Social Media Change Research Articles

Social media symbiosis: Understanding the dynamics of online political persuasion in social media ecologies

Research has noted that political content on social media, both accurate and fake, may lead users to reconsider their political opinions and be persuaded. This study contributes to this topic by examining how political attitude change in social media unfolds according to users’ perceptions. Our findings, based on in-depth interviews with 30 Spanish social media users, show how the centrality of social media in citizens’ everyday life nudges them into a persuasive relationship in these ecologies. We conceptualize this dynamic relationship as social media symbiosis, an analogy that draws on the biological concept of symbiosis, and that explains the characteristics of perceived online persuasion: (1) the primacy of social media persuasion over other information sources, (2) its gradual and evolutionary nature, and (3) the persuasive relationships in which users may engage: mutualism, in which both sender and receiver reciprocally benefit and persuade each other; and parasitism, in which fake news creators harmfully persuade receivers while benefitting. Our study contributes to extant literature by theorizing about the persuasive relationship in which users perceive to engage in social media, and the rationales that facilitate it.

The Solo Broadcast Journalism Practices from an Industry Perspective

Social networking is a rapidly growing source of news in broadcast journalism. Broadcast journalism is facing a continuing decline in electronic media circulation and social media changes. The concept of online convergence in broadcast journalism has become a news trend on social media. Solo broadcast journalism and social media are becoming practices in news organisations today. Therefore, this article aims to identify the practices of solo broadcast journalism from an industry practitioner’s perspective. A qualitative methodological approach was used in this study. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with eight informants who practised solo broadcast journalism. The data were analysed thematically. The results showed that production tasks, location reviews, good time management, relationships with the community, preparation tasks, and comfortable places are among the concepts of practising solo broadcast journalism in news organisations. The findings of this study show that journalists practice solo broadcast journalism to get news in line with the development of digital media today. The findings of this study are expected to benefit the National ICT Agenda on National Broadband Policy from the perspective of newspaper organisations in expanding the use of technology in the distribution and publication of stories for news. The findings of this study will help make appropriate adjustments to develop human capital by integrating broadcast journalism practices with technology-assisted work in solo broadcast journalism. In addition, this study is also significant to the National Education Policy. The study will impact the educational curriculum of broadcast journalism by introducing changes in line with the development of solo broadcast journalism. Keywords: Practice, solo broadcast journalism, industry practitioner, Industrial Revolution 4.0, social media.

Browsing throughout pregnancy: The longitudinal course of social media use during pregnancy

BackgroundThe number of people using social media has substantially increased over the past years. Previous studies have shown associations between social media overuse and mental health problems during pregnancy. The current study evaluates changes in social media use during pregnancy. MethodsPregnant women were recruited at their first antenatal appointment between January 2020 and July 2022 (N = 1135). The time spent on social media, frequency of social media use and problematic social media use, using the Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale (BSMAS), were assessed at 12, 20 and 28 weeks of pregnancy. Pearson r correlations and repeated measures ANOVAs were performed to assess possible changes in social media use over the course of pregnancy. Lastly, we stratified social media use throughout pregnancy for parity. ResultsThere was a significant change in social media use over time, for the time spent on social media, frequency of social media use and problematic social media use. Mean social media scores were the lowest at 12 weeks of pregnancy and increased significantly at 20 weeks of pregnancy, after which they remained stable at 28 weeks. Compared to multiparous women, primiparous women spent more time on social media at 20 weeks of pregnancy, but not at 12 or 28 weeks. ConclusionBecause overuse of social media has been associated with poor mental health, healthcare professionals should be aware of the intensity of social media use throughout pregnancy.

Social Media Changes the Market Based on Marketing

The primary goal of this essay is to examine the effects of social media's ongoing development on the market against the backdrop of the explosive growth of MLM-based information. It focuses on comparing the success of the early traditional e-commerce online shopping media "Amazon" and "Taobao" and the success of the modern e-commerce online shopping media "TikTok." By analyzing the operation mode of "Taobao" and "TikTok" and comparing the changes of user data and transaction amount. It can be concluded that users will constantly put forward new needs with the continuous update of technology, and social media will constantly solve the needs of customers to update. This update will continue to maintain and enhance the convenience offered by social media online shopping, and continue to attract new users. From the perspective of marketing, social media constantly solves the needs of consumers and provides interactivity, which makes people more willing to purchase and evaluate products and feedback merchants through social media. For merchants, studying such topics can quickly find and use social media more in line with consumer needs to "interact" and increase their sales channels and quantity.

Generation Z and the Evolution of Social Media: A Two-Decade Analysis of Impact and Usage Trends

Over the past two decades, the landscape of social media has undergone remarkable transformations, both technologically and communicatively. This evolution has not only enhanced the quality of content across various formats, including text, images, audio, and video, but has also significantly expanded the user base, particularly in recent years. Among the most frequent and dedicated users are members of Generation Z, who have shown a keen adaptability to the nuances and innovations of the latest social media platforms. This study aims to investigate the dynamic changes in social media over the last twenty years, with a special focus on their impact on Gen Z users. By analyzing the usage patterns of key social media platforms amongst this demographic, the study seeks to provide a comprehensive overview of both the positive and negative effects these digital spaces have had on Generation Z. The goal is to offer an insightful understanding of the relationship between this generation and the evolving digital social landscape.
 
 Received: 6 October 2023 / Accepted: 14 November 2023 / Published: 23 November 2023

Associations of social media use with smoking and e-cigarettes: a national longitudinal study

BackgroundSocial media use is high among children and young people and might influence health behaviours. We examined social media use and use of tobacco and e-cigarettes in the UK. MethodsWe used data from participants aged 10–25 years from the UK Household Longitudinal Study (January 2015–January 2022). Participants were asked: “On a normal weekday, that is Monday to Friday, how many hours do you spend chatting or interacting with friends through a social website or app like that?”. Specific social media platforms were not specified. Responses were none, less than 1 h, 1–3 h, 4–6 h, 7 h or more. Outcomes were current tobacco smoking and e-cigarette use. Generalised Estimating Equation (GEE) logistic regression models investigated associations of social media use with tobacco and e-cigarette use, and fixed effects analyses investigated changes in social media use with uptake of both products. Models included possible confounders such as age, sex, household income, ethnicity (White vs non-White) and use of tobacco or e-cigarettes by others within the home. All participants gave written informed consent. FindingsThe analytic sample included 10 808 participants with 27 962 observations (mean age 15·7 years [SD 3·8], 5080 [47%] male, 5728 [53%] female, and 7868 [73%] White). Current tobacco smoking was reported at one or more timepoints by 929 (8·6%) participants, and current e-cigarette use by 270 (2·5%) participants. In adjusted GEE models, all levels of social media use were associated with greater odds of current smoking than no use. This association was particularly apparent at higher levels of use adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 3·11, 95% CI 2·41–4·03 for ≥7 h use vs no use), with similar associations for e-cigarettes (aOR 3·04, 2·11–4·40 for ≥7 h use vs no use). Fixed effects analyses also found increased use of social media to be associated with increased uptake of both products (eg, changing to using social media for ≥7 h/day was associated with >2 times the odds of taking up tobacco smoking [aOR 2·33, 1·28–4·24]). InterpretationThese analyses suggest an association between social media use and e-cigarette and tobacco use. Potential pathways include promotion of these products on social media. Further research with details on specific platforms would be useful as well as with longer follow-up time. FundingCancer Research UK.

Social media use does not increase individual-based relative deprivation: Evidence from a five-year RI-CLPM

Although a growing literature demonstrates that social media usage fosters upward social comparisons, the potential for social media use to elicit perceptions of unjust disadvantage relative to others remains unexplored. We address this oversight by leveraging six annual waves of a nationwide random probability sample of adults (ages 18–99; N = 62,017) to examine the average between- and within-person associations between social media use and feelings of individual-based relative deprivation (IRD) over time. Results from our preregistered analyses revealed that those who are high social media users across time tend to also experience higher levels of IRD. After adjusting for these stable between-person differences, within-person changes in social media use failed to predict changes in IRD over time (or vice versa). Subsequent exploratory analyses replicated these results across different age- and gender-based subgroups. Our results relieve concerns that social media use fosters long-term perceptions of disadvantage over time within individuals and suggest that concerns over the long-term detrimental effects of social media use on social comparison processes may be unfounded. These results also highlight the need to separate between-person stability from within-person change when investigating temporal precedence in longitudinal research.

Language Change in Social Media

Nowadays currently, many people are found using language that sometimes runs away from the standard or changes from the standard. They use language only based on their desires. These language changes give the impression of making readers or the public may be confused to understand the true meaning. This makes researchers interested in discussing this issue. This study will focus on the exploration of language change that occurs in social media nowadays. The authors will draw inspiration from various texts on social media. The researchers will complete the survey and the study using Internet facilities. This study was conducted qualitatively and the writers will also be observing the language change directly from the relevant social media applications. The information gathered is terminological in nature, replete with human characteristics, and based on captions from several social media platforms including Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook. Following the completion of this study, the researcher discovered that the vocabulary used by social media users to connect with one another had changed. After the researcher analyzed the data obtained, the researcher found that the semantic change was the biggest change that had been found. As much as 32% of language changes occur in social media and this illustrates that quite a lot of social media users do not use meanings that are not following their standards. Researchers also found that 10% of language changes occurred in the field of morphology. This illustrates that a few social media users result in language changes in the syntax field

Media Consumption and COVID-19-Related Precautionary Behaviors During the Early Pandemic: Survey Study of Older Adults.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, media sources dedicated significant time and resources to improve knowledge of COVID-19 precautionary behaviors (eg, wearing a mask). Many older adults report using the television, radio, print newspapers, or web-based sources to get information on political news, yet little is known about whether consuming news in the early phase of the pandemic led to behavior change, particularly in older adults. The goals of this study were to determine (1) whether dosage of news consumption on the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with COVID-19 precautionary behaviors; (2) whether being an ever-user of social media was associated with engagement in COVID-19 precautionary behaviors; and (3) among social media users, whether change in social media use during the early stages of the pandemic was associated with engagement in COVID-19 precautionary behaviors. Data were obtained from a University of Florida-administered study conducted in May and June of 2020. Linear regression models were used to assess the association between traditional news and social media use on COVID-19 precautionary behaviors (eg, mask wearing, hand washing, and social distancing behaviors). Analyses were adjusted for demographic characteristics, including age, sex, marital status, and education level. In a sample of 1082 older adults (mean age 73, IQR 68-78 years; 615/1082, 56.8% female), reporting 0 and <1 hour per day of media consumption, relative to >3 hours per day, was associated with lower engagement in COVID-19 precautionary behaviors in models adjusted for demographic characteristics (β=-2.00; P<.001 and β=-.41; P=.01, respectively). In addition, increasing social media use (relative to unchanged use) was associated with engagement in more COVID-19 precautionary behaviors (β=.70, P<.001). No associations were found between being an ever-user of social media and engaging in COVID-19 precautionary behaviors. The results demonstrated an association between higher media consumption and greater engagement in COVID-19 precautionary behaviors in older adults. These findings suggest that media can be effectively used as a public health tool for communication of prevention strategies and best practices during future health threats, even among populations who are historically less engaged in certain types of media.

Social Media Publishing Strategies of German Newspapers: Content Analysis of Sports Reporting on Social Networks by German Newspapers—Results of the 2021 Social Media International Sports Press Survey

Newspaper sports departments in Germany are reacting to changes in social media by expanding their offerings and employing a variety of publishing and engagement strategies. In this constantly evolving media environment, it is important to understand how newsrooms utilize social media to inform their audiences. This study examines the approaches German newspapers apply to publishing sports content on social media, and outlines how users interact with these posts. In analyzing these aspects, this paper applies theoretical elements of agenda setting and audience engagement, gender in media, and quality and diversity of published content. Social media posts were examined across eight German publications, totaling 3633 posts from Twitter and Facebook. Results in the study, which is part of the global 2021 Social Media International Sports Press Survey, highlighted how most of the content published by German newspapers on social media aimed to redirect users to the publications’ websites. The findings also reflect how social media is used less as an editorial space and more as part of a campaign to increase the audience. These results demonstrate challenges for the quality of sports coverage distributed via social networks in Germany.

Abortion on TikTok Versus YouTube: An Analysis of Abortion Stance and Purpose [ID: 1365895

INTRODUCTION: Social media platforms are an accessible way for individuals to consume medical information. The topic of abortion is undergoing extensive discussion, and there is increasing need to understand the information available to the public. We aimed to assess whether the social media video platform affected abortion content stance and purpose. METHODS: We performed a cross-sectional study of abortion content on TikTok and YouTube. We searched the term “abortion” on each platform and reviewed the first 155 videos. Videos were categorized by purpose, abortion stance, and medical misinformation. We calculated descriptive statistics and used χ2 testing to compare between groups. The Albany Medical Center IRB determined this study was exempt. RESULTS: Of 310 videos, 280 were included for analysis with 137 YouTube videos and 143 TikTok videos. YouTube is more likely than TikTok to have anti-abortion content (19.71% versus 7.69%, P=.003) and strongly anti-abortion content (15.33% versus 4.20%, P=.002). YouTube is more likely than TikTok to have content categorized as news (33.58% versus 0.70%, P&lt;.001) and less likely to have personal experience content (14.6% versus 41.26%, P&lt;.001). The platforms were similar in their content containing medical misinformation (10.14% on YouTube versus 5.44% on TikTok, P=.137). CONCLUSION: There are significant differences in abortion content available for public consumption on popular social media video platforms. Understanding these differences can help us recognize content biases outside the clinical setting, facilitate creation of medically accurate and patient friendly content, and spur future work on medical misinformation and changes in social media over time.

Beginning to Dismantle New Stereotypes: Female Body Image Anxiety Formation and Change in Social Media, Using Red Book As an Example

With the advent of the Internet society, gender stereotypes have gradually become more binding for women, and there are gender stereotypes or feminist theories spreading in both the real society and online media. This article is beneficial to the study of current feminism and the discussion of women’s discourse on the Internet. By applying the theory of gender stereotypes and taking bloggers’ postings on Red Book as the research object, this article analyzes the reasons for the emergence of white, thin and young as the main aesthetic theme, as well as the reasons for the gradual dissipation of this stereotype and its effects. The results of the study show that with the large number of current social media users and their rapid dissemination, the mainstream aesthetic finds changes from the gender stereotype of white, thin and young to its dissolution, reflecting the contemporary mainstream view that women are no longer objects to be gazed at and objectified. This study further demonstrates that social media has an important role in promoting the development of feminism in China and that the influence and changes produced by women’s opposition to stereotypes have promoted more women to embrace a pluralistic aesthetic.

Pathways to Political Persuasion: Linking Online, Social Media, and Fake News With Political Attitude Change Through Political Discussion

There is a vast research tradition examining the antecedents that lead people to be politically persuaded. However, political opinion and attitude change in social media has received comparatively scarce attention. This study seeks to shed light on this strand of the literature by theoretically advancing and empirically testing a structural equation model linking online social media, and fake news exposure, with political discussion and political persuasion in social media. Drawing on autoregressive causal tests from two waves of US survey panel data collected in 2019 and 2020, our results indicate that online, social media fake news, and political discussion are all positive predictors of individual political attitude change. Furthermore, structural equation tests reveal that online and social media news lead individuals to be exposed to fake news, which, in turn, predict higher levels of political discussion, ultimately facilitating political persuasion in the social media realm. Limitations and further suggestions for future research are also included in the study.

Current changes in social media and the digital environment during a special military operation in Ukraine

The article analyzes the changes taking place in the global social network space under the conditions of a special military operation in Ukraine. The authors draw attention to the difficulties encountered in maintaining the planned pace of development of the national project «Digital Economy» and to the consequences of blocking a number of information channels and social networks both in Russia and abroad. At the same time, they emphasize the growing demand for Russian developments in the field of information and communication technologies (ICT), and the increase in the digital culture and literacy of citizens in circumventing blockages in search of the necessary information or contacts. Particular attention is paid to the problem of abundance and difficulties of verification of information flows that are an integral part of the global information warfare. The article is based on analytical reviews and data from sociological studies of the transformation of media space in 2022.is noted to have a prominent scientific potential and a high scientific-practical demand in the future.

College students’ media habits, concern for themselves and others, and mental health in the era of COVID-19.

The COVID-19 pandemic has entirely disrupted college students' education plans, often their physical location, and it remains elusive when life will return to prepandemic normalcy. The current study examined changing media use patterns during the COVID-19 pandemic, the effect of these patterns on feelings of concern regarding one's future and society, and the moderating roles of anxiety and depression in relations. Seventy-four college students (70% female;55% White, 24% Pell-grant eligible) completed an online survey assessing time spent on TV, social media, and video game use in spring of 2019 (T1) and spring of 2020 (T2). Results revealed TV and video game, but not social media, use increased from T1 to T2, and change in TV use positively predicted an increased concern about society. Further, moderation analyses showed increased social media use raised concern for one's future at lower levels of anxiety. Change in social media use raised concern for society at higher levels of depression. This study advances our understanding of college students' interactions with media during the COVID-19 pandemic, suggesting some types of media may have been used as coping mechanisms with various effects on concern for self and others. Mental health can be salient to these relations. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved) Impact Statement Public Policy Relevance Statement-This study showed the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic led college students to watch more TV and play more video games. This could be due to desires to stay current with news on the national emergency and due to unexpected confinement to home settings. More TV viewing predicted increased concern for society, perhaps due to constant reporting on deaths, hospital crowding, and virus spread on TV news. Increasing social media use also was related to increased concern for one's future for students low in anxiety and concern for society for students high in depression, potentially due to worrisome posts and dire news stories being posted at high rates. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved)

Is Social Media a New Type of Social Support? Social Media Use in Spain during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Mixed Methods Study.

This study examines Spanish adults’ social media use during the COVID-19 pandemic using mixed-methods to assess and understand frequency, context, and changes in social media use during two critical time points in Spain. We conducted semi-structured interviews in April 2020, and two waves of surveys (April 2020, April 2021) among Spanish adults. We coded and analyzed qualitative data related to social media use during the first lockdown period in Spain using Dedoose software; and ran descriptive statistics and chi-square tests to assess changes in social media use over the two survey waves related to perceived social support and loneliness. Participants ranged in age from 18–92 and were representative of the Spanish population’s sociodemographics. Interview data show that WhatsApp was most commonly used, and that social media allowed for social support and engaging in healthy behaviors. Survey data show that women and individuals aged 18–34 had the greatest increases in social media use. Statistically significant associations were found between social support and loneliness with social media use. Our results show that promoting social media use as an emotional resource for social support in times of crisis or isolation can minimize loneliness and can be a beneficial tool for general worldwide crises.

Monitoring Network Changes in Social Media

Econometricians are increasingly working with high-dimensional networks and their dynamics. Econometricians, however, are often confronted with unforeseen changes in network dynamics. In this article, we develop a method and the corresponding algorithm for monitoring changes in dynamic networks. We characterize two types of changes, edge-initiated and node-initiated, to feature the complexity of networks. The proposed approach accounts for three potential challenges in the analysis of networks. First, networks are high-dimensional objects causing the standard statistical tools to suffer from the curse of dimensionality. Second, any potential changes in social networks are likely driven by a few nodes or edges in the network. Third, in many dynamic network applications such as monitoring network connectedness or its centrality, it will be more practically applicable to detect the change in an online fashion than the offline version. The proposed detection method at each time point projects the entire network onto a low-dimensional vector by taking the sparsity into account, then sequentially detects the change by comparing consecutive estimates of the optimal projection direction. As long as the change is sizeable and persistent, the projected vectors will converge to the optimal one, leading to a jump in the sine angle distance between them. A change is therefore declared. Strong theoretical guarantees on both the false alarm rate and detection delays are derived in a sub-Gaussian setting, even under spatial and temporal dependence in the data stream. Numerical studies and an application to the social media messages network support the effectiveness of our method.

Social Media Changes in Pediatric Residency Programs During COVID-19 Pandemic.

To describe pediatric residency program's virtual presence and opportunities for the 2021 application cycle. A total of 202 pediatric residency programs from the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS) were reviewed for departmental and residency Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook accounts. These accounts, residency websites, and the Visiting Student Application Service (VSAS) were reviewed for open house opportunities and virtual subinternships. All data were collected from October 12-15, 2020. A total of 261 social media accounts were identified. 123 (61%) programs had at least one account, with 32 (16%) programs having presence on all 3 platforms. 68 (34%) programs established new accounts after March 1, 2020. Instagram appeared most utilized with 106 (52%) programs having accounts. A total of 115 virtual open house opportunities were offered with most offers on Instagram by 61 (30%) programs. Only 2 virtual subinternships were listed on program websites, 2 on Twitter, 1 on Instagram, and 1 on Facebook. COVID-19 increased the number of social media accounts used by residency programs. Approximately one-third of all accounts were created after March 1, 2020. However, only 16% of residency programs have a presence on all 3 platforms, allowing for more online growth.

Online tie and content management and changing religious identity among Muslim Arab women in Israel

ABSTRACT This study investigates the central dilemmas and changes in social media use among people whose religious identity is in flux, with an emphasis on backstage processes of decision making. Drawing on 15 in-depth interviews with Muslim women in Israel, we found five main themes reflecting the main online changes users experience and effect. We suggest two different logics that the themes show in online decision-making regarding identity and self-presentation. The first is relatively predictable, whereby users reconstruct their social environment to fit their new religious identity. The second logic concerns the management of ties and content in accordance with religious obligations in ways that may not fit the user’s personal welfare, and which are related to complex inner conflicts of the user. While previous literature stresses personal welfare as a main factor behind online tie and content management, in this article we show how users are willing to sacrifice their online welfare for the sake of their new identity.

Psychological Effects of Urban Crime Gleaned from Social Media

Exposure to frequent crime incidents has been found to have a negative bearing on the well-being of city residents, even if they are not themselves a direct victim. We pursue the research question of whether naturalistic data shared on Twitter may provide a “lens” to understand changes in psychological attributes of urban communities (1) immediately following crime incidents, as well as (2) due to long-term exposure to crime. We analyze half a million Twitter posts from the City of Atlanta in 2014, where the rate of violent crime is three times of the national average. In a first study, we develop a statistical method to detect changes in social media psychological attributes in the immediate aftermath of a crime event. Second, we develop a regression model that uses historical (yearlong) crime to predict Twitter negative emotion, anxiety, anger, and sadness. We do not find significant changes in social media affect immediately following crime in Atlanta. However we do observe significant ability of historical crime to account for heightened negative emotion and anger in the future. Our findings have implications in gauging the utility of social media to infer longitudinal and population-scale patterns of urban well-being.