Trust In Social Media Research Articles

How Does Social Media Impact Consumers’ Sustainable Purchase Intention?

Abstract Expanding expenditures and emphasis on sustainable marketing necessitate additional research to comprehend how to effectively influence sustainable attitudes and behaviour, particularly in the under-researched realms of social media. The role of social media in creating and building attitudes towards sustainable purchasing is vastly underexplored. Based on social learning theory and the theory of planned behaviour, the present study has been endeavoured to investigate the factors that influence consumers’ sustainable purchase attitudes and intentions. With the data sets obtained from three hundred 50 respondents, structural equation modelling (SEM) was employed using AMOS 22.0. From the study findings, it is observed that social media usage, social influence, drive for environmental responsibility, and perceived trust in social media are the major antecedents of consumers’ sustainable purchasing attitudes, which in turn influence their sustainable purchase intentions. It is pertinent for prominent stakeholders, including governments and regulatory agencies, to employ the findings of this study while designing campaigns to encourage individuals to practise sustainable buying behaviour. Fostering sustainable buying behaviour could help mitigate the negative consequences of impulsive purchasing on human beings and the environment. Thus, deciphering the function of social media in promoting sustainable purchasing attitudes makes the current research novel and valuable.

Transmedia Awareness of the Media Audience (Ukrainian-Turkish Contexts)

The article depicts transmedia projects in Turkey and Ukraine. The main focus concentrates on the competencies of transmedia audiences. The research objective is to examine the awareness level of television audiences about transmedia on various social media platforms. The research methods and techniques include Ukrainian expert interviews and the data obtained through an online survey. The sample includes 561 Turkish and 356 Ukrainian media consumers. Results reveal that Ukrainian media consumers, who state that they obtain the truth through social media, reject television as a source of trustworthy information. Turkish media consumers demonstrate that they tend to take reality from television as it is, although they accept TV content as fiction. As the time allocated to social media increases, it is clear that especially Turkish media consumers' trust in television decreases, and they find social media more reputable in the truth widespread. A similar situation is clearly observed with Ukrainian media consumers. It is seen that the rate of accepting television as a source of information increases as the viewing rates grow up in both countries. As this ratio rises, it is seen that trust in social media decreases. Conclusions assert that the evaluation of the television and social media as fiction is not affected by the viewing time. Although the majority of media consumers from both Ukraine and Turkey state that television or social media influence people's daily life, however, they do not think that they have the same impact on their own lives. With the increase in the education level of media consumers in both countries, it is seen that the rate of accepting television as a medium that conveys facts has decreased. The change in education level does not cause a striking differentiation in the evaluation of social media trust as in television. Participants of both countries agree that television presents a powerful propaganda tool. Keywords: convergence, media audience, social media, transmedia, TV audience, Turkey, Ukraine.

Liberals are Believers: Young People Assign Trust to Social Media for COVID-19 Information

ABSTRACT The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged existing health communication strategies as more people turn to social media as a primary health information source. Although many studies have explored how young people use social media, this study examined how sociodemographic factors and political ideology are associated with use and trust in social media as a source for COVID-19 information among young adults, and how use and trust in social media as a COVID-19 information source are associated with their beliefs about COVID-19. In Spring 2021, an online survey was conducted among 2,105 18–29-year-old students at an urban university in California. Our findings show that younger, female, non-binary, Asian, and Black/African American students are most likely to obtain and trust COVID-19 information on social media. Results also suggest that liberal students are more likely to turn to social media as a source for COVID-19 information compared to conservatives. However, conservative students who use social media as a source for information were more likely to believe false health information about prevention measures and the vaccine and to have lower perceived effectiveness of COVID-19 prevention behaviors and vaccination compared to liberals.

Standing Naked in the Storm– European Citizens’ Trust in Social Media, Users, Information

Standing Naked in the Storm– European Citizens’ Trust in Social Media, Users, Information

The relationship between post-traumatic stress disorder and social media addiction: A qualitative study

BackgroundMental health and well-being are significantly harmed by exposure to trauma, resulting in PTSD. The use of social media has increased Statista (2021) recently, but little is known about how exposure to trauma and the development of PTSD affect trust in social media. MethodsThis qualitative study examines how trauma exposure and the development of PTSD affected addiction in the community of military veterans diagnosed with PTSD using thematic narrative analysis of semi-structured interviews. A convenience sample of fifteen people from a social media support group for people with PTSD was interviewed, and five admitted to engaging in addictive information behaviors. ResultsParticipants described experiencing fear and mistrust due to being overloaded with information on social media platforms. Additionally, many claimed that particular social media content caused them to have traumatic event triggers, which further damaged their trust in these sites. Participants who had a history of exposure to trauma and the development of PTSD also mentioned utilizing social media as a coping strategy to block out their symptoms. Nevertheless, This coping strategy frequently backfired as they became more dependent on social media and could not handle their symptoms. ConclusionImportant ramifications flow from these findings for mental health providers who treat patients with trauma-related disorders. They emphasize the importance of mental health professionals addressing social media use issues as part of their treatment strategies for people with trauma-related disorders. Small sample sizes and reliance on self-reported data are two drawbacks. Larger samples and objective measures of social media use and addiction could be used in future studies to examine these findings further.

Examining the Effect of Social Media Use on COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy in China

Public willingness to vaccinate has become an important public health issue given the vaccine hesitancy observed worldwide in recent decades. And social media is the main way of information dissemination, and will bring a great impact on people in public health events. The present paper analyzes the relationship between vaccinated Chinese people’s vaccine attitudes and social media information networks. This study aims to explore the impact of social media use on vaccine hesitancy by generating a descriptive statistical and structural model analysis of vaccine hesitancy-relevant content. In this study, the influence model between social media use behavior and vaccination willingness was constructed from three perspectives, including contact intensity, social media trust, and social media information satisfaction. Questionnaires were distributed online, and relevant data analysis software was used. In China, public enthusiasm for the covid-19 vaccine is generally high, and news on social media may have an impact on the willingness to receive the vaccine. Additionally, the Chinese government’s COVID-19 control policies make people who are not willing to actively vaccinate will be vaccinated for their daily life and work reasons. All these reflect the low correlation between vaccination and media publicity. Therefore, social media has a certain impact on COVID-19 vaccination behavior, but it is not the main factor affecting public vaccination.

Social Media and Purchase Habits of Consumers

This research focused on social media’s impact on purchasing decisions in the Lalitpur district. Through the convenience sample, two-hundred responses were obtained through five-point Likert-type questionnaires. Based on descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and regression analysis, Consumers’ actions were shown to be significantly and positively correlated with the degree to which they trusted content shared on social media platforms. However, perceived risk was found to have a negative and significant relationship with consumer behavior. In addition, the perceived value was found to have a significant positive association with consumer behavior. The regression analysis showed that trust in social media and perceived value significantly affect consumer behavior. At the same time, perceived risk was found to have a significant adverse effect on consumer behavior. This study concluded that the impact of social media has a significant effect on consumer behavior in Lalitpur District.

Cynicism as strength: Privacy cynicism, satisfaction and trust among social media users

In this era of virtual communication, online user's attitudes towards privacy have attracted the attention of social media researchers and practitioners as they continued to debate whether “online privacy” is an obsolete topic. While some scholars argued that individuals are deeply concerned about their online privacy, others have suggested that despite being cynical about the practises of social media companies, users were happy to disclose personal information in exchange for small rewards. There is consequently a gap between perceptions and practises when it comes to online privacy. Grounded on Expectation Confirmation Theory (ECM), we surveyed 475 social media users to help determine whether privacy cynicism is negatively related to satisfaction and trust in social media. Results indicated that privacy cynicism significantly affected users' satisfaction with social media. However, privacy cynicism did not significantly affect users' trust of social media. This research has important implications for post-technology adoption theories as well as for social media platforms, which would help users better understand public attitudes towards privacy and its impact on their satisfaction.

The mediating role of perceived risks and benefits when self-disclosing: A study of social media trust and FoMO

Self-disclosure as influenced by perceived risks and benefits plays an important role within the context of social media use and the associated privacy risk. Some social media platforms, like Facebook (now part of Meta Platforms Inc.), provide users with elaborate means to control privacy risk. Conversely, Instagram (also part of Meta) provides users with fewer such mechanisms as a function of self-disclosure. Therefore, self-disclosure as a product of risk and benefit assessment may differ considerably as a function of the technological affordances that control such disclosure. This is particularly the case considering that such a benefit and risk assessment is further influenced by a user's trust in that provider, not to mention their proclivity for disclosing without any rational risk and benefit assessments, as is the case when disclosing as a function of fear of missing out (FoMO). Given the influence that provider trust and FoMO might have when assessing risks and benefits, this study evaluated the extent to which perceived risks and benefits mediate self-disclosure on Facebook and Instagram, in particular within the context of provider trust and FoMO. Based on an adapted version of privacy calculus, we evaluated our research model by analyzing 720 survey responses using partial least squares path modeling. Our results indicate that perceived benefits mediate the relationship between FoMO and intention to self-disclose when using Instagram, but not when using Facebook. Additionally, we found perceived benefits and perceived risks to mediate the relationship between trust in provider and intention to self-disclose for Facebook and Instagram. Surprisingly, we found no evidence to suggest that the relationship between FoMO and intention to self-disclose is mediated by perceived risks when using Facebook, with the converse being true when using Instagram. We conclude that the transitory (ephemeral) nature of some methods of self-disclosure on Instagram are used as a means to mitigate privacy risks.

Reasons of Social Media Addiction among Youth: An Exploratory Study

Social networking sites are technological platforms that facilitate the advent and sharing of emotions, interests, information, ideas, and various types of expressions in the virtual world of groups, communities, or networks. Youth are the most significant patrons of social media. They are so fascinated by social media that they cannot reduce or limit their intake of online media. Youth dependency on social media (like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and WhatsApp) is characterized by the aggregate of an immoderate media intake and a growing trust in social media to sense good and an incapability to forestall or cut down. Addiction to social media has positive uses also, like making consumers globalize, presenting real-time communication, etc. This paper aims to understand the addiction to social media amongst youth. It additionally describes the signs and symptoms of dependency on social media. Also, understand the behavioral association between social media dependency and mental fitness or the overall instructional performance of youth. A sample of 133 respondents was collected through a "standard questionnaire," which was created on a five-point interval scale.

Do social media literacy skills help in combating fake news spread? Modelling the moderating role of social media literacy skills in the relationship between rational choice factors and fake news sharing behaviour

This study modelled the rational factors that predict fake news sharing behaviour. It also tested the moderating role of social media literacy skills. The focus was on social media users in Nigeria. An online survey was conducted to gather the responses from participants across Nigerian geopolitical zones. Structural equation modelling (SEM) Smart PLS 3.6 was used to analyse the data. We found that information sharing, the news finds me perception, trust in social media and status-seeking lead to fake news sharing among social media users in Nigeria. Specifically, trust in social media and status-seeking had a greater effect on fake news sharing behaviour. We also found that social media literacy skills significantly moderate the relationship between information sharing, status-seeking, the news finds me perception, trust in social media and fake news sharing in such a way that the effects/relationships are stronger among those with low social media literacy skills. This outcome contributes to theory and practice which was highlighted in the concluding aspect of this study.

Do Greek University Students Trust Social Media Regarding Science Related Issues? The Covid-19 Case

This research aimed in revealing the trends of Greek universities’ student population in terms of their trust in social media, focusing on information and news related to scientific issues, and particularly on issues related to Covid-19. The sample of our study consisted of 557 people studying in various faculties of Greek universities throughout the country. Their answers in a questionnaire were analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. Students’ answers revealed that despite they often resort to the use of social media and internet sources for informational purposes, they tend not to consider them as the most reliable source of obtaining information, regardless of the topic. They state that, contemplating the science and Covid-19 related information shared on social media platforms as unreliable and inaccurately presented, they try to cross-check it by drawing news from other media, a practice that contributes to them being able to distinguish fake news from true ones.

Preventive Behaviors and Information Sources during COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study in Japan.

individual preventive behaviors are one of the key measures needed to prevent the spread of COVID-19. This study sought to identify the factors associated with the adoption of COVID-19 preventive measures, focusing specifically on information sources. we conducted a nationally representative cross-sectional survey of 30,053 Japanese adults in February 2021. The survey asked about socioeconomic, health-related, and psychological characteristics, attitudes toward immunization, and the use of information sources regarding COVID-19. We have constructed multivariable logistic regression to estimate the factors associated with the adoption of three preventive measures: 3Cs avoidance, hand hygiene and respiratory hygiene. socioeconomic variables, psychological variables, and the use of information sources are significantly associated with the adoption of preventive measures. The more information sources one uses, the more likely one is to adopt preventive measures. Trust in healthcare professionals is positively associated with adopting preventive measures. On the other hand, negative correlations between trust in social media and preventive behaviors were observed. encouraging access to multiple information sources, utilizing communication channels, and modifying messaging according to target groups are essential to promote COVID-19 preventive measures.

The role of trust in COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and acceptance among Black and White Americans

Mass vaccination has been identified as the easiest way to combat the deadly spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) disease, yet many Americans are still hesitant to be vaccinated. To understand motivations behind why someone is vaccine hesitant, we conceptualized a theoretical model in which demographic variables are positively associated with four types of trust (i.e., trust in institutions, physicians, non-discrimination, and social media). These trust variables, in turn, are positively associated with the outcome variable of vaccine acceptance. A multi-group structural equation modeling analysis of survey data from 1008 U.S. adults suggested that trust in institutions and physicians were important for both White and Black Americans in whether they were vaccine accepting or hesitant, while trust in non-discrimination was important for Black Americans and trust in social media was important for White Americans. Implications of the findings and how they can inform future vaccine campaigns are discussed.

When brands get real: the role of authenticity and electronic word-of-mouth in shaping consumer response to brands taking a stand

Brand activism, defined as a brand’s act of taking a public stand on sociopolitical issues, has emerged as a new marketing tactic in recent years. Many brands use social media to communicate their ideas and values with their consumers. Guided by the theories of cognitive behavioral, congruity, attribution, and social identity, this study provides an integrative framework that incorporates two brand factors (brand-sociopolitical cause fit and self-serving motive) and two social media factors (attitude and trust) to explain the process of how brand activism influences consumers’ responses toward brands. Results show that brand-sociopolitical cause fit, self-serving motive, attitude toward brand activism in social media, and trust in social media are all antecedents that positively relate to the authenticity of brand activism in social media. Furthermore, brand activism authenticity is positively associated with electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) intention, which consequently enhances brand image, purchase intent, and brand loyalty. Implications and future directions of research are discussed.

Trust in social media and COVID-19 beliefs and behaviours.

The study investigates the relationship between trust in social media and beliefs and preventive behaviours in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. We surveyed 1008 respondents in South Africa to study how trust in social media relative to other information sources predicts perceived risk and adoption of preventive behaviours. Although engagement with and trust in social media do not predict less adoption of preventive behaviours, trusting information from social media more than information from mass media or scientists is associated with less risk perception from COVID-19 and reduces the adoption of preventive behaviours (including vaccines).

An analysis of COVID-19 information sources

BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic has brought new situations that require the effective delivery of health information across the world and it’s important to offer clear, consistent, and credible information on the pandemic to mitigate and control the outbreak.AimTo assess COVID-19 information source, need and trust among the rural community of southwest Ethiopia.MethodsA community-based cross-sectional study design was conducted among 634 rural communities of southwest Ethiopia. The data were collected by interviewing individuals from selected households and analyzed by SPSS version 26. A multivariable logistic regression model was used to assess factors affecting information needs.ResultsRadio 484 (76.3%) was mostly used as a source of information for COVID-19, and government 404 (63.7%) and health professionals 345 (57.7%) were trusted. However, only 10 (1.6%) of the participants acquired information from health professionals. Around 395 (62.3%) of the participants needed additional information on COVID-19. Around 230 (58.2%) and 186 (47.1%) of the participants required additional information on cause and sign and symptoms, respectively. Age of < 45 years old (AOR: 2.11, 95% CI: 1.43, 3.12, P < 0.001), and absence of formal education (AOR: 2.00, 95% CI: 1.35, 2.95, P: 0.001) were factors positively affecting the information needs of the participants on COVID-19. Church goers (AOR: 3.24; 95% CI: 2.03, 5.19; P < 0.001), television (AOR: 2.39; 95% CI: 1.63, 3.49; P < 0.001) and social media users (AOR: 4.52; 95% CI: 2.26, 9.04; P < 0.001) as source of information required additional information on COVID-19, and the participants that trusted social media (AOR: 2.52; 95% CI: 1.64, 3.87; P < 0.001) and friends/relatives (AOR: 2.95: 95% CI: 1.51, 5.76; P < 0.001) were also required additional information on COVID-19.ConclusionsThe popular sources of COVID-19-related information were radio and television. The participants trusted the government and health professionals on COVID-19. However, less than 2% of the participants had information from health professionals. The majority of the participants wanted to learn more about COVID-19. The areas the participants required additional information include cause and signs and symptoms. Age, educational status, trust in social media, trust in friends, using the church, television and social media as a source were factors associated with information needs.

COVID-19 and hospitality services: The role of information sources, believability, fear, and behavioral intentions

Based on the Social Amplification of Risk Framework (SARF) and crisis decision theory, this study examined the influence of trust in different types of information sources on the believability of COVID-19 information (BCI). Furthermore, the influence of BCI on fearfulness and the corresponding influence of fearfulness on the intention to use hospitality services and stay at home are analyzed. Structural equations modeling, using data from 1,017 American consumers, successfully confirmed the significant influences of trust in media and government on BCI and the corresponding positive effect of BCI on fearfulness. Additionally, the negative effects of fearfulness on intentions to visit hotels and restaurants (general and Chinese) and the positive effects of fearfulness on intentions to stay at home and use third-part food delivery services are validated. Trust in social media was not found to influence BCI and the negative effect of fearfulness on Chinese restaurants was weaker than that of general restaurants. Numerous implications are offered for practitioners.

The COVID-19 Infodemic: Misinformation About Health on Social Media in Istanbul

Misinformation and conspiracy theories can spread as quickly as the COVID-19 pathogen itself. The infodemic, which describes false or misleading information about this recent epidemic on the internet, has become a serious problem all over the world, and has been declared as an “enemy” by the World Health Organization. In this sense, in order to combat the epidemic, it becomes important to reveal the nuances of COVID-19 related infodemic available on the internet. Particularly, internet users in Turkey are increasingly utilizing social media –a platform synonymous with misinformation– to access news coverage regarding the pandemic (World Health Organization, 2020). In this quantitative study focusing on the city of Istanbul (n=399), which is at the epicenter of the outbreak in Turkey, the social media usage of individuals, their trust in these platforms, exposure to misinformation and conspiracy theories, and fact-checking behaviors were examined. Our results indicate that participants tended to believe in misinformation and conspiracy theories rather than confirming information through fact-checking platforms. Nearly half of all participants believed at least one of four widespread conspiracy theories about the virus. Moreover, when fact-checking did identify misinformation, the participants’ trust in social media showed a slight decrease. Based on these findings, our study proposes a comprehensive model for pandemic-related trust, misinformation, conspiracy theories, and fact-checking factors on digital platforms.

Re-thinking the drivers of regular and irregular migration: evidence from the MENA region

Why do individuals vary in their desire to emigrate? Why are some willing to emigrate irregularly? This article tests four theoretical approaches—socio-demographics; economic and political context; access to migrant networks; and psychological factors—across the Middle East and North Africa region. Data from the Arab Barometer is used to show that the most prevalent factors are youth, university education, being male, and stress levels as well as negative economic and political perceptions, being unmarried, trust in social media, remittances, and low religiosity. Notably, economic factors such as unemployment and income are shown to rarely have an effect. The determinants of being willing to emigrate without papers are fewer and distinct: gender and lower income especially as well as lower education and negative economic and political perceptions. Several contributions to our understanding of emigration are made: a two-step model of irregular emigration based on findings across 12 countries, new evidence of the complex and, within-country, muted role of economic factors, the centrality of psychology, and how, tentatively, it appears that both extreme wealth and war interact with the most fundamental socio-demographic drivers.