Social Media Environment Research Articles

Who is the Diaspora? The Negotiation of Diasporic Identities in the Romanian Online Political Discourse

Drawing on an interdisciplinary framework based on critical and pragmatic discourse analysis, this study investigates the way Romanian politicians negotiate the identity of the Romanian diaspora on their Facebook pages. It also points out to the way discourse is used to introduce and (de)legitimize political decisions and actions. The topic is analyzed in different political and social contexts: the presidential elections in 2014 and 2019, the Euro-parliamentary elections in 2019, and the crisis generated by the comeback of the Romanians abroad as a result of the corona-virus pandemics in 2020. The results of the study show that the diaspora is part of the political discourse as a topic mainly during electoral periods, which are more heavily stake driven. The subject of the diaspora was approached by political actors in a strategic manner, starting from their communication project and the political outcome they were aiming for. The paper contributes to the growing body of knowledge on strategies of constructing diasporic identities in the political discourse. The paper also illustrates spe-cific and emergent strategies of diasporic identity construction in different political and social contexts in a social media environment.

Support through Social Media and Online Class Participation to Enhance Psychological Resilience.

Social support was an important factor in minimizing the effect of social isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. This research aimed to study the role of online class participation and social media usage to link the social support available from family and friends to psychological resilience among pre-service special education teachers against the negative psychological effects of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. A survey was conducted with 377 pre-service special needs education (SNE) teachers enrolled at universities in Pakistan. Partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was applied using Smart-PLS 3.2.8. Results revealed that social media and online class participation played a mediating role between social support and psychological resilience in the pre-service special needs education (SNE) teachers studied. Teacher education institutions can devise strategies to develop social media platforms for student socialization during an emergency to help build resilience against the negative psychological effects of social isolation. Future studies could be conducted to adapt instructions and curricula to social media environments for education in an emergency.

Who Believes in Conspiracy Theories about the COVID-19 Pandemic in Romania? An Analysis of Conspiracy Theories Believers’ Profiles

The current COVID-19 pandemic has been accompanied by the circulation of an unprecedented amount of “polluted” information, especially in the social media environment, among which are false narratives and conspiracy theories about both the pandemic and vaccination against COVID-19. The effects of such questionable information primarily concern the lack of compliance with restrictive measures and a negative attitude towards vaccination campaigns, as well as more complex social effects, such as street protests or distrust in governments and authorities in general. Even though there is a lot of scholarly attention given to these narratives in many countries, research about the profile of people who are more prone to believe or spread them is rather scarce. In this context, we investigate the role of age, compared with other socio-demographic factors (such as education and religiosity), as well as the role of the media (the frequency of news consumption, the perceived usefulness of social media, and the perceived incidence of fake information about the virus in the media) and the critical thinking disposition of people who tend to believe such misleading narratives. To address these issues, we conducted a national survey (N = 945) in April 2021 in Romania. Using a hierarchical OLS regression model, we found that people who perceive higher incidence of fake news (ß = 0.33, p < 0.001), find social media platforms more useful (ß = 0.13, p < 0.001), have lower education (ß = −0.17, p < 0.001), and have higher levels of religiosity (ß = 0.08, p < 0.05) are more prone to believe COVID-19-related misleading narratives. At the same time, the frequency of news consumption (regardless of the type of media), critical thinking disposition, and age do not play a significant role in the profile of the believer in conspiracy theories about the COVID-19 pandemic. Somewhat surprisingly, age does not play a role in predicting belief in conspiracy theories, even though there are studies that suggest that older people are more prone to believe conspiracy narratives. As far as media is concerned, the frequency of news media consumption does not significantly differ for believers and non-believers. We discuss these results within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Causal Effects of Alcohol-Related Facebook Posts on Drinking Behavior: Longitudinal Experimental Study.

BackgroundAdolescents and young adults frequently post alcohol-related content (ie, alcoholposts) on social media. This is problematic because both social norms theory and social learning theory suggest that viewing alcoholposts of peers could increase drinking behavior. It is therefore paramount to understand the effects of exposure to alcoholposts on viewers.ObjectiveThis study aimed to investigate the causal effects of exposure to alcoholposts on alcohol consumption by using a rigorous design.MethodsWe conducted a 6-week longitudinal study during which alcoholposts were measured by a newly developed app that copied Facebook posts shared by participants (n=281) to a new social media environment. In addition, daily questionnaires assessed alcohol use. Effects of natural alcoholposts (ie, posted by the participants) were assessed in phase 1, and effects of experimental posts (ie, posted by fake participants) were explored in phase 2.ResultsResults showed that natural alcoholposts increased the occurrence and quantity of drinking the following day. That is, exposure to a single additional alcoholpost increased the log odds of drinking the next day by 0.27 (b=.27, credible interval [CI] .18 to .35). Furthermore, the number of natural alcoholposts had a positive (predictive) effect on the number of glasses drunk the next day (b=.21, CI .14 to .29). In phase 2 when experimental posts were also present, these effects decreased. Experimental posts themselves had hardly any effects.ConclusionsThis study illustrates clear and direct effects of exposure to alcoholposts on next-day alcohol consumption and suggests that alcoholposts represent an important societal problem that interventions need to address.

Proposing a model of social media user interaction with fake news

PurposeThis study aims to understand the allure and danger of fake news in social media environments and propose a theoretical model of the phenomenon.Design/methodology/approachThis qualitative research study used the uses and gratifications theory (UGT) approach to analyze how and why people used social media during the 2016 US presidential election.FindingsThe thematic analysis revealed people were gratified after using social media to connect with friends and family and to gather and share information and after using it as a vehicle of expression. Participants found a significant number of fake news stories on social media during the 2016 US presidential election. Participants tried to differentiate between fake news and real news using fact-checking websites and news sources and interacted with the social media users who posted fake news and became part of the echo chamber. Behaviors like these emerged in the analysis that could not be completely explained by UGT and required further exploration which resulted in a model that became the core of this study.Research limitations/implicationsThis is a small-scale exploratory study with eight diverse participants, findings should not be generalized to larger populations. Time-specific self-reporting of information from social media and fake news during the 2016 US presidential election. Upgrading public policies related to social media is recommended in the study, contributing to burgeoning policy discussions and provides recommendations for both purveyors of social media and public policymakers.Practical implicationsUpgrade in public policies related to social media is recommended in the study and contributes to burgeoning policy discussions and provides recommendations for both purveyors of social media and public policymakers.Social implicationsSocial media users are spending increased time on their preferred platforms. This study increases the understanding of the nature, function and transformation of virtual social media environments and their effects on real individuals, cultures and societies.What is original/of value about the paper?This exploratory study establishes the foundation on which to expand research in the area of social media use and fake news.Originality/valueThis exploratory study establishes the foundation to expand research in the area of social media use and fake news.

Thinking, checking and learning: testing a moderated-mediation model of social media news use conditional upon elaboration on political knowledge via fact-checking

PurposeEmploying the cognitive mediation model, the study aims to examine a moderated-mediation mechanism of social media news use contingent upon elaboration on political knowledge through fact-checking – specifically, the interaction effect of social media news with elaboration on fact-checking.Design/methodology/approachThe moderated-mediation model is tested using panel survey data collected during the 2016 USA presidential election (N = 1,624 at Wave 1; N = 637 at Wave 2).FindingsThe findings reveal that social media news users are frequent visitors of fact-checking websites. Results also suggest that those with increased social media news use and cognitive elaboration on news content are more likely to visit fact-checking sites, which contributes to increased political knowledge.Originality/valueThe results of the current study, especially in the era of social media environment where various information is overflowing, suggest an important role of individuals' responsibility as democratic citizens given that people's cognitive elaboration and surveillance efforts, which tries to think about important public issues they consume through media, could strengthen a positive pathway toward informed citizens.

Social media and emotional abuse in marriage: Evidence from Lagos State, Nigeria.

Emotional abuse among married couples is one of the social vices Nigeria is contending with currently, especially in Lagos State, one of the most prominent of the country's 36 political subdivisions. The problem is heightened by the ignorance of the abused persons and low visibility or non-availability of research on the subject. This descriptive study investigates the awareness and attitude of married couples toward emotional abuse in the social media environment, using Facebook as the intervening platform. Eighty-eight respondents out of 100 attended to questionnaire items, which produced the data that helped test four hypotheses, using the descriptive and inferential statistical tools. Results, among others, showed that at the pre-intervention stage, married men and women's level of awareness of emotional abuse in marriage was minimal, with an attendant similar receptive attitude towards it. At the post-intervention stage, the awareness increased although their attitude becomes less receptive. Despite the increased awareness, evidence exists to show that there is still a lot to be done in creating more awareness, leading to the recommendation that couples should consciously seek information on the malaise for more profound insight to avoid becoming victims. Marriage counsellors should also emphasize the nature of emotional exploitation in marriage to enable potential victims to detect abuse signals and take safety measures.

The Role of the Use of Social Media and Family Environment on Entrepreneurial Interest of Private University Students

The purpose of this research are to analyze the correlation of the use of social media on student entrepreneurship interest and The family environment on student entrepreneurship interest. This type of research is research. The questionnaire was adapted from research that has tested its validity and reliability and several items were developed by researcher. The sampling technique used is simple random sampling, namely taking samples from members of the population that is carried out randomly because all members are considered homogeneous. Obtained 180 private university students who is taking a thesis as a respondent. Data analysis using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) analysis with SMARTPLS software tools. Based on the results of data analysis, it is concluded that the use of social media has a significant effect on Student Entrepreneurial Interest, an increase in the variable Use of social media will have a significant effect on increasing the Student Entrepreneurial Interest variable and a decrease in the variable Use of social media will have a significant influence on the decrease in the Student Entrepreneurial Interest variable. The work environment has a significant effect on Student Entrepreneurial Interest, an increase in the work environment variable will have a significant effect on increasing the Student Entrepreneurial Interest variable

“Actions speak louder than words”: an impact of service recovery antecedents on customer delight in quick-service restaurants

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to conceptualize and analyze a framework that provides greater understanding toward the impact of service recovery antecedents such as role clarity, customer service orientation, employee empowerment and employee relational behavior on customer satisfaction and customer delight in the context of quick-service restaurants (QSRs).Design/methodology/approachA self-administered questionnaire was distributed to 408 participants who had experienced service recovery efforts by leading QSRs on social media. The current paper draws upon the prevailing literature to test a series of research hypotheses through structural equation modeling.FindingsThe findings of the study have confirmed that antecedents of service recovery are good to describe customer satisfaction and customer delight in the setting of QSRs. Besides, the study provides an understanding on how monetary compensation moderates the relationship between customer delight and customer satisfaction.Practical implicationsThis study carries an understanding on how frontline employees must operate in a non-conventional and innovative way to resolve customers' issues and show commitment with truthfulness to provide excellent services to make customers feel delightful.Originality/valueThis is a unique study to understand the role of service recovery antecedents to describe customer satisfaction and customer delight in the social media environment. In addition, the results support the possibilities of implementing prompt service recovery efforts using social media.

Social Media Use and Pathways to Protest Participation: Evidence From the 2019 Chilean Social Outburst

In this article, we explore the relationship between social media use and participation in protests in Chile. In October 2019, Chile faced the most massive protests since the country’s return to democracy. Due to its magnitude, the media and analysts refer to this process as the “social outburst.” Although these protests engaged broad sectors of the population, most of the protesters were young people. Using a probabilistic and face-to-face survey applied to young people aged 18-29 years, we find that the only social media platform associated with participation in protests was Facebook. Our analysis also shows the importance of the specific activities that people engage in social media. Taking part in political activities on social media is strongly associated with attending protests but using social media platforms to get information or share common interests with other users is not. Furthermore, we examine whether social media has an indirect impact on participation through interpersonal conversation. The results show that Instagram—one of the most popular social media platforms among young Chileans—spurs interpersonal conversation, which in turn increases the likelihood of participating in protests. Our findings suggest that social media still plays a role in shaping people’s political behavior despite changes in the social media environment and in social media consumption patterns.

15.2 FROM WORLD WAR II TO MANCHESTER UNITED: PROPAGANDA AND DEMONIZATION OF THE OTHER

An examination of wartime propaganda makes clear how efforts to demonize the other have been used to motivate the public in supporting a cause. In today’s media environment, sensationalistic headlines and “clickbait” create similar dynamics but in the interest of media share and profitability. The purpose of this presentation is to explore how the current media climate has exacerbated longstanding societal tendencies to demonize the other in service of the “tribe,” as well as look at some efforts to humanize and create dialogue. The peer-reviewed literature on tribalism, diversity and inclusion, hate groups, hyperpolarization, the media, and “deprogramming” was examined. The human tendency to form networks of friendships with people of similar occupations, interests, and habits combined with the ability to surround oneself with like-minded individuals at the exclusion of contradictory viewpoints or evidence has increased the ability to polarize and divide into camps like never before. With the largely uncensored world of social media, the more shocking and catastrophic of these messages often get amplified, polarizing the population into camps that accept no quarter. “Groupthink” also contributes to the tendency to not challenge beliefs that seem illogical to those on the outside. Environments that foster dialogue between members of different groups, such as universities, can create dialogue and ultimately foster trust between members of different groups, whereas media platform algorithms that suggest content based on past interests do not naturally broaden or challenge beliefs. Although there are some instances in which media companies attempt to provide more balanced views, society as a whole must prioritize a diversity of opinion and inclusion in order to depolarize viewpoints and create healthy dialogue. The current media and social media environment, although not created specifically to increase polarization, have done so through search algorithms, general lack of censorship, and limited regulations, combined with the human tendency toward tribalism. If there is a desire to create more dialogue, intragroup understanding, and social cohesion, society and social institutions must create the structure to support that vision.

What Does Channel Say? Understanding How Social Media Social Capital Facilitates COVID-19-Related Information-Seeking and Opinion-Expression on Two Types of Platforms: User-oriented versus Content-oriented.

Social capital (i.e., resources obtained from social relationships) facilitates informational use of media, yet how in detail the mechanism functions in a multi‐platform social media environment remains underexplored. Taking an affordance approach, this study aimed to investigate the differentiated effects of social media social capital on COVID‐19‐related information behaviors on user‐oriented and content‐oriented social media (USM&CSM). It was hypothesized that information exposure on USM mediates the relationship between social capital and information‐seeking intention, whereas exposure on CSM was expected to mediate the relationship between social capital and opinion expression. Web‐based survey data collected among Chinese social media users (N = 256) supported the hypotheses, and in‐depth interviews (N = 15) further revealed how people explored the affordances of different platforms to enjoy the information resources. Implications were discussed.

Research on the Opportunities and Challenges of Multinational Enterprises in the Social Media Environment

With the rapid development of the Internet, enterprises pay more and more attention to the role of social media in enterprise development. For enterprises, however, social media is a double-edged sword. While social media brings more opportunities to enterprises, it also exposes them to many risks. This paper will analyze the opportunities and risks brought by social media to enterprises, and put forward suggestions on how to make use of social media and how to avoid the risks brought by social media.

Social media use and political cynicism among German youth: the role of information-orientation, exposure to extremist content, and online media literacy

ABSTRACT This study investigates the predictors of adolescents’ political cynicism in the social media environment. Given that social media are one of the main sources of information for many young people today, it is crucial to investigate how and in which ways social media use is associated with political cynicism. To that aim, we use data from computer-assisted personal interviews of N = 1,061 adolescents between 14 and 19 years in Germany. Our findings reveal that relative information-oriented social media use is related to lower political cynicism, while exposure to extremist political content on social media predicts higher levels of political cynicism. Furthermore, although self-perceived online media literacy is negatively associated with political cynicism, it does not moderate the relationship between political cynicism and relative information-oriented social media use or exposure to extremist content. We discuss theoretical and practical implications of these findings.

Native Advertising—The Formats and Types of Content Most Demanded by Brands in the Spanish Media

Media convergence and the incorporation of new narratives typical of the consumption habits of younger audiences in the social media environment have led to the proliferation of a wide variety of formats and types of content in the media ecosystem through which the editorial content offered to brands is being distributed. This qualitative research, using in-depth interviews with a qualified sample of branded content managers from the main Spanish media, allows us to determine the main characteristics of the native advertising demanded by advertisers. The results corroborate observations that content channelled through more sophisticated consumption experiences, using both multimedia and interactivity with a clear transmedia approach, tends to be better received by the audience and, therefore, in greater demand by brands. It also confirms that both video and social media formats have grown exponentially when it comes to providing an outlet for branded content. Based on the results obtained, a proposed classification of these products, including definitions, has been drawn up so they can be publicised to the professional world, offering the reflection and precision that their rapid development has not allowed until now.

Brand communities, fans or publics? How social media interests and brand management practices define the rules of engagement

This paper aims to examine brand-generated communities from the community managers’ point of view and investigate how social media influences managerial perceptions, attitudes and practises around brand communities.,The literature review examines the most prominent constructs describing consumer groupings around brands. It then focuses on how the term “brand community” has evolved throughout the years and transformed in the social media environment. Research involving one survey and one focus group among agency-employed brand community managers was conducted to explore and interpret their views and their work.,Brand community managers aim to increase platform metrics. They encourage interaction between each user and the brand, but not between users. While they execute pre-planned content calendars handling comments, they do not have the experience and autonomy to foster a communal environment. Finally, managers rely on extrinsic incentives, and even antagonise users, regarding control over the community.,The sample covers the majority of agency-employed brand community managers in one country: Greece. The findings call for a re-examination of the construct of brand community, as well as for a new assessment of groupings consumers form around brands in social media.,For actual brand communities to emerge in social media, community managers should have more training, experience and initiative to tailor content and metrics, use intrinsic incentives and propose engaging activities. The quest for platform-imposed measurements inhibits this opportunity, and so do centralised processes that define global brand management.,The managerial aspect of brand-generated communities is understudied, especially when management is outsourced. This paper provides insight on how platform priorities and managerial practises dilute expectations that consumer-generated communities have created.

SOCIAL MEDIA USE, TRUST AND TECHNOLOGY ACCEPTANCE: INVESTIGATING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF A CO-CREATED BROWSER PLUGIN IN MITIGATING THE SPREAD OF MISINFORMATION ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Social media have become online spaces where misinformation abounds and spreads virally in the absence of professional gatekeeping. This information landscape requires everyday citizens, who rely on these technologies to access information, to cede control of information. This work sought to examine whether the control of information can be regained by humans with the support of a co-created browser plugin, which integrated credibility labels and nudges, and was informed by artificial intelligence models and rule engines. Given the literature on the complexity of information evaluation on social media, we investigated the role of technological, situational and individual characteristics in “liking” or “sharing” misinformation. We adopted a mixed-methods research design with 80 participants from four European sites, who viewed a curated timeline of credible and non-credible posts on Twitter, with (n=40) or without (n=40) the presence of the plugin. The role of the technological intervention was important: the absence of the plugin strongly correlated with misinformation endorsement (via “liking”). Trust in the technology and technology acceptance were correlated and emerged as important situational characteristics, with participants with higher trust profiles being less likely to share misinformation. Findings on individual characteristics indicated that only social media use was a significant predictor for trusting the plugin. This work extends ongoing research on deterring the spread of misinformation by situating the findings in an authentic social media environment using a co-created technological intervention. It holds implications for how to support a misinformation-resilient citizenry with the use of artificial intelligence-driven tools.

THE MERGING OF MUSIC CRITICISM AND MUSIC PROMOTION: CONVERGED MUSIC INDUSTRY PROFESSIONALS ON FACEBOOK

This paper explores the changing socio-cultural dynamic between local music entrepreneurs and journalists/critics on Facebook in Estonia. Through the analysis of 32 semi-structured interviews with music industry professionals and experts and observations of their activities on Facebook, the study identifies the decreasing distance between music criticism and music promotion. On the one hand, the music critics once envisioned as ‘autonomous gatekeepers’ (Hirsch, 1972) find it increasingly hard to transfer their musical authority, expertise and perceived independence to the commercially driven social media environment. As a result, some of them have taken up entrepreneurship themselves, converged their various identities by mixing their critical/evaluative practices as critics and business-oriented practices as entrepreneurs. On the other hand, some niche music entrepreneurs are stepping into the role of cultural authorities by mobilizing and catering to specific taste cultures and genre communities by becoming expert gatekeepers in their own right, despite being compromised by their business interest. In this context, it is no more useful to talk about the ‘mutual dependency’ of the music press and industry PR (Forde, 2001; Negus, 1992). Rather, among the tightly interwoven music scenes like the ones in Estonia, where many players adopt a variety of different and often conflicting roles (especially on Facebook), we should recognize the complete convergence of music promotion and music criticism and the loss of critical distance and autonomy altogether.

The moderating role of age on social media marketing activities and customer brand engagement on Instagram social network

PurposeIn the context of fashion brands on Instagram platform, this study aims to investigate the impact of age on the relationships between informative, interactive and trendy social media marketing (SMM) activities, customer brand engagement (CBE) and brand loyalty.Design/methodology/approachA quantitative method was used to collect and analyses the data and to test the conceptual model. In total, 241 usable questionnaires were collected and analyzed using structural equation modeling and multi-group moderation analysis.FindingsThe results of this study demonstrate that informativeness of SMM activities relates positively and significantly to CBE in all age groups. However, the strength and the significance of interactive and trendy social media activities differ between age groups.Research limitations/implicationsThis study used only two age groups of college students to answer the research questions. Despite that tech-savvy millennials and generation Z are highly engaged in social media environment, the results may not be representative of the entire population and the findings may be cautiously generalized to other platform types or product categories.Originality/valueBy offering a new understanding of perceived SMM in different age groups on Instagram platform, this study contributes to the literature by identifying the types of social media activities that engage different age groups on social media networks.

The social media marketing strategies and its implementation in promoting handicrafts products: a study with special reference to Eastern India

PurposeFirst, this study aims to focus on the promotional part of the Indian handicraft products through various social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. Second, the study measures the effectiveness of social media marketing activities (SMMA) relating to handicraft products on brand awareness, brand image and brand equity. Third, this study also measures the impact of brand awareness and brand image on brand equity and consumers’ purchase intention and further brand equity on consumers’ purchase intention of handicraft products.Design/methodology/approachThis study used an offline questionnaire to conduct empirical research and collected and analyzed data of 609 samples by using the structural equation modeling approach.FindingsThe findings of this study showed that SMMA relating to handicraft products had a very strong impact on creating both brand awareness and brand image in the social media environment. Additionally, this study also exhibited a positive and significant impact of brand awareness and brand image on brand equity and consumers’ purchase intention and further brand equity on consumers’ purchase intention of handicraft products in the social media environment.Practical implicationsThe outcome of this research will definitely motivate the handicraft industry to have a strong social media presence on various platforms for promoting their products across India and outside. Further, the promotional activities in various social media platforms will help in creating awareness about the handicraft products and give brand recognition among other industrial competitive brands which will consequently lead to an increase in the demand for these products.Originality/valueThe novelty of this study is that it has made an initial attempt to study the marketability of handicraft products using various social media platforms and also has measured the probable impact of SMMA relating to handicraft products on brand awareness and brand image and their impact on brand equity and purchase intention.