Adolescents’ comments in social media: Why do adolescents receive negative feedback and who is most at risk?

Receiving negative peer feedback in social media may have negative consequences for adolescents’ psychosocial development and well-being. Therefore, the first aim of this study was to investigate online behavior (i.e., online social exploration, risky online self-presentation) that predicts receiving negative online peer feedback. The second aim was to examine three types of precursors that may predict this online behavior and, indirectly, negative feedback: (a) developmental (i.e., sex, age), (b) dispositional (i.e., sensation seeking, inhibitory control), and (c) social precursors (i.e., peer problems, family conflict). We collected survey data among 785 Dutch adolescents (10–15 years old). Our results showed that adolescents who engaged in online social exploration and risky online self-presentation more often, were more likely to receive negative peer feedback. Online social exploration was more prevalent among the older adolescents and adolescents characterized by higher sensation seeking and more family conflict. In addition, risky online self-presentation was more prevalent among adolescents high in sensation seeking. Consequently, these adolescents’ online behavior, indirectly, made them more at risk of receiving negative peer feedback in social media.     

Five facets of social presence in online distance education

Social presence in online learning environments refers to the degree to which a learner feels personally connected with other students and the instructor in an online learning community. Based on a 19 item Online Social Presence Questionnaire (OSPQ) given to college students in two different online learning courses, a series of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses consistently revealed five factors representing facets of social presence in online learning environments: social respect (e.g. receiving timely responses), social sharing (e.g., sharing information or expressing beliefs), open mind (e.g., expressing agreement or receiving positive feedback), social identity (e.g., being called by name), and intimacy (e.g., sharing personal experiences). Together, the five factors accounted for 58% of the variance and were based on 19 items. Although much previous research focuses on cognitive aspects of learning in online environments, understanding the role of the learner’s sense of presence may be particularly important in distance learning situations in which students and the instructor are physically separated.     

Social Media Use for News and Individuals' Social Capital,Civic Engagement and Political Participation

Recently, scholars tested how digital media use for informational purposes similarly contributes to foster democratic processes and the creation of social capital. Nevertheless, in the context of today's socially‐networked‐society and the rise of social media applications (i.e., Facebook) new perspectives need to be considered. Based on U.S. national data, results show that after controlling for demographic variables, traditional media use offline and online, political constructs (knowledge and efficacy), and frequency and size of political discussion networks, seeking information via social network sites is a positive and significant predictor of people's social capital and civic and political participatory behaviors, online and offline.     

Attention to news and its dissemination on Twitter: A survey

In recent years, news media have been hugely disrupted by news promotion, commentary and sharing in online, social media (e.g., Twitter, Facebook, and Reddit). This disruption has been the subject of a significant literature that has largely used AI techniques – machine learning, text analytics and network models – to both (i) understand the factors underlying audience attention and news dissemination on social media (e.g., effects of popularity, type of day) and (ii) provide new tools/guidelines for journalists to better disseminate their news via these social media. This paper provides an integrative review of the literature on the professional reporting of news on Twitter; focusing on how journalists and news outlets use Twitter as a platform to disseminate news, and on the factors that impact readers’ attention and engagement with that news on Twitter. Using the precise definition of a news-tweet (i.e., divided into user, content and context features), the survey structures the literature to reveal the main findings on features affecting audience attention to news and its dissemination on Twitter. From this analysis, it then considers the most effective guidelines for digital journalists to better disseminate news in the future.     

Why do people lie online? “Because everyone lies on the internet”

In this study, we examined online deception across four different online venues (i.e., social media, online dating, anonymous chat rooms, and sexual websites) in a sample of 272 U.S. adults (average age = 32.22 years) recruited through Amazon’s MTurk. Few of the participants (16%–32%) reported that they were or would be always honest across these sites, and even fewer (0–2%) suspected that others were always honest in these different online venues. In terms of types of lie, most (55–90%) believed that others were at least sometimes lying about their age, gender, activities, interests, and appearance across the four online venues. Ninety percent expected others to lie at least sometimes about their appearance (most expected lie type) and 55% expected others to lie at least sometimes about their gender (least expected lie type). However, although they expected people to lie more about their gender on sites with more anonymity and invisibility (like anonymous chat rooms and sexual websites), they expected equal rates of lies about appearance across all four websites, even on sites where users provide pictures and have shared acquaintances. Moreover, perceptions of others’ lying behavior on the venue were more significant predictors of own lying behavior than any of the personal characteristics we measured (i.e., Machiavellianism, psychopathy, extraversion, or internet addiction). The importance of mutuality was further reinforced by qualitative comments that showed that, in addition to lying to look more attractive or for privacy or protection concerns, some people lie “because everyone lies on the internet.”     

Strength matters: Self-presentation to the strongest audience rather than lowest common denominator when faced with multiple audiences in social network sites

On social network sites (e.g. Facebook), individuals self-present to multiple audiences simultaneously 24 h a day. Prior research has inferred this results in a lowest common denominator effect (LCDE) whereby people constrain their online presentation to the standards of their strictest audience. However, this existing work neglects to address differences in the ‘value’ (social/economic) of the audience. Through the lens of self-presentation theory, we argue that it is not the strictest audience that constrains behavior but the strongest (i.e. that which has the highest score for standards and value combined). We call this the strongest audience effect (SAE). The aim of this research is to examine and contrast the LCDE and SAE. A survey of young Facebook users (n = 379) provides support for the SAE when compared to LCDE, with the strength of the strongest audience predicting behavioral constraint and also social anxiety. Additional insights are generated into which audiences are perceived as the strongest. This study contributes a novel and more holistic lens to understand self-presentation in the presence of multiple audiences in social network sites.     

The application of netnography to the online dating service experiences of female users

ABSTRACT

The primary purpose of online dating sites, a specialised form of social media, is to aid their users in finding love and making friends. However, while such sites are very popular, only limited research has been conducted to investigate the experiences of female dating site users. Moreover, the factors underlying the popularity of online dating sites have also yet to be fully clarified. Therefore, the current study utilised netnography and online interviews to explore the experiences of female dating site users, while also observing the physical travel paths of such users within the field. More specifically, the particular situational context of online dating was investigated through an approach that included the following three stages: the observation and collection of online data, participation in an active manner, and emergent design. The study’s key theoretical contribution is its establishment of a netnography model along with eight associated propositions. Overall, the study’s findings substantially illuminate the online dating site experiences of female site users.     

Content structure is king: An empirical study on gratifications,game genres and content type on Twitch

While video games have been widely investigated from the perspective of play, an emerging online media phenomenon is the spectating of video game play, captivating millions of users daily. This study investigates the relationship of video game genres, content type and viewer gratification in the context of live gaming. To study this phenomenon, we employ an online questionnaire study (N = 1097) to investigate six categories of gratifications: affective, information seeking, learning to play, personal integrative, social integrative & tension release motivations and their relationship with game genres and stream types. The results of this study demonstrate that “the medium is the message”, highlight the importance of archetypal structure (i.e. the type of streamed content) over content topic (i.e. the genre of games being streamed), and help to build a better understanding of user generated content and the democratization of media.     

Social media use,community participation and psychological well-being among individuals with serious mental illnesses

BackgroundLittle research exists on social media (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, etc.) use among individuals with serious mental illnesses (SMI). One particular question of interest is the extent to which online social media use is associated with these individuals' community participation, civic engagement and psychosocial outcomes.MethodsTwo-hundred and thirty-two individuals with SMI receiving services at 18 mental health organizations throughout the continental U.S. completed questionnaires on their community participation, civic engagement, quality of life, loneliness, and psychiatric symptoms. They were also asked which social media sites they used; the duration, frequency and importance of, and reasons for, social media use; and the number of contacts they had on social media.ResultsApproximately a third of the sample reported having at least one social media account. Greater frequency, intensity and longevity of social media were associated with higher levels of community participation, and greater intensity of social media use was positively associated with civic engagement. For instance, those who used social media at least 30 min a day had 16.4 more days of participation and voting rates that were higher by 17.4%. Social media use was not found to be significantly associated with loneliness, psychiatric symptoms or quality of life.Discussion and implicationsGreater social media use appears to be associated with greater community engagement without negative repercussions on loneliness, symptoms, or quality of life. Interventions that support social media use among individuals with SMI could have important community integration benefits.     

SOS on SNS: Adolescent distress on social network sites

Psychological distress and experiences of peer victimization and social rejection are common among adolescents. Nevertheless, the growing popularity of online Social Network Sites (SNS) among adolescents offers an unprecedented opportunity for early detection of adolescents' distress. This study examined the scope of, and the individual differences that may be associated with, distress sharing on SNS. A total of 413 adolescents (mean age = 15.42, 53.8% girls) completed three questionnaires assessing (a) social media usage, (b) distress sharing on SNS, and (c) feelings of social rejection. More than 15% of the sample shared personal distress and searched for help on SNS. Distress sharing did not differ between genders. Social rejection predicted distress sharing on SNS. Notably, social rejection and distress sharing were only associated among individuals with high social media use scores. Implications are discussed for early identification of adolescents' distress.     

Social media and online health services: A health empowerment perspective to online health information

This study investigates how differences in the use of online health information and social media affect the use of online health services. We attempt to predict the extent to which the use of social media and online health information prompt individuals to use online health services. We draw upon a combination of sociology and communication studies and integrate relational maintenance assumptions regarding the quality of online social relationships to promote the importance of health empowerment factors–socio-demographic characteristics, internet attitudes and health status models to predict the likelihood of using online health services. The study’s sample consists of 1406 individuals using the Internet, including 633 individuals using the Internet and social media to look for health information. The study’s results provide evidence that (a) online health information empowers most of the examined individuals to use online health services; (b) among all social media only those that offer consulting have a significant effect on the likelihood of using online health services. The implications of these findings support that a conceptual integration of CMC and social media use theories along with health empowerment assumptions, is a promising theoretical framework to test the effectiveness of social media use in prompting use of online health services. The practical applications for health management are highlighted as well. Finding practical and affordable ways to support the use of social media and encourage access to online health information and use of online health services could improve health literacy and self-management of health at the individual level and increase the efficiency in the provision of health services at the institutional level.     

Explaining personality and contextual differences in beneficial role of online versus offline social support: A moderated mediation model

With more than three billion “Netizens” worldwide, online social support obtained through social networking sites (SNS) has a pervasive influence on their users’ affective experiences. Social support generally fosters affective well-being, but such support can also threaten some recipients’ self-esteem that compromises their affective well-being. However, little is known of whether (a) this self-esteem threat varied by the mode (i.e., online vs. offline) of supportive interactions, and (b) such variations were explained by public self-consciousness across distinct modes of supportive interactions. A moderated mediation model was formulated to test these hypothesized personality and contextual differences using a quasi-experimental design. The results revealed that the mode of supportive interactions moderated the relationship between self-esteem and public self-consciousness, indicating that individuals higher in self-esteem are less likely to feel exposed to the potentially unfavorable evaluations in online (vs. offline) supportive interactions. Moreover, the results showed that the heightened levels of public self-consciousness explained the positive link between self-esteem and negative affect in offline but not online supportive interactions, providing further evidence that social support obtained through SNS is likely superior to that obtained through face-to-face interactions.     

Celebrity's self-disclosure on Twitter and parasocial relationships: A mediating role of social presence

This study investigated how celebrities' self-disclosure on personal social media accounts, particularly Twitter, affects fans' perceptions. An online survey was utilized among a sample of 429 celebrity followers on Twitter. Results demonstrated that celebrities' professional self-disclosure (e.g., sharing their work-related life), personal self-disclosure (e.g., sharing their personal life such as friends and family), and fans' retweeting behavior, enhanced fans’ feeling of social presence, thereby positively affecting parasocial interaction with celebrities. Further, the study found that the effects of self-disclosure and retweeting on parasocial interaction were mediated by social presence. Implications and future research directions are provided.     

Finding meaning in a celebrity’s death: The relationship between parasocial attachment,grief, and sharing educational health information related to Robin Williams on social network sites

Celebrity health events can have a positive effect on public health education and awareness, in part because people spread health information related to the celebrity on social network sites. This may be particularly true in the event of celebrity deaths or other tragedies, when social network sites provide a convenient, public space to connect with others to mourn. However, little is understood about the circumstances that encourage health information sharing following these events. Using a Mechanical Turk sample (N = 281), this study employed a questionnaire to examine the role of parasocial attachment to Robin Williams and experienced grief following his suicide in explaining health information sharing on social network sites (i.e., sharing information about clinical depression, suicide prevention, substance abuse treatment, and Parkinson’s disease). Grief mediated the effect of parasocial attachment on health information sharing, but a moderated mediation analysis revealed that grief motivated health education on social network sites only for individuals who were coping by trying to find positive meaning in his death.     

Sexual intensity of adolescents' online self-presentations: Joint contribution of identity,media consumption,and extraversion

Adolescents produce and distribute a vast quantity of digital media content. A growing literature examines the sexually explicit (i.e., nude) content that adolescents share online. Because adolescents' sexual content need not be sexually explicit, however, this study examined the sexual intensity with which adolescents choose to present themselves in the context of a social media platform. Exemplifying the variability of adolescents' online sexual self-presentations, survey participants (N = 265; age range: 13–15 years) constructed social media profiles using components (e.g., photos, fashion brands) that varied in sexual intensity. In accord with predictions drawn from the Media Practice Model, the study found that the sexual intensity of adolescents' online self-presentations is a product of the sexual self-concept, a relationship that is partially mediated by sexual media diet and moderated by extraversion. This study bridges emerging research on sexual self-presentation with established literature on adolescents' sexual media uses and effects.     

Social presence in relation to students' satisfaction and learning in the online environment: A meta-analysis

Social presence, the ability to perceive others in an online environment, has been shown to impact student motivation and participation, actual and perceived learning, course and instructor satisfaction, and retention in online courses; yet very few researchers have attempted to look across contexts, disciplinary areas, or measures of social presence. This meta-analysis allowed us to look across these variables of the primary studies and identify the pattern of student outcomes (e.g., perceived learning and satisfaction) in relation to social presence through scrutiny of differences between the studies. The results showed a moderately large positive average correlation between social presence and satisfaction (r = 0.56, k = 26) and social presence and perceived learning (r = 0.51, k = 26). Large variation among correlations (86.7% for satisfaction and 92.8% for perceived learning, respectively) also indicated systematic differences among these correlations due to online course settings. We found that (a) the strength of the relationship between social presence and satisfaction was moderated by the course length, discipline area, and scale used to measure social presence; and (b) the relationship between social presence and perceived learning was moderated by the course length, discipline area, and target audience of the course. Implications and future research are discussed.     

Perpetuating online sexism offline: Anonymity,interactivity, and the effects of sexist hashtags on social media

Sexism and sexual harassment are not uncommon in online environments such as social networking sites, forums, and video games. This experiment investigated whether users’ anonymity and level of interactivity with sexist content on social media influenced sexist attitudes and offline behavior. Participants (N = 172) used a Twitter account that was anonymous or had personally identifying details. They were asked to share (i.e., retweet) or write posts incorporating a sexist hashtag. After exposure, participants completed two purportedly unrelated tasks, a survey and a job hiring simulation in which they evaluated male and female candidates’ resumés. Anonymous participants reported greater hostile sexism after tweeting than nonanonymous participants. Participants who composed sexist tweets reported greater hostile sexism and ranked female job candidates as less competent than those who retweeted, although this did not significantly affect their likelihood to hire.     

#Gettinghealthy: The perceived influence of social media on young adult health behaviors

Young adults (18–25 years old) spend a majority of their waking hours with technology and young adulthood is an important developmental time period for establishing lasting health behaviors. Considering the relevance of technology and health during young adulthood the current study explored young adults (N = 34) perceptions of social media’s (e.g., social networking) influence on their health behaviors (i.e., diet and exercise) using a social ecological framework. Data was collected through eight focus groups and four individual interviews. Three themes were identified through phenomenological qualitative analysis. Young adults perceived that technology could be both a barrier and a motivator for exercise. Social media was also credited with expanding food choices through creating access to a variety of recipes, providing a venue for showcasing the food young adults eat or prepare, and distracting young adults from making positive food choices. Participants also reported that it is common to post statuses or pictures relating to exercise practices on social media during young adulthood. Young adults indicated that these posts could be inspirational or misused, depending on the context. Results are discussed in terms of theory and preliminary implications.     

Understanding and predicting individual retweeting behavior: Receiver perspectives

Individual retweeting behavior plays a fundamental role in information propagation on social media. While researchers have demonstrated the benefits of individual retweeting behavior to online retailers, a largely uninvestigated issue is the mechanism of individual retweeting behavior. Drawing on the social communication theory, we develop an integrated conceptual framework to investigate this issue. An analysis of a panel dataset, which consists of 440 valid users from Twitter.com across six years, indicates that all the major components of a social communication process have significant impacts on individual retweeting decision: (1) information source (e.g., source trustworthiness), (2) information richness of the stimuli (3) information receiver's topical preference, (4) relationship between the source and the receiver (e.g., social tie strength), and (5) contextual factors (e.g., bandwagon effect). Among them, social tie strength and topical relevance with the receiver are the most important factors, followed by information richness of the stimuli and bandwagon effect. However, information source-related factors have trivial impacts on individual retweeting decision. We reevaluate the ranking using multiple feature selection methods and confirm the ranking result. Prediction performance is carried out between the salient features and the full feature set. Finally, we discuss important implications for practice and future research directions.