The Journal of Social Media in Society
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Are Busy People More or Less Likely to Use Social Networking Sites (SNSs)?: Prosumption, Time Budget, and SNS activities
Get PDFThis study investigated social networking site (SNS) activities from a prosumption-time budget perspective, which is the combination of the prosumption and time budget perspectives. SNS activities were categorized into three groups: SNS consumption activities, SNS production activities, and total SNS activities. The associations between work time and the frequencies of these three kinds of SNS activities were examined. Data for the empirical analysis were collected through a mail and web survey with a sample of 253 respondents and a sample of 394 college students in the Midwest United State from September to November, 2012. Significant correlations between work time and SNS production frequency were found for the two samples. Significant correlation between work time and total SNS activity frequency was found for the student sample. These significant correlations suggest a new pattern that has not been revealed by previous studies: busier people are more active in SNSs
Laughing and Yelling Through Yaks: A Content Analysis of Yik Yak, Exploring Humor Topics, Types, Styles and User Motives in the Anonymous Social Media Environment
Get PDFThis study examines 2,000 posts divided by a default thread and hot thread on Yik Yak, an anonymous mobile platform. Results reveal that 1) silliness is the most frequent humor type in both threads; 2) humorous posts with negative styles are adopted more significantly than positive styles in the hot thread; 3) “social media, media and television” is the most frequent humor topic; and 4) user motives are unrelated to humorous posts
Personality Traits as Predictors of Online Customer Review Motivations
Get PDFOnline customer reviews (OCRs) are becoming increasingly popular among consumers who read them to make informed decisions about products and services. This study investigates consumers’ motivations for posting OCRs and the relationship between the motivations and the Big Five personality traits. The data come from an online sample of 352 online users who reported posting a review of a good or service. The results of the study indicate that individuals who post OCRs are driven primarily by interest in helping other consumers, followed by economic incentives, venting, self-efficacy, and social interaction. Using regression analyses, agreeableness was found to be positively related to interest in helping others and economic incentives, but negatively related to the venting motivation. Extraversion was found to be positively related to social interaction. Further exploration using canonical correlation analysis revealed a cluster of association between self-interested helpers (i.e., those motivated by economic incentives and the desire to help other consumers) and the Big Five personality traits of agreeableness and extraversion. Practical implications of these findings are discussed, as well as suggestions for future research
Exploring the Potential of Social Media Platforms as Data Collection Methods for Accessing and Understanding Experiences of Youth with Disabilities: A Narrative Review
Get PDFPurpose: Social media (SM) is a critical component of youth culture, and may provide a useful platform for exploring young people’s authentic voices. This narrative review considers how researchers are exploring the experiences of youth with disabilities using SM. Methods: Five health and social science databases were searched using terms related to ‘social media’ and ‘data collection’. Articles were reviewed for relevancy. Narrative analysis was undertaken.Results: Searches returned 1524 results, of which 15 articles were included. SM-based data collection methods fell into three categories: 1) observational; 2) interactive; and 3) combined online/offline, each offering unique advantages to data collection. Literature suggests that SM can be used to effectively explore self-care, coping and social experiences of youth with health conditions, however youth with disabilities were notably absent from all three categories.Conclusion: As a prominent component of youth culture, researchers have turned to SM-based data collection methods to understand youths’ real-world experiences. It is imperative, however, that the voices of youth with varied abilities and backgrounds be included in the conversation.
Using Microblogging as a Social Media Tool for Discussions in Higher Education Classrooms
Get PDFThrough this qualitative study, researchers explored how preservice teachers’ roles and functions vary when participating in both instructor-directed and student-directed microblogging discussions about children’s literature on the microblogging platform, Todays Meet. Preservice teachers from three universities participated in an instructor-directed within university microblogging (WUM) discussion as well as a student-led across university microblogging (AUM) discussion with preservice teachers from the other two universities. The researchers developed a three-pronged framework based on the work of Java et al. (2007), Ebner and Maurer (2008), and Gao et al. (2012) to analyze the microblogging interactions in the WUM and AUM groups. Findings revealed that the AUM discussions tended to have more depth and moved away from the provided questions. Additionally, the participants demonstrated all the functions and roles of the microblogging framework in the AUM opposed to the WUM where several were absent. In this study, microblogging provided an opportunity for an interactive experience and the social construction of knowledge among preservice teachers
Why do People Blog: A Q Analysis of Perceptions for Blogging
Get PDFThe purpose of this article is to understand user perceptions of new media formats, in this case blogging. While much of the blog research identifies blogging in terms of blog types, this research identifies user perceptions of why they like to blog. By applying Q-methodology to the blogging process, this research asked bloggers to rank subjective statements of blogging. Factor analyses were then applied to the rankings, which provided three main user factors (perspectives) of blogging motivations: Memorians, Bonders, and Soap Boxers. These perspectives provide an alternative to traditional views of social media use and categories of subjective media experience
A Framework-based Mapping and Filtering for Social Media
No full textThe aim of this paper is to develop a framework to extract value from social media data based on mapping and filtering, using the data processing approach based on MapReduce. In order to test the application of this framework, researchers used NodeXL to obtain and analyze data from Twitter. The results show the application of framework to capture relevant data for efficient decision-making. The outcome of this paper contributes to a significant achievement that provides an important innovation in research methods in big data era to trace how data flows across the social media and how to analyze this data
Social Media and Workplace Practices in Higher Education Institutions: a Review
Get PDFThis literature review investigates how the impact of social media has been studied with regard to a broad range of higher education workplace practices, that extend beyond teaching and learning, into areas such as research, administration, professional development, and the development of shared academic cultures and practices. Our interest is in whether and how the educational research community, through its research and publication practices, promotes particular views of social media in education at the expense of others. A thematic analysis of a sample of recent (2010-17) research on social media in education finds the field influenced by perspectives, particularly the managerial, that are prominent in the institutionalized discourses around which HE is structured. These discourses are largely shaping practice in 21st century education, despite their lack of attention on how social media alter the processes of knowledge development within education, changing practice at deeper, institutional levels. We hypothesize that the implication of such research failing is that the academic community fails to reflectively and critically address how academic practices and the classroom itself are being shaped by certain “institutionalized” uses and conceptions of social media
Parasocial Interaction in the Digital Age: An Examination of Relationship Building and the Effectiveness of YouTube Celebrities
No full textSince its inception in 2005, YouTube has allowed users to publish video content. Many have capitalized on the platform by amassing large followings and becoming bonafide YouTube celebrities. The beauty celebrity has become one of the most popular types of YouTuber, with some boasting over 7 million subscribers. Many brands have turned to YouTube celebrities to entice them to create user generated content that will serve as product endorsements aimed at a highly segmented audience. Viewers subscribe to watch the celebrities discuss a variety of beauty and lifestyle products or services. The interaction goes beyond simple product placement and branded entertainment, instead, viewers socialize with YouTube celebrities, whom may also serve as a product ambassador. In a sense, YouTube celebrities become a friend sharing their opinion. The traditional word-of-mouth opinion sharing is now on a grander scale, and in a more intimate setting. This study explored the interaction between YouTube beauty celebrity and viewer, and celebrity influence. Participants reported feelings of knowing and familiarity with speakers, thus revealing the occurrence of parasocial interaction. YouTube celebrities were also viewed as credible sources who were trustworthy. Findings provide insight for organizations to channel YouTube celebrities as they attempt to build relationships with highly targeted publics
The Development of Parasocial Interaction Relationships on YouTube
No full textContinuing research on the development of parasocial relationships, the present study modernized a seminal study conducted by Rubin and McHugh (1987) investigating the relationship among communication, liking, and intimacy in forming a relationship with a television character. This study applied this research to the YouTube video sharing platform to see if such a relationship was evident on social media. Results of a structural equation model closely replicate the original findings, and confirmed that exposure to YouTube predicted both social and physical attraction. This attraction was related to parasocial relationship formation, which then positively increased the relational importance. Overall, the results provide justification for extending the theoretical expectations of parasocial interaction to the YouTube context