The Journal of Social Media in Society
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Detecting Mass Protest through Social Media
Get PDFBuilding on the existing understanding of the dynamics of mass protest, this paper argues that social media data can be used to detect the occurrence of such protests. It outlines a theoretical framework arguing that during times of mass mobilization, network central actors will geographically converge upon city centers, and that the relative magnitudes of social media activity in the center and periphery of the state can be used to detect the occurrence of protests. This article presents a new dataset of 2.2 million geocoded Ukrainian tweets, which are used to empirically test the theory against the observed 2014 Euromaidan protests in Ukraine. By relying completely on count and network data rather than keywords, hashtags, or other contextual clues from the content, this technique is portable across language barriers and national borders
Using the PAD (Pleasure, Arousal, and Dominance) Model to Explain Facebook Attitudes and Use Intentions
No full textThis study examines the power of the PAD (pleasure, arousal, and dominance) model in explaining user attitudes toward the Facebook experience and intentions with regard to its continued use. The findings suggest that the PAD model does in fact explain a significant amount of the variation in attitudes toward Facebook use. Dominance has a direct and positive impact on both arousal and pleasure. Arousal also has a direct and positive impact on pleasure. Pleasure positively impacts attitudes toward Facebook use which in turn positively affects future use intentions with regard to Facebook. The implications of these relationships are discussed and suggestions for future research are provided
Lessons from #McKinney: Social Media and the Interactive Construction of Police Brutality
Get PDFVideo evidence of police aggression and assault on civilians has previously been considered irrefutable evidence of misconduct; its circulation contributes to the creation of “celebrated cases” of police brutality that draw attention because of their high-profile nature. In June 2015, YouTube, Facebook and Twitter comments on a citizen-captured video of a police officer attempting to apprehend an African-American girl at a pool party in McKinney, Texas, trended as one incident in the #BlackLivesMatter movement’s canon of police mistreatment of African-American citizens. Through the lens of critical race theory, this qualitative content analysis triangulates data from three social media platforms to explore how users interpreted the incident. This study develops insights on how a “celebrated case” of police brutality is constructed by social media audiences. It makes a significant contribution to the literature by focusing on the often-overlooked experiences of African-American women and girls as victims of police brutality
Creating “Spaces” for Professional Development: Education Organizations’ Use of Facebook
Get PDFThe affordances of the Web enable teacher collaboration and growth through learning communities within Web 2.0 environments (Greenhow, Robelia, & Hughes, 2009). Through a qualitative analysis of education organization profiles and postings on Facebook, we examined ways education organizations use social networking sites as a platform to promote trends and issues in education and to promote best practices. Data represents five education organizations and analysis shows the types and frequency of information posted for their followers on Facebook. Social media have the potential to impact professional development in many fields
Self-monitoring, Covert Narcissism, and Sex as Predictors of Self-presentational Activities on Facebook
Get PDFoai:tsmri.journals.sfu.ca:article/202The popularity of photo sharing on social networking sites has steadily increased in the United States over the last decade. Some research suggests that this increase in photo sharing correlates to an increase in narcissism, or an excessive interest in oneself and one’s physical appearance. This study tested how self-monitoring, narcissism, and gender are related to photo-related activities on Facebook. Results revealed that high self-monitors engaged more often in the self-presentational opportunities on Facebook, including posting their own photographs and liking and commenting on other people’s photos. Similarly, people who scored higher on narcissism were more likely to engage in all those activities as well. However, compared to self-monitoring, narcissism could better explain photo-related activities on Facebook. In addition, sex differences emerged when it came to commenting on friends’ photos.
Framing On Facebook: Examining an Issues Management Approach to Obesity
Get PDFThis study utilized a quantitative content analysis to examine how ten major food corporations are managing and framing the obesity issue on Facebook. Despite the potential for communicating about issues with large numbers of active stakeholders on social media, corporations in our study are not maximizing their issues management efforts on this medium. This study reveals that the overall strategy used by these corporations involves providing individual-focused information about living healthy lifestyles. Food corporations are taking a very positive and empowering approach to the issue by refraining from using the term “obesity” in their messages and frames, providing personalized information related to empowering a healthy lifestyle, and using the product nutrition frame, all of which were found to be the more effective tactics in generating dialogue and positive reaction from stakeholders
University Students’ Perceptions of Social Media as a Learning Tool
No full textThis study aims to investigate university students’ perceptions of social media as a learning tool. Data were collected using a specially designed survey during the academic year 2013/2014 at King Abdulaziz University (KAU). The sample size was 2,605 students of different ages and genders representing various KAU colleges. The results indicate that a moderate majority of KAU students are using social media tools in their learning and have the desire to integrate social media as a tool in their learning at university. The paper also reports gender significant differences on preferred social media tools and purposes of social media usage. The findings support the advantages of social media in learning and do not indicate any obvious disadvantages. Such findings can encourage academic planners and instructors to adopt and implement social media tools in the learning context.
Citizen Framing of #Ferguson on Twitter
No full textThis textual analysis examined the framing of Ferguson, Missouri, that emerged following Michael Brown’s death in 2014. The analysis indicates tweets focused on the protests that followed and the racial nature of the incident. The most salient themes characterized Ferguson within the context of “bigger picture” issues, “otherness” narratives and “protest” frames. Many tweets transmitted a racialized tone, characterizing Ferguson as a “less than desirable town with mostly Black residents and low-life thugs.” This study provides support for the use of textual analysis in studies of social media platforms and indicates it is imperative to look at representations of race, power and cultural narratives in popular mass media messages.
Using Collaborative Gaming to Engage Arab Youth in Cultural Memes
Get PDFThis paper examines the use of cultural memes on social media platforms as a tool for engaging Arab youth in Arabic culture and a method of cultural transmission among youth. Engagement in the creation, publishing and promotion of memes can be accomplished if the youth involved in the early stages of the creation process can be trained so that they become highly skilled at the task and at the same time are presented with challenges that match their skills, and have clear goals and measurable outcomes. The paper draws on flow theory’s premise that a state of total absorption, ‘flow’, can be attained in a game-like environment were the actors are highly skilled and the challenge matches their skill set. By combining the viral properties of memes and their ability to transmit cultural content with the strength of engagement that a state of flow can create, the basis for a framework solution to engage youth in cultural content by creating memes in a collaborative game-like environment requires: (1) upskilling the youth involved in the creation of the memes; (2) consulting with local community elders and leaders in the initial storytelling; and (3) designing a game-like environment as a multi-phased competition that requires using the skills attained to perform difficult challenges and that promises rewards in the context of cultural stature and local and regional recognition.
When Image Isn’t Everything: The Effects of Instagram Frames on Social Comparison
Get PDFIn recent years visual social media have become increasingly popular mechanisms for communication. Past research suggests links between using social media, upward social comparison, and negative affect. The present online experiment of U.S. women (N = 58) takes a media psychology approach to understanding how text frames on image-based social media contribute to social comparison and perceptions of the self. Findings suggest that individuals who were in a body-positive experimental condition reported higher levels of self-esteem than did the women in a body-negative experimental condition. Those in the negative conditions ranked significantly higher on state social comparison with the images than those in the positive condition. Additionally, women who compared themselves to the women in the experimental images were also more likely to fantasize that they could achieve the look and lifestyle of the women featured in the images. Findings are discussed in light of framing theory and social comparison theory and suggestions are made for future experimental work