Social Media Tools Research Articles

The relationship between social media addiction and emotional appetite: a cross-sectional study among young adults in Turkey.

The present study focused on the relationship between addiction to social media (SM) and emotional appetite in young adults. Cross-sectional online survey. The Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale (BSMAS) and Emotional Appetite Questionnaire (EMAQ) were used, and the duration and frequency of SM tools usage were analysed. Five hundred and twenty-four participants (144 men and 380 women) aged between 18 and 25 years. The mean of SM usage duration of participants was 3·2 ± 2·2 h per d along with a mean of BSMAS score of 16·1 ± 5·9. Concerning emotional appetite, the mean scores for positive and negative aspects of EMAQ were 4·4 ± 1·9 and 3·1 ± 1·2, respectively. The predominant SM tools were YouTube (92·6 %) and Instagram (90·3 %). Notably, a significant association was observed between SM addiction and the frequency of access to YouTube, Instagram, and Twitter, with addiction levels increasing as access frequency rose (P < 0·01). This study demonstrated a possible relationship between SM addiction and emotional appetite among young adults. However, further research with more prominent participants and a lengthier follow-up duration is necessary to elucidate how SM tools affect eating behaviour.

#Fail: the quality and accuracy of nutrition-related information by influential Australian Instagram accounts

BackgroundSocial media is a popular source of information about food and nutrition. There is a high degree of inaccurate and poor-quality nutrition-related information present online. The aim of this study was to evaluate the quality and accuracy of nutrition-related information posted by popular Australian Instagram accounts and examine trends in quality and accuracy based on author, topic, post engagement, account verification and number of followers.MethodsA sample of posts by Australian Instagram accounts with ≥ 100,000 followers who primarily posted about nutrition was collected between September 2020 and September 2021. Posts containing nutrition-related information were evaluated to determine the quality and accuracy of the information. Quality was assessed using the Principles for Health-Related Information on Social Media tool and accuracy was assessed against information contained in the Australian Dietary Guidelines, Practice-based Evidence in Nutrition database, Nutrient Reference Values and Metafact.ResultsA total of 676 posts were evaluated for quality and 510 posts for accuracy, originating from 47 Instagram accounts. Overall, 34.8% of posts were classified as being of poor quality, 59.2% mediocre, 6.1% good and no posts were of excellent quality. A total of 44.7% of posts contained inaccuracies. Posts authored by nutritionists or dietitians were associated with higher quality scores (β, 17.8, CI 13.94–21.65; P < 0.001) and higher accuracy scores (OR 4.69, CI 1.81–12.14, P = 0.001) compared to brands and other accounts. Information about supplements was of lower accuracy (OR 0.23, CI 0.10–0.51, P < 0.001) compared to information about weight loss and other nutrition topics. Engagement tended to be higher for posts of lower quality (β -0.59, P = 0.012), as did engagement rate (β -0.57, P = 0.016). There was no relationship between followers or account verification and information quality or accuracy and no relationship between engagement and accuracy.ConclusionsNutrition-related information published by influential Australian Instagram accounts is often inaccurate and of suboptimal quality. Information about supplements and posts by brand accounts is of the lowest quality and accuracy and information posted by nutritionists and dietitians is of a higher standard. Instagram users are at risk of being misinformed when engaging with Australian Instagram content for information about nutrition.

Short-Form Videos as an Emerging Social Media Tool for STEM Edutainment

Short-Form Videos as an Emerging Social Media Tool for STEM Edutainment

The usefulness of computer skills for enhanced teaching and learning among lecturers in an open distance e-learning (ODEL) environment

This study reports on the usefulness of computer skills for enhanced teaching and learning among lecturers in an open-distance e-learning (ODEL) environment. Computer skills have become fundamental due to increasing new technological tools of web-based management systems, laptops, digital tablets, learning management systems, webinars, and the applications of Microsoft Teams, Zoom, and WhatsApp manufactured daily. The quantitative research approach was employed in this study where data was collected through an online questionnaire from respondents in two ODEL institutions. The purposive and snowball sampling technique was applied to enable reaching out to lecturers with whom the author has contact in the two ODEL institutions. First, the author purposively approach those in his contacts, before requesting those lecturers he contacted to help spread the good news of his research investigation to other of their contacts. The study sampled 80 lecturers from both countries’ ODEL institutions leading to sending out 80 copies of the online questionnaire to the lecturers. Of the 80 online questionnaires sent, only 50 were received. The results obtained were analyzed using Microsoft Excel presented in frequency and percentage. Findings reveal that the purpose of computer skills is to enhance teaching and learning among Lecturers in the ODEL environment between the country’s institutions. Exposition to programming languages and applications, ability to navigate within the online platform, use of communication/networking tools of social media of Facebook, Twitter, and teleconferencing tools of Zoom, Skype, Webinar, Webcast, Teams, WhatsApp) were profoundly enabled through computer skills. Findings further indicate that computer skills have influenced lecturers for personal development in multifarious ways, user experience, memory usage, and storage of information, ease students grading, and developing course materials, facilitate instructional delivery of courses/modules taught at a geometric progression, and support lecturers using the asynchronous and synchronous method in teaching and learning. Based on the findings, the study recommends upskilling lecturers to advance their knowledge in computer skills through continual use of new technologies for better and quality services in teaching and learning to meet students’ information needs.

Challenges and opportunities of Facebook during bereavement: experiences from Taung in South Africa

Bereavement is something that we experience in one way or another. It involves many steps from one culture to the other. Many scholars have documented the role of social media tools in bereavement processes. In this study, I look at the challenges and opportunities offered by Facebook during bereavement, especially in a community that is still traditional and has yet to fully comprehend the importance of social media, particularly in matters considered sacred. The study used interviews with residents from Taung to collect data. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the collected data from the interviews. The study findings indicate some challenges associated with bereavement on Facebook: emotional shock, lack of sensitivity, misinformation, and cultural dilution. There are also opportunities: fast news sharing, ongoing emotional support, and sharing of memories. The study argues that the findings should expand our understanding and knowledge of bereavement in some African cultures and use social media tools to complement and not destroy African beliefs and practices.

Preventing Dropouts in Tuberculosis Treatment with “Griya Bebas TBC”

Tuberculosis, a major public health issue, has received international attention and is included in the Sustainable Development Goals. With 969,000 recorded cases in 2021, Indonesia ranked second in the world for TB cases, after only India. This is a 145,000-case increase, or 17%, from 2020, creating a significant obstacle to achieving TB eradication by 2030. Dropout cases exacerbate this challenge, impeding progress toward tuberculosis elimination. Indonesia’s treatment success rate currently stands at 83%, falling short of the 90% target. Dropouts are linked to several issues, such as patient education about tuberculosis, lost motivation, drug side effects, and access to healthcare facilities. This situation underlined the importance of comprehensive support for patients, particularly from families, government entities, and healthcare facilities, to ensure consistent motivation for continuing treatment. The main solution is the provision of patient education, psychological support, and physical condition forming the foundation for the “Griya Bebas TBC” program. This study employed a literature review to outline the program’s framework. Griya Bebas TBC establishes a supportive environment to sustain patient motivation and deliver accurate information about tuberculosis, drug side effects, and treatment procedures. The primary objective of Griya Bebas TBC is to reduce the tuberculosis patient dropout rate by offering comprehensive information and fostering a supportive environment. The program adopts two complementary approaches: group interaction via popular social media platforms such as WhatsApp or Telegram and community-based approach, and individualized engagement through online health consultation applications. WhatsApp, a globally prevalent social media tool, offers a conducive platform for disseminating information to patients. Utilizing social media platforms and applications addresses issues surrounding information dissemination and healthcare facility accessibility. Health workers engaged through these platforms can provide recommendations if a patient’s condition warrants further intervention beyond consultation.

The reliability and quality of YouTube videos as a source of breath holding spell

BackgroundBreath holding spells (BHS) are an important non-epileptic condition that is common in childhood and causes concern to families. YouTube is a powerful social media tool for accessing diseases and information such as BHS in child health. The aim of the study was to measure of the quality and reliability levels of the videos published in English on BHS uploaded on YouTube.MethodsThe key words “infant”, “cry”, “breath holding spells”, holding spells” and “breath spells” were searched on the YouTube on November 14, 2022, in this study. Along with the general features of the videos, their quality and reliability were evaluated according to the global quality score (GQS), mDISCERN score.ResultsFifty-five videos were evaluated. The mDISCERN and GQS scores of the videos in the useful group were higher than those in the misleading group (p < 0.001, p < 0.001). In the useful group, 87.5% of academic institutions and 93.3% of medical doctors (MDs) uploaded high-score GQS videos, while this rate was 16.7% in independent users (p = 0.005). The positive correlation was found between mDISCERN and GQS scores (p < 0.001).ConclusionThe majority of YouTube videos on BHS contained useful information with sufficient quality. Professional associations such as universities and academic institutes need to produce better quality videos to provide families/users with more accurate and up-to-date information about BHS. We emphasize that YouTube should analyse videos published in the field of health, especially in the field of pediatrics, such as BHS, with committees consisting of expert health professionals, and publish them after evaluation. YouTube should consider collaborating with professional pediatrics health organizations such as American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), academic institutes and universities in the field of BHS to produce high-quality videos.

WhatsApp Communication in Tanzanian Organizations

Public sector performance and service delivery is less than optimal in most countries of Africa including Tanzania. There are main issues that are attributed to such state of affairs. However, technological developments that are Information and Communication Technology related offer the opportunity to improve public sector performance. Among the social media platforms is WhatsApp that has gained popularity in Tanzania a head of other social media tools. This study assesses the extent to which WhatsApp is used in organizations in Tanzania and implications there from. The study deployed qualitative in-depth and analytical methodology through an electronic questionnaire administered through WhatsApp communication platforms of selected groups and interviews with CEOs of public sector organizations. The result shows WhatsApp is widely used due to its benefits including leading to possible positive contexts for performance improvements that is despite the lack of formal authorization for its use.

The role of government social media in enhancing environmental governance

ABSTRACT In light of the advancements in information and communication technologies and growing concerns over environmental issues, environmental protection agencies are increasingly turning to official social media platforms to promote environmental governance, especially in rapidly developing nations. The adoption of government social media has improved the effectiveness of environmental governance in various aspects, while also presenting some challenges. This paper summarizes findings from recent literature on the role of government social media in enhancing environmental governance. It also highlights prospective research topics on the use of social media in e-government within environmental protection departments, including investigating efficient government-citizen communication strategies using social media tools, comprehensively addressing aspects of e-government from both supply and demand perspectives, and understanding the underlying factors that contribute to the varying operating patterns of different government social media.

Relationship between the Use of Mobile Applications and Social Functioning in Patients with Schizophrenia.

The aim of this study is to examine the prevalence of digital technology tool use in individuals with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder in Turkey, as well as evaluating the association between the use and psychosocial functionality and clinical symptoms. Data were collected from 100 patients who were diagnosed with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder based on the DSM-5 criteria. The use of technology was evaluated with a questionnaire developed for this study. The level of psychosocial functioning was assessed using the Personal and Social Performance Scale (PSP), and the positive and negative symptom severity was evaluated using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS). The digital technology users were significantly younger than the non-users. The majority of patients own a mobile phone (86%) and a computer (67%). Furthermore, 61% of patients used mobile applications, with Facebook and WhatsApp being the most popular social media platforms (48%). Patients who used digital technology tools had higher PSP scores. Furthermore, patients who used digital technology tools had significantly lower scores in PANSS negative subscale. There was no difference in PANSS positive subscale scores between digital technology tool users and non-users. Patients diagnosed with schizophrenia may benefit from mobile applications and social media tools that can help them participate in daily activities and improve their overall well-being.

SOCIAL MEDIA AND THE PERFORMANCE OF SEVEN UP NIGERIA BOTTLING COMPANY ENUGU

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of social media on the performance of Seven Up Nigeria Bottling Company Enugu. The specific objectives of the study were to determine the extent to which facebook positively affects customer patronage of Seven Up Nigeria Bottling Company; examine the extent to which facebook positively affects corporate reputation of Seven Up Nigeria Bottling Company Enugu. The survey research design was adopted. A population of 63 staff respondents was used for the study. Questionnaire was used to collect data from the respondents. Both descriptive and inferential statistical tools were employed in the study. The descriptive statistical tools used for data analysis were frequencies, and percentage, while the inferential statistic used was simple linear regression to test the hypotheses formulated for the study. Findings of the study reveal that the key independent variable of social media tools exerts a significant positive effect on the performance of Seven Up Nigeria Bottling Company. The study concludes that social media tools should be embraced by the manufacturing organisations. The study recommended that manufacturing firms should endeavour to make online transactions convenient and ensure they have a wide range of products. Also they need to communicate appropriately with their publics to enable them have good opinion.

EVENT AGENCIES PROMOTION WITH SMM TOOLS

SMM is a driving force for business in any field today, and identifying the most effective social media marketing tools for a local event agency will enable other event firms to refresh their knowledge and choose the best options for promoting their business online. Social media marketing is an important tool for creating a unique image of the company, attracting the target audience, and reaching a new level of business. In the context of a competitive market and information overload, the effective management of SMM tools allows businesses and agencies to stand out, create the necessary image, and ensure successful communication with their audience. The study of this issue is strategically important for practitioners and advertisers because it will contribute to the disclosure of key principles and tools for building successful communication strategies. In addition, there are already many different types of SMM on the Internet, and it is becoming increasingly difficult to choose among them the most effective ones for your own business. The work collects the most effective tools of social media marketing, and most of them are applied to a real event agency that is in a state of «market renewal» of cultural and mass activity. Therefore, studying event agency promotion through SMM tools will be helpful for modern event business. Using methods of abstraction and classification, SMM was defined as such and divided into types. The analysis of literary sources contributed to determining the currently relevant tools of social media marketing. A comparative analysis was conducted to determine the strengths and weaknesses of SMM. A practical experiment was used to determine how SMM tools work. The social media marketing tools used in the work aim to maximize the audience’s interaction and interest, increase awareness of the event agency, stimulate sales, and increase the firm’s financial interest. One of the critical aspects of engaging these strategies is the importance of using various SMM tools in an integrated manner. Each tool has an important role in forming a successful PR campaign, from press conferences to active campaigns on social networks.

Impact of Social Networks on Learning Activities

Chad learning system is one of the least modernized in central Africa. But with the social network tools proliferation, we see that students use these tools. This work aims to see if students really use social networks in their learning activities and how they appreciate them. Also, we wonder if social networks are well used by students and what are their repercussions on students' learning activities. A survey of students from public and private higher education establishments in the city of N’Djamena, capital of the Republic of Chad, was carried out using a questionnaire from 13 March to 18 April 2023. 202 students have taken part. The age of the population studied is between 16 and 30 years old. The results show that almost students (99,5% of those interviewed) is aware of social networks and 86% use them with high frequency among those aged 20 to 25 (89.3%). 93.6% of learners find that social networks help them in their studies but 31.7% find that social networks disrupt them in their learning activities (courses and revisions). Like all users, learners are exposed to social divisions, scams, harassment and other harms of social networks. This study gives a comprehensive understanding of the impact of social network on students learning activities in Chad. It can help decision-makers to reconsider educational policy in order to integrate social media tool to promote not only the success of learners but also to ensure living cohesion which could be undermined through social networks.

Efficacy of Social Media in Wars and Conflicts Brief Review of Russia-Ukraine War

Social media has evolved over time as a weapon, as more useful tool in modern wars, though the concept of informational warfare is as old as wars and conflicts. From the Chief Executive of the state to the battlefield commander, everybody is using social media tools to communicate, either with the outside world or their own people. If the Chief Executive is using it for strategic communication, Ministries involved in the war effort would be using it for narrative building, and the field commander may be using it to update his position to raise the morale of his soldiers. Social media has now been fully weaponized in the context of opinion formation through narrative building and at times deter the opponent through misinformation, disinformation, and fake communication. This article is aimed at exploring the efficacy and impact of social media on wars and conflict, particularly on the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. The paper concludes that an effective use of social media can have an overriding impact on the outcome of the battle in the changed paradigm.

Analyzing the Effects of Twitter on Electronic Media A Study of By-Elections 2022 in Pakistan

This research examines the impact of Twitter on electronic media in Pakistan during the by-elections of 2022. The study specifically focuses on the strategies utilized by political personalities, such as Imran Khan and Maryam Nawaz, to shape public conversation. Twitter, a highly influential social media tool, exerts significant influence in shaping public opinion and setting the agenda. This study uses agenda-setting theory to examine the impact of Twitter debates during the by-elections on the public's perception of prominent themes. This study explores eleven main themes, which include political issues and socio-economic factors. These themes contain topics such as "Lifafa Journalism," "Imported Government," "Lawlessness," and "Inflation." This study conducts a thorough examination of Twitter engagement, uncovering discrepancies in the frequency of tweets and accompanying media coverage received by Imran Khan and Maryam Nawaz on four prominent news networks. It is worth mentioning that Maryam Nawaz's tweets have a notable prevalence, particularly about topics such as "Harsh Language" and "Incompetent Government." On the other hand, Imran Khan's influence is evident in thematic domains such as "Imported Government," "Inflation," "Regime Change," and "Haqeeqi Azadi." The analysis of media coverage reveals that Imran Khan's tweets garnered significant visibility across many thematic categories, particularly on prominent news channels like as ARY News, Geo News, Sama News, and Dunya News. In contrast, the tweets of Maryam Nawaz received considerable attention, namely from Geo News and Dunya News, illustrating the varied media strategies utilized by each leader.

Sustainability communication on Twitter: disability disclosures of listed companies in Poland

ObjectivesA rapidly growing corporate use of social media can support corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability advocacy of listed companies enhancing the positive image of people with disabilities and social inclusion. Emphasizing CSR towards people with disability (D), abbreviated CSR+D or CSR-D, is customary. The aim of the study is to examine the use of Twitter to highlight advocacy efforts for people with disabilities by the sixty best sustainability-oriented WSE listed companies in Poland.Material and methodsWe examined keywords and their popularity and context using topic modeling and text mining based on corporate tweets. Tweets’ topics were extracted using the DMM model from 154,496 company media uploads. Then, the occurring themes were determined.ResultsThe results indicate a very limited promotion of CSR activities on Twitter. Accordingly, also limited use of Twitter in communicating disability with no diffusion of topics was observed, despite an overall increase of corporate social media use. Disability issues were are far more often communicated for high-profile events related to disability. Only a few tweets appeared on Down syndrome, with more frequent tweets referring to visual, hearing, or autism disorders. However, tweets about disability receive more users’ reactions and gain a wider audience than example those related to seniors or climate. More results on topics and their popularity due to the sector, time and accompanying events were included.ConclusionsThe research contribute to understanding of the evolving social media tools and their corporate whereas there is limited or paid access to data.

Farmers Preferred Information Sources Regarding Climate Change Awareness in Mountainous Areas of Punjab, Pakistan

Climate change is one of the key challenges having adverse impacts on agriculture, which is the key source of food and livelihood. Information is a critical component in the process of climate risk management. Therefore, this study was conducted in mountainous areas of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to explore the preferred information sources of the farmers to cope the climate change. A total of 384 farmers were interviewed face to face on a structured interview schedule from District Rawalpindi of Punjab and Mansehra of KPK. Collected data were analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The results indicated that farmers had more reliance on electronic media gadgets for information seeking as least on social media gadgets. Fellow farmers and extension field staff were also rated as the preferred information sources of the farmers. This was deduced that farmers were emphasizing n traditional sources rather than modern tools of communication like social media. There is a need to promote the use of social media tools for information sharing for climate change awareness. Social media tools have the potential to meet the information needs of the farmers and have diverse contents to disseminate about climate change. Extension field staff should use social media gadgets for information dissemination among the farmers.

Brand Awareness and Digital Marketing: Measurement Tools and Data Analytics for Agricultural Industry

The current era has been going through significant transformations owing to the innovative technologies, digitalization, social media, and online business trends worldwide. In the rapid and dynamic environment, marketers are continuously focused on exploring new and digital ways to reach and engage customers in the agricultural industry. Therefore, digital marketing has been recognized as a critical tool for marketers, researchers, and customers to develop brand awareness, interact and build customer engagement over longer periods. Consequently, generating positive customer outcomes i.e., brand awareness, persuasion, customer satisfaction, brand loyalty, and positive word of mouth. The study aimed to evaluate the impact of digital marketing tools on the brand awareness of consumers in agricultural industry. By examining diverse social media channels, the study aimed to provide an analysis of quantitative techniques used to assess the effectiveness of digital marketing. The study furnishes insights for the practitioners to select effective social media tools according to their goal and objectives. The study enables social media marketers to optimize their digital marketing strategies by utilizing minimum organizational resources.

Embracing the (r)evolution of social media and digital scholarship in pediatric nephrology education.

Free Open-Access Medical Education (FOAMed) has transformed medical education in the past decade by complementing and substituting for traditional medical education when needed. The attractiveness of FOAMed resources is due to their inexpensive nature, wide availability, and user ability to access on demand across a variety of devices, making it easy to create, share, and participate. The subject of nephrology is complex, fascinating, and challenging. Traditional didactic lectures can be passive and ineffective in uncovering these difficult concepts and may need frequent revisions. Active teaching methods like flipped classrooms have shown some benefits, and these benefits can only be multifold with current social media tools. Social media will inspire the involvement of students and allow them to create and share educational content in a "trendy way," encouraging the participation of their peers and thus building an educational environment more conducive to them while promoting revision and retainment. FOAMed also promotes asynchronous learning, spaced learning, microlearning, and multimodal presentation with a meaningful variation. This article discusses the evolution of digital education, social media platforms, tools for creating and developing FOAMed resources, and digital scholarship.

SOCIAL MEDIA: IMPACT ON BUSINESS ACTIVITY

Social media is extremely popular among users all over the world. Social media is becoming not only a means of communication, but also a powerful platform for conducting business. The purpose of the research is to analyze the use of modern social media tools and determine their impact on the purchasing behaviour of Internet users and the effectiveness of online business.The paper analyzes the features and trends in social media use, as well as the reasons for their growing popularity among users around the world. An analysis of the social media influence on business development was carried out and several significant advantages were identified, in particular: expansion of information sources about the company’s activities, coverage of a larger target audience, reduction of company costs, implementation of advertising and promotion of product sales, etc. The effective use of modern social media tools and the latest methods of economic and psychological influence on the purchasing behaviour of users has been analyzed. It was determined that there is a close relationship between the effectiveness of business development in social media and the use of social media marketing (SMM) tools, Internet advertising, customer relationship management (CRM), SEO optimization of websites, mobile applications, the use of virtual reality, etc.Based on the research, a strategy for conducting business in social media is proposed, which involves: 1) determining the target audience for effective positioning of products and the correct choice of the social network; 2) definition and coordination of the company’s long-term goals in its offline and online activities; 3) generation of high-quality unique content and constant work on its filling; 4) selection of social media tools to increase the effectiveness of attracting potential customers, sales promotion and automation of business processes; 5) conducting media analytics, i.e. monitoring the effectiveness of business activities in social media.