Medium Dependence Research Articles

Exploring the role of digital media dependency on the relationship between personal involvement and flashbulb memory during the pandemic: Empirical evidence from Mainland China.

Flashbulb memory (FBM) is viewed as a special type of autobiographical memory due to its richness of individuals' self-related details when hearing the news and the long duration. It also helps shape people's impression of public events to some extent. Given that personal involvement is one of the important antecedent variables of FBM, this study proposed to investigate it from spatiotemporal involvement (spatiotemporal distance) and empathic involvement (empathy level) to explore the impact of personal involvement on the formation of FBM during the Covid-19 pandemic. In particular, digital media dependency was considered in the influence of involvement on the FBM since it is a crucial information source for individuals and a path to spread information about their lives and work during the pandemic. In this study, a total of 546 valid questionnaires (from May 1, 2022, to May 7, 2022) and 349 valid questionnaires (from May 10, 2022, to May 17, 2022) were collected through a two-stage online survey in Shanghai, China towards the epidemic wave at the end of March 2022. The mediating mode of digital media dependency was also examined on personal involvement in FBM performance, which consists of FBM specificity, confidence, and consistency. Results showed that empathic involvement had a significant negative influence on FBM specificity, namely the higher the empathy level was, the worse the FBM specificity would be, in which digital media dependency played a suppressing effect. Individuals' spatiotemporal involvement was proved to have a significant positive influence on FBM specificity and consistency. It was one of the first to investigate the FBM formation process around "small peak" events in the context of the ongoing pandemic. Innovatively, empathy was adopted as the index of memory arousal for empathic involvement, and digital media dependency was considered an important mediator variable in the memory study. The research results have practical significance for promoting the process of epidemic recovery integrated with digital media and can provide a social reference for the shaping process of disaster memory from the perspective of digital information and emotional transmission.

The Influence of Media Dependency and Partisan Selectivity on Negative Affects, the Perception of Economic Changes, and the Evaluation of Government’s Response to COVID-19

이 연구는 미디어 의존과 정파적 뉴스 이용이 코로나19 상황에 대한 정서적 반응과 정부의 코로나19 대응에 대한 평가에 미치는 영향을 살펴보고자 했다. 구체적으로 코로나19 확산 상황에서 (1) 미디어 의존도가 높을수록 부정적 정서반응 및 경제상황에 대한 부정적 인식이 증가하는지, (2) 코로나19 관련 정보를 습득하는 과정에서 정파적 뉴스 이용 양상이 나타나고 그에 따라 정서적 반응, 경제상황 인식, 정부의 코로나19 대응에 대한 평가에 차이가 생기는지, (3) 이 과정에서 정치성향의 구성 요소로서 이념성향과 정파성이 상이한 영향을 미치는지 살펴보았다. 이를 위해 한국언론진흥재단의 〈코로나19 이후 국민의 일상 변화 조사〉 자료를 이용해 분석했다. 그 결과 미디어 의존도가 높은 사람일수록 코로나19 상황에 대해 더 부정적인 정서 반응을 보이고, 경제 상황에 대해서도 더 부정적으로 인식하는 것으로 나타났다. 또한 코로나19에 관한 정보를 습득하는 과정에서 자신의 정치성향에 부합하는 언론을 선택하고 그 결과 정부의 코로나19 대응에 대해 더 부정적으로 평가하는 정파적 뉴스이용 양상과 그 영향을 확인할 수 있었다. 이 과정에서 정치성향의 구성 요소 가운데 이념성향보다 정파성이 정파적 매체 이용 및 정부에 대한 평가에 더 큰 영향을 미치는 것으로 나타났다.

Tabloidization in Philippine Online News Media: A Content Analysis

This study is a content analysis of the implication of tabloidization in the top online news sites of the Philippines: Philippine Daily Inquirer (PDI), Manila Bulletin (MB), and Philippine Star (PS). It sought to: determine the amount of tabloidization concepts observed in the three online news sites; and ascertain whether the amount of tabloidization has a significant association with the ranking of the online news sites. It made use of a correlational descriptive research design to acquire data regarding the current status of the phenomenon which is about the infiltration of tabloidization in news media. Also, it is anchored upon the Uses and Dependency theory and Media Dependency theory. Moreover, the study employed quantitative content analysis and purposive sampling method. The findings of the study show that the ranking of the amount of tabloidization concepts is true for all online news sites, with individualism as the highest, followed by drama, entertainment, and political concepts. Moreover, the PDI is found to be the most sensationalized among the three online news sites, followed by PS and MB. Finally, there is an association of the amount of tabloidization to the ranking of the online news sites. With these findings, it is concluded that the use of tabloidization in news media could be a strategy to gain a huge lead in readership and eventually attain the widest market possible.

PORTRAYAL OF FEMALE IN PAKISTANI TV DARAMAS: A CASE STUDY OF HAZARA UNIVERSITY

Present research study is based on survey technique to explore, explain and investigate media portrayal of female in Pakistani TV daramas. In this regard, focus of the research on portrayal of females in daramas that how females’ characters are portrayed in daramas. The population of the study was female students of Hazara University. The researcher used probability sampling technique for data collection. sample for this specific research study was 200 female students of Hazara University. Media dependency theory is the most relevant media effect theory with present research work. The data was collected by using standardized questionnaire. The empirical analysis of the data reveals that overall majority of the females of Hazara University watch different daramas and take keen interest in them. The exclusive analysis of the data also reveals that overall majority of the respondents use outfits in their daily routine life after watching daramas. Keywords: TV daramas, Female Portrayal, outfits, language, culture.

Socially significant information and issues of the Kazakhstanis’ trust in the media

This article presents the results of the sociological survey of the Kazakhstan society on the issues of the information society and mass communication, which was a part of the programtargeted-funded project of the Science Committee of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan “Development of information technologies and systems for the sustainable personal development as a foundation for the development of digital Kazakhstan”. The study aimed at identifying preferences of various social categories in the choice of news and socially significant topics in the media space, and at assessing the influence of news of different thematic focus on the personal sustainable development (psychological/emotional, social and intellectual stability). The comprehensive analysis of the media as a channel of social influence has become more urgent under the pandemic, which is reflected in the wide use of the term ‘infodemic’ to assess information processes since the first half of 2020. The article considers the information agenda when choosing and assessing the importance of news content in the Kazakhstan media. Based on the postulate about significant differences in the information agenda of different social groups, the authors focus on the main factors of trust in information channels. The empirical data showed a correlation between the social significance of news information and the level of social trust in media. The study is based on the theoretical model combining two complementary factors: on the one hand, the influence of the media as possessing if not a monopoly (P. Bourdieu) then significant preferences in affecting public opinion and value orientations of various groups; on the other hand, the media dependence as determined by supply and demand. Based on various theories of the information agenda setting, the authors confirmed the need to take into account the social-demographic characteristics when forming the media content - when it is necessary to convey some specific information to different social groups.

A study on switching behavior of social media: from a dynamic perspective

PurposeThe adoption of social media has been extensively discussed. However, to explain the adoption of traditional social media, considering the benefits and risks accumulated from the experiences of social media use, the extent literature is limited. Thus, this paper investigated the act of traditional social media users’ switching behavior from a dynamic perspective and the level of information privacy concerns and social media privacy to measure the risks and benefit accumulated from this dynamic process.Design/methodology/approachThis study of Facebook and Twitter users, who are regarded as representative of traditional social media, are selected as research targets surveyed and were required to answer a specially designed questionnaire in order to determine their general feeling on social media platforms they currently use. As a part of this process, quota sampling was used to collect different samples based on gender and age. In this paper, t-test, one-way ANOVA and multiple comparisons were used for the statistical analysis, conducted through SPSS.FindingsInformation privacy concerns and social media dependency affect the adoption of social media. Secondly, social media dependency is a more salient determinant for social media adoption. Therefore, social media firms should pay more attention to enhancing user dependency of social media by increasing user involvement of social media.Originality/valueThis study intends to conduct a research design that provides an overall and holistic understanding of user usage experience. To do this, it investigates the intensity of switching behavior through the level of dependency and the level of information privacy concern that users inevitably exhibit through the use of social media over long time.

What Drives People to Share Misinformation on Social Media during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Stimulus-Organism-Response Perspective.

(1) Background: Misinformation is prevalent on social media in the age of COVID-19, exacerbating the threat of the pandemic. Uncovering the processes underlying people’s misinformation sharing using social media assists people to cope with misinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study extends the stimulus-organism-response framework to examine how individuals’ social media dependency relates to their misinformation sharing behavior, with a focus on the underlying processes. (2) Methods: A total of 393 valid questionnaires were collected using a survey method to test the proposed research model. (3) Results: The results demonstrate that informational dependency and social dependency engender both positive and negative cognitive states, namely perceived information timeliness, perceived socialization and social overload, which then invoke positive as well as negative affect. What is more, the results show that both positive affect and negative affect can engender misinformation sharing. (4) Conclusions: Theoretically, this study uncovers the processes that lead to misinformation sharing on social media during the COVID-19 pandemic. Practically, this study provides actionable guidelines on how to manage social media usage and social media content to cope with misinformation sharing during the pandemic.

The Next Best Thing: How Media Dependency and Uses and Gratifications Inform Esport Fandom During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

COVID-19 ushered new forms of media engagement when traditional sporting events and league play were suspended. Subsequently, certain sections of the audience moved online to fill their needs typically satisfied via traditional sport consumption. Esport is one such form of digital entertainment that significantly altered the ways in which sport fans can immerse themselves in related content. To examine how those audience obtained gratifications, we surveyed traditional sport fans who have either increased or initiated esports media consumption during the pandemic, doing so through the lens of media dependency theory. Results from 155 sports fans demonstrate three key findings. First, gratifications for traditional sports were significantly higher than those of esports. Secondly, ascending esports consumers maintained significantly more intense gratifications than did new users. Finally, media dependency was a significant, positive predictor of all 12 of the traditional sports motivations and 9 of the 12 esport motivations.

Global media framing, COVID-19 and the issue of vaccination: An empirical inquisition.

Background: This study examined global media framing on issues of vaccination for COVID-19. The framing and media dependency theories were used to understand the potential influence of global media outlets as suppliers of health messages during pandemics. Methods: Content analysis was used to generate qualitative and quantitative data to answer the research questions. The qualitative data provided rich descriptive data about the themes and types of news frames on issues of vaccination for COVID-19, while the quantitative data provided statistical details about the frequency, viewership level and types of news frames on issues of vaccination for COVID-19. Results: The findings of this study showed that conflict and responsibility frames were the predominant frames used to report issues of vaccination for COVID-19. Also, the findings of this study indicated that vaccine safety was the overriding media theme on vaccination issue for COVID-19. Conclusion: The global media serve as suppliers of health communication in developed and developing countries. This study recommended that the global media can spearhead an information campaign to correct misconceptions, misrepresentations and misinformation on issues of vaccination for COVID-19.

Impact of social media use on critical thinking ability of university students

PurposeThis research aims to discover the relationship between social media usage (SMU) and the critical thinking ability (CTA) of university students, and to answer the question that whether social media dependence (SMD) affects the development of CTA, and thus providing a reference for the social media access strategy of academic libraries from the perspective of media information literacy.Design/methodology/approachThe research data were collected via 300 valid questionnaires whose respondents are students from three universities in China. Multistage stratified cluster sampling method was used to select the respondents, which guarantees statistical representativeness. A pre-test was conducted to ensure the validity of the questionnaire.FindingsIt is shown that the total score of CTA and the six sub-dimensions are significantly positively correlated with SMU, but strongly negatively correlated with SMD. Based on the mediating effect testing, it is discovered that the degree of SMD can affect the promoting relations between the usage intensity of social media (UISM) and CTA. Clearly, SMU is a double-edged sword. While it narrows the digital gap in terms of accessibility, it widens the digital gap in terms of usage.Originality/valueThe differences in SMU have a significant impact on the development of CTA of university students. This inspires us to consider the ability of “using social media in a balanced way” as an important evaluation and training direction when inquiring media literacy. As social media is becoming a critical channel in cultivating individual's thinking skills, it is highly suggested that the amount of time spent on reading fragmented information on the internet should be controlled.

The Effect of Artificial Intelligence on End-User Online Purchasing Decisions: Toward an Integrated Conceptual Framework

This study was an investigation into the effect of selected artificial intelligence tools and the consideration set on the end-user purchasing intentions of convenient and shopping products of Saudi Arabian customers. The consideration set was the factor that the researcher sought to associate directly with the online purchasing intention variable. The selected AI tools and approaches were machine learning, purchase duration, social product recommendation, and social media dependency. The four served as the indirect factors, as their effect was measured against the consideration set variable. The theoretical framework employed in this study comprised the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) and the theory of reasoned action. The researchers used an online survey with a sample of 148 customers. In analyzing the findings, the researchers opted for the structural equation modeling (SEM) approach. The findings indicated evidence of association with a consideration set of three independent variables, namely, machine learning, purchase duration, and product recommendation. The study also established that customer consideration sets influence end-user purchase decisions for online customers.

Social Disruption and Equilibrium Reconstruction: A Media-based Perspective

Despite the essential role of the media in shaping the individual and collective sense-making during times of social disruption, little is known about the nuanced processes of how the media affects the emergence of a course of cognitive, emotional, and behavioral responses taken by employees. We integrate media dependency theory with appraisal theories of emotions to propose a multi-phase process model, which provides a fine-grained delineation of how the media influences each of the different phases in which employees cognitively process, emotionally experience, and behaviorally respond to social disruptions, and ultimately adapt to a new social equilibrium. In doing so, we articulate why and how individuals’ psychological and behavioral responses may vary across situations and time. Our theoretical framework not only introduces a media perspective to organizational research, but more so, it advances Alexander’s societalization framework (2018, 2019) by conceptualizing the micro-psychological processes in which individual employees, the constituents of teams, organizations, and society at large undergo in adjusting to the aftermath of social disruptions.

Disfungsi Media Sosial dalam Seruan Pemerintah: Lemahnya Pengaruh Konten Instagram terhadap Pelaksanaan Protokol Kesehatan Covid-19

In early 2020, the coronavirus disease (covid-19) has reached Indonesia and is rapidly spreading. The Province of the Special Region of Yogyakarta is the area with the lowest positive number of covid-19 compared to other provinces on the island of Java. This is certainly inseparable from the decision of the Yogyakarta’s Government, one of which is communication on the @humasjogja Instagram account. Through the content produced, the Instagram account @humasjogja actively urges its followers to be vigilant and comply with the health protocol of covid-19. For this reason, it would be interesting if there was research to determine the magnitude of the influence of Instagram content on the implementation of the COVID-19 health protocol. To answer this problem, Media Dependency Theory is suitable to be used as a research basis because this theory explains that media that can provide individual desires will be considered important and can affect individual behavior changes. This study uses a survey research method to 100 respondents who are followers of the Instagram account @humasjogja and uses a simple linear regression analysis method. The results of the study found that there was an effect of 35.9% of Instagram content on the implementation of the covid-19 health protocol on followers of the Instagram account @humasjogja, and showed a scale of influence that was at a weak level.Keywords: Social Media, Instagram Content, Covid-19, Health Protocol of Covid-19.

Social media enabled individual dynamic capabilities: the boundary spanning perspective

ABSTRACT Individuals perform various activities on social media more easily and frequently than ever before, which indeed enables them to become more adaptable and competent in changing environments. However, there are limited research and empirical evidence regarding the use of social media on the development of individual capabilities. Drawing upon media system dependency, boundary spanning and dynamic capabilities literature, this study proposes the concept of individual dynamic capabilities and highlights that diverse uses of social media can help developing an individual’s dynamic capabilities through two important mechanisms: information processing and external representation.

Mobilising public support for the U.S. China-trade war: a comparison of U.S. and Chinese news media

ABSTRACT In international conflicts, national governments establish the legitimacy of their positions or policies through news announcements. This study examines how the news media in each country, through alignment with their government’s foreign policies, mobilised public support for the U.S.–China trade war. Furthermore, we explain the intricacies of the relationship among government policy and the news media, by showing how the government plays an important role as a news source for the news media. We analyse how the news media’s frames of reporting are influenced by the government and how the news media shape the public’s understanding of the conflict. We utilise a comparative content analysis of four mainstream news media in China and seven mainstream news media in the U.S. to show how both governments provide the frames of the trade conflict and dependence of the news media on elite news sources help mobilise support of their audiences following the government’s framing.

Sex differences in informational needs and media dependencies during the 2018 California wildfires.

Previous research has suggested that men and women differ in a number of crisis-related behaviors including information-seeking behavior and media dependencies. The 2018 California wildfires provided a context where demographic differences are largely unexplored, as most prior emergency communication research has focused on slower moving events such as hurricanes and storm surges. Participants were identified based on their residence in areas affected by the Camp and Woolsey fires (N = 363). Sex differences were discovered for how people found out about the fires, perceptions of medium utility, and informational needs. Implications for emergency management practitioners are discussed.

Parasocial relationships as functional social alternatives during pandemic-induced social distancing.

The COVID-19 pandemic compelled people to engage in social distancing protocols that increased media exposure and transitioned social interactions to digital spaces, providing a unique context to study the compensation function of parasocial relationships (PSRs) with fictional characters and celebrities. Published analyses from a 4-wave panel survey conducted with U.S. adults (N = 166) during the pandemic revealed that decreased face-to-face interactions and increased mediated interactions with friends predicted PSR growth (Bond, 2021). This study concluded that pandemic-induced reliance on screens to engage with real-life friends may have blurred the cognitive distinctions between real-life friends and liked media personae, thereby strengthening PSRs. The present study aimed to further investigate this line of reasoning by incorporating parasocial interaction (PSI) into a secondary analysis of the longitudinal data. Participant-reported liked media personae were coded for their PSI potential, defined as likelihood of engaging audiences in illusory interactions. Results suggest that PSRs experienced significant growth during the pandemic, particularly PSRs with media personae more likely to invoke PSI among those who also increased their mediated social interactions with real-life friends. These findings support and extend the conclusions of the initial analyses: PSRs may serve a compensation function during social distancing, and increased exposure to real-life friends through screen media may blur the lines between the social and parasocial, increasing the value of PSRs during social distancing. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved) Impact Statement Individuals develop affective bonds with favorite celebrities and fictional characters known as parasocial relationships. Parasocial relationships provide companionship, especially when the liked media personae are depicted performing cues that encourage illusory interactions among viewers and when individuals are dependent on mediated social communication to sustain their real-life social relationships. The function of liked media personae as components of individuals' social circles more closely mimics real-life friends during periods of media dependency and, in turn, could serve beneficial emotional and coping purposes during global crises that stymie social relationships. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved)

Development of Social Media Applications as a New Platform of Interaction among Teenagers and its Consequences on Family Bonding

The current research is aimed at exploring the "Development of SNS as a New Platform of InteractionAmong Teenagers and its Consequences on Family Bonding." Data was collected from the teenage students ofcolleges and Schools. The present research is a survey-based study using Media Dependency and Uses andGratification as its theoretical foundation keeping in view the major concepts. A sample of 400 respondents isselected using the purposive sampling technique. The main social interaction patterns are Audio Chat, Gif,Messages, and Video Chat. The analysis of findings reveals that WhatsApp more affects teenagers' socialinteraction patterns (68 percent). It is observed from the findings that Facebook more frequently affects teenagers'bonding with Friends (61 percent). A correlation test is applied in this study. The study's findings supported a positiverelationship between the frequency of use of social media and the effects on social interaction patterns ofteenagers in terms of communication, interaction, gathering and socialization. Social media has significantlyaffected youngsters in building bonding's with friends as more sharing of feelings takes place with friends overdistance instead of families.

Seeking news and information through social networking sites: An experience of internally displaced people

This case study was designed to investigate the use of social networking sites (SNSs) for seeking news and information by internally displaced people (IDP). The study is guided by media dependency theory and related literature. Data were collected from 288 Iraqi internally displaced people (IDP) in four large camps through a survey questionnaire. The findings of the study reported how and why the respondents use SNSs for news and information and how much they trusted such platforms. Most of the respondents were found to depend on a variety of SNS media, old or new, to receive news and information, especially in times of crisis and conflicts. Such devices were very important for communicating with the families, news contributions, and news production.

GUEST EDITOR’S NOTE: THE ROLE AND IMPACT OF MEDIA DURING COVID-19

This special issue reflects some of the articles presented in 3rd International Conference of Media, Islam, and Communication (ICIMAC 2021) that was held virtually on 10th and 11th July 2021 organized by the Communication Program and New Media Communication Program, Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM). About seven articles from ICIMAC 2021 were selected for this issue and most of them convey the equivalent connotation entitled The Role and Impact of Media During COVID-19. These articles presented the various roles of media in transmitting information or creating awareness during the pandemic and its impact in shaping one’s attitude towards matters related to health issues. The current COVID-19 pandemic has caused a lot of crises and threatened global health. The impact of the outbreak covered from economics, education, politics, and many others. This global health crisis has affected the way people perceive today’s world and undeniably, media play a very crucial role during the pandemic as people rely so much on various media platforms for information related to COVID-19. Despite the diversity of this collective endeavor, the contributions fall into four areas of research but mostly in relation with the COVID-19 pandemic: (1) media and health communication, (2) information exposure towards behaviour change, (3) media dependency, and (4) other media and communication related issues. The chaotic situation of COVID-19 has challenged all media outlets to utilize their available platforms especially the social media at the utmost in transmitting related information, educating people on the danger of the virus, and even convincing them on the importance of vaccination (Arriage et. al, 2021). However, the challenge on how to transfer the knowledge raised interest of many researchers in the field of media and communication to explore. Currently, scholars believe that all media especially social media have the potential to deliver fast and effective information if they are used responsibly and ethically (Chan et. al, 2020).