing tools and resources have been created, putting useful information in our fingertips. Through instant messaging apps and social media platforms, technology’s advancements have provided quicker ways to communicate. 
 The term “media” has changed the digital technology which previously refers to the necessity of news platform. Any company that helps pass information across the globe, including social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter is now called as a media company. To reinforce this circumstance, the virtual communication platforms like Instagram and TikTok become very popular among the millennial youth. They provided any contents with variety themes and current issues to catch their viewers’ attention. The content creators create particular slang language which consist of acronyms or abbreviations and mostly written in English.
 This research is descriptive qualitative type. This research aims to analyze the use of foreign language (English) in shortening slang abbreviations among the millennials youth while communicating in virtual communication media. While phenomenology approach is used to reveal the commonality of a lived experience in using the slang language within millennials youth. The result indicated there are 70 popular words that consist of 66 abbreviations and 4 numeronyms in the slang vocabulary of the millennials used to communicate in virtual communication media; TikTok and Instagram.

Analysis of the visual communication path of popular science content based on WeChat official account

For the Novel Coronavirus, which started in Wuhan, Hubei province, in early 2020, it has spread rapidly around the world at a super speed. Wechat, an instant messaging app, "forcibly" loaded the latest news of the daily epidemic in its official account function and released the epidemic dynamics in real time, so that the epidemic information it pushed every day was read by a huge number of one billion people and became the main platform for the audience to obtain information during the spread of the epidemic. The visualized elements such as charts, videos, H5 interface and MG animation presented in the epidemic information of "Top and Push" are in line with the production process of data news in the new media environment and the audience's personalized and socialized content consumption needs. At the same time, it also puts forward a new idea for the content production of local government popular science communication public account in the "post-epidemic" era.

Challenges in a mobile English telecollaborative project: Towards a conceptual model

This paper, drawing upon a mobile telecollaborative project, resonates with the rapid development of technology in language learning. We employed the instant messaging app WeChat to create an English telecollaborative environment for two groups of Chinese students to communicate within. Interview data were triangulated with students’ chat transcripts and comments from a teacher’s reflective journal. A mixed-methods approach, including quantitative descriptive analysis, thematic analysis and content analysis, was used to investigate the challenges and the linguistic performance by applying the community of inquiry framework to the students’ chats. The analysis illustrates some of the complexities and challenges of using online apps as a way of communicating in a second language: students expected more teacher support, they struggled to use the app due to their physical environments and they felt that they were not sufficiently well prepared for chatting in an English medium environment. Based on the findings, a conceptual model is proposed for consideration when encouraging students to engage in telecollaborative learning.
 Implications for practice or policy:
 
 Teachers should enhance their visibility in mobile telecollaborative projects by promoting participants’ contribution through different facilitation techniques.
 Teachers and educators can capitalise on the proposed conceptual model to guide their own design of such online learning experiences for their learners.
 Telecollaborative learning can be improved by taking into account various factors such as physical environment, the medium of communication and the potential incentives.

Mobile instant messaging apps as an opportunity for a conversational approach to marketing: a segmentation study

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to understand how firms may be segmented with respect to their attitudes towards the use of mobile instant messaging (MIM) apps (e.g. WhatsApp, Messenger, WeChat, etc). in their marketing practices to identify the main approaches to the use of MIM in business. Moreover, this paper identifies the key factors which can motivate or hinder the adoption of these digital platforms.Design/methodology/approachFirms are segmented on the basis of their attitudes (perceived usefulness and perceived effectiveness of performance) towards the use of MIM apps in the business. Categories for size, age of the firm and the organization’s predisposition towards MIMs are explored using data from 311 firms and latent class analysis. Threats, triggers and their real usage are also identified to describe the different approaches towards the application of MIM apps in marketing practices.FindingsFour clusters are identified – lukewarm, cold, believer and unaffected – along with significant covariates such as the importance of conversation with the client, the use of MIMs in the business, the threats and triggers that can foresee adherence. The results help to understand how to approach the client using social messenger applications. MIM apps can be used for strategic marketing and not only for operative marketing.Originality/valueThis paper offers a more nuanced understanding of how firms engage through MIM apps by focusing on the firms’ attitudes towards MIM apps. It extends the knowledge on the firms’ reactions to these disruptive technologies and profiles the firms according to their social innovation attitudes, something that has not yet been investigated in the extant marketing literature.

Exploring the Associations Between Self-reported Tendencies Toward Smartphone Use Disorder and Objective Recordings of Smartphone, Instant Messaging, and Social Networking App Usage: Correlational Study.

BackgroundSocial communication via instant messaging (IM) and social networking (SN) apps makes up a large part of the time that smartphone users spend on their devices. Previous research has indicated that the excessive use of these apps is positively associated with problematic smartphone use behaviors. In particular, image-based SN apps, such as Instagram (Facebook Inc) and Snapchat (Snap Inc), have been shown to exert stronger detrimental effects than those exerted by traditional apps, such as Facebook (Facebook Inc) and Twitter (Twitter Inc).ObjectiveIn this study, we investigated the correlation between individuals’ tendencies toward smartphone use disorder (SmUD) and objective measures of the frequency of smartphone usage. Additionally, we put to test the hypothesis that the pathway linking the frequency of actual smartphone usage to self-reported tendencies toward SmUD was mediated by the increased frequency of IM and SN app usage.MethodsWe recruited a sample of 124 adult smartphone users (females: 78/124, 62.9%; age: mean 23.84 years, SD 8.29 years) and collected objective information about the frequency of smartphone and SN app usage over 1 week. Participants also filled in a self-report measure for assessing the multiple components of tendencies toward SmUD. Bivariate associations were investigated by using Spearman correlation analyses. A parallel mediation analysis was conducted via multiple regression analysis.ResultsThe frequency of smartphone usage, as well as the use of IM apps (Messenger, Telegram, and WhatsApp [Facebook Inc]), Facebook, and image-based apps (Instagram and Snapchat), had significant positive associations with at least 1 component of SmUD, and the cyberspace-oriented relationships factor exhibited the strongest associations overall. We found support for an indirect effect that linked actual smartphone usage to SmUD tendencies via the frequency of the use of image-based SN apps.ConclusionsOur novel results shed light on the factors that promote SmUD tendencies and essentially indicate that image-based SN apps seem to be more strongly associated with problematic smartphone behaviors compared to IM apps and traditional SN apps, such as Facebook.

Speaking Performance and Anxiety Levels of Chinese EFL Learners in Face-to-Face and Synchronous Voice-based Chat

In recent, mobile technology is experiencing a highly development, it is necessary to explore whether it holds the potential to boost EFL learners’ language acquisition based on its instant messaging apps in synchronous voice chat (SVC) mode. With a focus on Chinese EFL learners, this study aimed to compare their speaking performance in SVC and face-to-face (F2F) chat modes. It also explored the relationship between learners’ speaking performance and anxiety levels in these two chat modes which allow real-time communication. In this mixed methods study, WeChat instant messaging was used as the platform for SVC. Forty students from a public university in China participated in 4 chat sessions in SVC and F2F chat modes over 4 weeks. Quantitative data were collected through the oral scores of the participants’ performance in the chat sessions and anxiety questionnaires. Then, qualitative data were obtained from a focus group interview. The findings revealed a significant difference in learners’ speaking performance in SVC and F2F chat. Students’ speaking performance outperformed in SVC chat compared to F2F chat. This could be linked to students’ anxiety levels which were slightly higher in F2F chat. Despite that, most of the students preferred F2F chat to SVC chat due to the practicality of F2F chat.

Habits of Food Consumers in the Post COVID Era

Humankind has faced various pandemics in history. The food supply chain is one of the foremost vital sectors of the economy, and COVID-19 has had a clear bearing on it from the field to the consumer. In the light of recent challenges in the food supply chain, there is currently considerable concern regarding food production, processing, distribution, and demand. COVID-19 resulted in the movement restrictions of staff, changes in the demands of consumers, closure of food production facilities, restrictive food trade policies, and monetary pressures in the food supply chain. 
 
 This study describes the impact of the COVID-19 health crisis on people’s interests, opinions, and behaviour towards food. Additionally, an online questionnaire (Spanish population, n = 232) studied the changes in food shopping habits during the pandemic. To try to cover the whole Léon territory and reach the greatest number of persons through mobile phones, tablets, and computers, the questionnaire was created using the Google Forms tool and distributed using instant messaging apps such as WhatsApp, social media such as Facebook and Twitter, social networking sites such as LinkedIn and ResearchGate, and email through snowball sampling. The statistical analysis was carried out under the SPSS programme. The results are presented in the form of means and distributions. The differences between subgroups have been evaluated using student’s t-test. The level of statistical significance used in all cases was p < 0.05.
 
 This study is focused on evaluating changes in food consumption habits of the Spanish adult population throughout the COVID-19 lockdown. The study is supported by a web-based survey targeting the adult general population. From this study, we are able to conclude that the studied Spanish adult population is extremely close to from having good healthy dietary habits, considering the Mediterranean Diet as a reference of healthy uptake. An improvement of dietary behaviours throughout the COVID-19 confinement has been discovered. Health-related food selections involved increased intake of fruits, vegetables, and legumes and decreased intake of red meat, alcohol, fried foods, or pastries compared to their pre-pandemic habits.

Bridging the Informal and Formal Learning Spaces with WhatsApp

WhatsApp is the most popular mobile instant messaging (IM) app in the global south. Hence, its use in informal and formal learning spaces has significant potential and is worthy of investigation. This study explored how University faculty and students in Namibia and India used WhatsApp for learning support and to bridge the gap between formal and informal learning. From a total of 182 participants, results reveal that WhatsApp has the potential to engage users in an informal and formal learning support and delivery environment. Learning designers and those responsible for professional development need to take note of this instant messaging app and experiment with various culturally contextual learning design models to support learning.

Blending Academic and Professional Learning in a University Course for Future E-learning Specialists: The Perspective of Company Tutors

Blended learning usually refers to the combination of online/offline instructional methods. In this paper, we describe a university course in “E-learning Psychology” designed to blend not only modes of teaching, tools, and media, but also learning contexts; specifically, academic and professional contexts. To achieve an effective blend of learning contexts, students were monitored by academic and company tutors through an instant messaging app (WhatsApp). The unique contribution of the company tutor to the blending of academic and professional contexts is explored. By qualitatively analyzing (i) process data (four WhatsApp log chats) and (ii) self-report data (interviews with six company tutors), we found that the company tutor contributed to both the traditional blended dimension (mixing online and offline) and to the blend of the academic and professional contexts. When company tutors participated in the chat, students moved from an organizational dynamic, featuring chats monitored by only the academic tutor, toward a more collaborative and reflective dynamic. The company tutors considered the opportunity to blend academic and professional contexts as the best aspect of the course for both themselves as educators/company representatives, and for the students. This paper offers insights into the ongoing discussion about what blended is—or should be—and the role of company tutors in blending educational contexts.

Game learning analytics of instant messaging and online discussion forums in higher education

PurposeWith the growth of digital education, students increasingly interact in a variety of ways. The potential effects of these interactions on their learning process are not fully understood and the outcomes may depend on the tool used. This study explores the communication patterns and learning effectiveness developed by students using two basic synchronous and asynchronous communication tools in e-learning environments, specifically business simulation games.Design/methodology/approachThe authors conduct a quasi-experiment research with 478 online business students, 267 of whom used online discussion forums and 211 interacted via an instant messaging app. The application of learning analytics and text mining on natural language processing allows us to explore the student communication patterns with each of tools and their effectiveness in terms of learning.FindingsThe results confirm the complementarity of the communication tools, asynchronous tools being especially the suitable for task-related communication and synchronous ones for speeding up and facilitating student social interactions.Originality/valueThe main value of this research lies in the use of data analytics and text mining to access and analyse the content of student interactions to assess the learning process in greater depth, comparing synchronous and asynchronous learning modes, considering that little is known about the impact of online synchronous interaction or instant messaging, and even less about the different features, content and performance that emerge when these two learner interaction modalities are compared.

Somebody’s Watching Me: Smartphone Use Tracking and Reactivity

Like all media use, smartphone use is mostly being measured retrospectively with self-reports. This leads to misjudgments due to subjective aggregations and interpretations that are necessary for providing answers. Tracking is regarded as the most advanced, unbiased, and precise method for observing smartphone use and therefore employed as an alternative. However, it remains unclear whether people possibly alter their behavior because they know that they are being observed, which is called reactivity. In this study, we investigate first, whether smartphone and app use duration and frequency are affected by tracking; second, whether effects vary between app types; and third, how long effects persist. We developed an Android tracking app and conducted an anonymous quasi-experiment with smartphone use data from 25 people over a time span of two weeks. The app gathered not only data that were produced after, but also prior to its installation by accessing an internal log file on the device. The results showed that there was a decline in the average duration of app use sessions within the first seven days of tracking. Instant messaging and social media app use duration show similar patterns. We found no changes in the average frequency of smartphone and app use sessions per day. Overall, reactivity effects due to smartphone use tracking are rather weak, which speaks for the method's validity. We advise future researchers to employ a larger sample and control for external influencing factors so reactivity effects can be identified more reliably.