The Journal of Social Media in Society
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200 research outputs found
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Social Media Never Sleeps: Antecedents and Consequences of Social Media Fatigue Among Content Creators
No full textSocial media use among private, nonprofit, and public sector organizations is on the rise with budgets for communicating in this space growing annually. Social media content creators use their professional skills in public relations, advertising, and marketing to grow consumer demand and maintain relationships. Although social media content creators serve as important connectors for organizations and stakeholders, the evidence is mounting that content creators are experiencing social media fatigue. While general social media users can withdraw from social media when feeling overwhelmed, what happens to those who work daily in the social media environment and rely on these platforms for their livelihood? To examine this important issue, we conducted focus groups and in-depth interviews with social media content creators in the private and public sectors. Our findings outline the antecedents and consequences of social media fatigue among content creators. We also discuss practical implications and offer suggestions to improve the work experience of these strategic communicators.
Professional Athletes and Gen Z: A Commentary on Social Media Influence During the COVID-19 Pandemic
No full textIn the century since Honus Wagner and Babe Ruth first endorsed the Louisville Slugger baseball bat, the influence of professional athletes on society has become undeniable. The proliferation of television in the mid-20th century expanded the exposure of athletes, and now in the early 21st century, social media has seen the impact of athletes explode. The intimacy of social media has enabled professional athletes to interact with their fan communities, changing the perception that they are untouchable elites and creating a dynamic where fans, particularly those in Generation Z (Gen Z), now relate to athletes more like peers than idols. The unique communicative opportunities afforded by social media, combined with declining trust in traditional institutional sources such as the media and government, have created potential for athletes to have even greater behavioral influence on their followers and hence, on society. Drawing on media consumption and credibility trends, normative social influence theory, and parasocial relationships, this commentary considers how the COVID-19 pandemic underscores the potential influence of professional athletes on the behaviors of Gen Z. Given the stakes, this commentary raises the importance of examining the impact and implications of athlete influencers and concludes with recommendations for future research
#gotmuscles? Instagram and Body Image in College Men
No full textAbstractThe exploratory study investigated the immediate effect of exposure of ideal male bodies on Instagram on state body satisfaction, drive for muscularity, and body comparison in male college students. Male college students were exposed to real Instagram accounts that included either images of the male mesomorphic ideal or neutral images. State Body Satisfaction was measured before and immediately after using computer based visual analogue scales. After exposure, participants completed social comparison and drive for muscularity measures. Exposure to muscular-ideal images on Instagram led to lower appearance satisfaction, weight satisfaction, and more social comparison compared to the neutral images. The novel and interesting findings from this study provide preliminary evidence for the negative role of social media images, specifically via Instagram, on men’s body image and social comparison
Investigating Reddit Self-Disclosure and Confessions in Relation to Connectedness, Social Support, and Life Satisfaction
No full textAs a site where users can, and often do, remain anonymous, Reddit is a useful site for investigating how online disinhibition contributes to the sharing of private information. The current study surveyed Reddit users (N = 628) about the sharing of personal information unknown to their friends and families – and in particular, the use of threads developed for confessionary purposes. Results revealed a connection between the sharing of personal unknown information and feelings of connectedness, social support, and life satisfaction, as well as the traits of sensation seeking and narcissism. Furthermore, the frequency of posting official confessions was positively related to loneliness and narcissism, and negatively related to social connectedness and life satisfaction. Rating and/or commenting upon confession posts was significantly related to sensation seeking and narcissism. Finally, spending more time online, on social media, and on Reddit was associated with more self-disclosure of intimate and unknown information
Presidential Communication in the “Tweetosphere”: A Functional and Network Analyses of President Trump’s Direct Messaging
No full textThis study examined President Donald J. Trump’s “tweetosphere”. It was a multimethod functional analysis of Trump’s ego network (him and the people he follows, mentions, retweets, and replies to) of 741 tweets and retweets in his first year of office. The findings indicate that President Trump tends to tweet about, retweet, and mention (tag) himself, his government, conservative media, and family more than people of opposing political ideologies and the mainstream media. More than a third of his tweets and retweets were positive self-acclaims, especially about his character, his government, family, and conservative media
Facebook Campaigning: Candidates' Perspectives
No full textThe study presents findings from 67 semi-structured interviews with candidates running for heads of municipalities about their views on Facebook use, the advantages and drawbacks of political activity on Facebook, and the perceived impact of Facebook activity on election results. Findings indicate that candidates do not perceive a significant electoral advantage to using Facebook, yet they are convinced that presence on Facebook is obligatory, and absence from this arena would have a negative impact on their election prospects. Candidates are conscious of the problematic aspects of Facebook use; they are apprehensive specifically about potential criticism and attacks, and are hesitant to participate in dialog. On the other hand, especially in large cities, candidates acknowledge Facebook’s instrumental role in exposing candidates and disseminating messages, and are aware of the significance of responding to audience comments
#ad on Instagram: Investigating the Promotion of Food and Beverage Products
No full textThe recent rise in popularity of social networking sites has prompted modern-day food and beverage companies to switch their marketing objectives from the traditional top-down strategies to a peer-to-peer approach, utilizing social media influencers to promote products online. The current study investigated the promotion of food and beverage products on Instagram tagged with #ad. Findings of this study indicated that the majority of food and beverage products promoted were processed, premade, and not considered healthy in nature. In addition, the majority of authors did not list credentials on their Instagram pages thereby making it unaware if they were credible sources of nutrition information. An overall positive audience reaction to images suggests a low message resistance to food and beverage products advertised on Instagram. These findings support the implementation of policies targeted at online food and beverage marketers, as well as the further development of public health initiatives involving digital literacy education specific to food and beverage marketing
Social Media Use, Political Participation, and Civic Engagement in Election 2016
No full textImmediately after Election 2016, an online survey of 3,810 US college students in a "swing state" shows that the general use of Facebook has a small, negative effect on U.S. college students’ online/offline political participation and civic engagement over and above six control variables and four demographic variables. The participants’ political use of Facebook is a much more important and positive predictor than their general use of Facebook for online/offline political participation and civic engagement even after controlling for six relevant variables and four demographic variables. Their online and offline political participation, and civic engagement were closely related. Their online social capital led to political use of Facebook but did not predict online/offline political participation and civic engagement. Additional interesting findings are also presented, theoretical and practical implications discussed
News Consumption in the Case of the Garifuna People: Reaching the Audience or Not?
No full textThe purpose of this research is to understand how social media is affecting the news consumption of minority cultures, both within and outside the U.S. Using natives of Central America with ancestral roots in Africa as research subjects, this research explores how the Garifuna culture experiences social media and how these media influence news consumption and perceptions. Using a grounded theory approach, in-depth interviews were conducted in the United States and Honduras. The results of those interviews indicate that media can aid individuals within the Garifuna culture to perceive they have gained some knowledge of world news, yet in actuality, this knowledge is superficial at best
“Modern Day Presidential:" Donald Trump and American Politics in the Age of Twitter
No full textThe increasing power of social media over American news and politics is difficult to ignore thanks to the visibility of President Trump’s tweets both on online and traditional media. This paper seeks to better understand the strategy behind Donald Trump’s use of Twitter both as a candidate and during his first year as president. Through a careful study of his tweets and their ability to take advantage of the specific user makeup on Twitter and the choice of mainstream media to often echo his tweets in their coverage, a consistent strategy emerges based on a combination of traditional advertising practice and radicalist discourse that continues to reshape the American political landscape today