Examining the roles of social media and alternative media in social movement participation: A study of Hong Kong’s Umbrella Movement

During the recent wave of pro-democracy movement across the world, new media technologies play a vital role in mobilizing participants. Much scholarly attention has been paid to the role of social media in empowering grassroots movements, but the rise of alternative media was somehow ignored. This study examines the impacts of social media and alternative media on social movement participation. The data came from a survey of 769 students from eight public universities in Hong Kong at the height of the Umbrella Movement. The findings revealed that acquisition of political information from social media and alternative media is associated with social movement participation through different mechanisms. Specifically, social media serve as an echo chamber where people are motivated to participate by perceiving a homogeneous opinion climate and forming a pro-protest attitude. In contrast, alternative media serve as an attitude intensifier to facilitate social movement participation.     

Functions and roles of social media in media transformation in China: A case study of “@CCTV NEWS”

Social media has transformed how traditional media is used and viewed in China. Many traditional media companies are utilizing social media platforms such as WeChat, Weibo (Micro Blog), and Cellphone-Applications to expand their influence. But how has social media contributed to the transformation process of traditional mainstream media in China? Did they push the reform in both deep level and superficial level? We attempts to find the answers by taking CCTV (China’s state media) as the subject of research and explore the social factors that facilitated China’s traditional media’s transformation process, the traditional media’s achievements, as well as the challenges during this period.The paper consists of six parts. In the first part, we had a literature review, and elaborated on terms included in this paper. In the second part, we gave an general introduction to different development periods of CCTV station, CCTV News programs and CCTV’s social media transformation. In the third part, we analyzed the factors that encouraged CCTV to take the strategy of transformation, which are also urging other mainstream media companies in China to take the same steps. In the fourth part, we looked into the achievements the media companies made during the transformation period. Afterwards, the deficiencies and limitations in the transformation process are also analyzed. Finally, we drew conclusions that in the process of transformation, social media plays an important role in superficial reform while attaining very limited achievements in the fundamental level. There is still a long way to go in order to accomplish the all-round integration with new media.The thesis utilizes in-depth interviews, content analysis and literature review as methods of research. It is worth mentioning that this paper is based on first-hand data retrieved from the New Media Department of CCTV News Center.     

Does social media use really make people politically polarized? Direct and indirect effects of social media use on political polarization in South Korea

To help inform the debate over whether social media is related to political polarization, we investigated the effects of social media use on changes in political view using panel data collected in South Korea (N?=?6411) between 2012 and 2016. We found that, although there were no direct effects of social media use, social media indirectly contributed to polarization through increased political engagement. Those who actively used social network sites were more likely to engage in political processes, which led them to develop more extreme political attitudes over time than those who did not use social network sites. In particular, we observed a clear trend toward a more liberal direction among both politically neutral users and moderately liberal users. In this study, we highlight the role of social media in activating political participation, which eventually pushes the users toward the ideological poles. The implications of these findings are discussed.     

Does enterprise social media usage make the employee more productive? A meta-analysis

In recent years, with the ability to facilitate knowledge sharing, information exchange, and work collaboration, enterprise social media (ESM) has been widely embraced by business leaders to improve job performance. However, with the deepening of empirical research and practice, ESM usage has also been found to yield various negative outcomes, such as information overload, privacy invasion, turnover intention, and work-life conflict. Ultimately, these negative outcomes will be reflected in a decline in job performance. Given this inconsistent result, this study presents a meta-analysis of the relations between ESM usage and job performance as described in previous empirical literature. The results indicate that there is a significant positive correlation between ESM usage and job performance, subject to several moderators. Specifically, different types of job performance have a moderating effect on the relations between ESM usage and job performance, and the effect of innovation performance and agility performance is greater than that of in-role performance. Samples with a high proportion of females showed stronger effects of ESM usage on job performance, whereas samples with a high proportion of managers showed stronger effects. Moreover, samples from developed countries showed higher effects of ESM usage on job performance than those from developing countries. These findings hold several implications for related theoretical research and business management practices.     

Who won the social media March Madness bracket? Demand shifters for Twitter followers

Social media has become an essential set of platforms for sport teams and organizations to engage, interact, and connect with their fan bases. From an analytic approach to fan demand for sport tournaments, the authors examined the demand shifters motivating fans to follow social media accounts within the context of the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Men's Basketball Championship. Changes in the number of followers of participating teams’ Twitter accounts were tracked daily during the tournament as a proxy for fan interest and demand. Independent variables regarding game performance, previous performance, and school performance were analyzed in a regression model. The findings indicated that, during the tournament, fans' social media following behavior was different from the behavior during the regular season games. Further, there were shifts in fans’ social media following behavior in the advanced rounds compared to earlier rounds in a tournament setting. A tournament setting has certain unique attributes that can arouse new consumers' interests, and thus practitioners can tailor their content to appeal to fans, increase follower interaction and reach, and provide better content to maintain the followership gains moving forward, using tournament settings.     

Cross-group or within-group attention flow? Exploring the amplification process among elite users and social media publics in Sina Weibo

As one of the most important forms of communicative behavior, retweeting enhances the importance or visibility of a particular object in social media. Conceptualizing retweeting as a process of amplification, this study examines how attention to a particular set of issues may be increased by the actions of verified users or social media publics on the largest Chinese microblogging website, Sina Weibo. The Granger-causality test was applied to analyze the sequential linkage between original posts and retweets by different user groups across days 1 to 14. The results show that verified users’ original posts on unobtrusive issues triggered related retweets only in their own network, while social media publics’ original posts on both unobtrusive and obtrusive issues triggered related retweets within their own group. In addition, the results demonstrate that amplification of different types of issue exhibits systematically different temporalities, that is, the response to obtrusive issues is more immediate and ephemeral than that response to unobtrusive issues. The findings highlight the possibilities and limitations of grassroots empowerment through social media in China, and provide meso-level evidence about the complex issue of attention flows in social media – whether bottom-up or top-down.     

Network enforcement as denunciation endorsement? A critical study on legal enforcement in social media

Facing the increasing prevalence of hate speech and other personality rights violations on social media, the legislature tries to improve the law enforcement by involving the social media companies. In 2017, the German Bundestag passed a new law, the Network Enforcement Act (NetzDG), which requires website owners to review the content published on their pages upon it being reported by users and to remove it as soon as possible in the event of a breach of the law. This forces social media operators to establish efficient reporting systems which can create breeding grounds for user denunciation. To get an overview of whether this is really the case, we briefly discuss state surveillance and denunciation and analyse the statistics of content blockings and deletions in five countries (USA, Germany, United Kingdom, Russia and Turkey). In Germany the number of blockings and deletions of content has risen for Facebook, Twitter and YouTube due to the NetzDG, but it has also been found that the majority of reports were unjustified as they did not lead to any restriction or deletion of the content. When comparing the German numbers with those of the other countries investigated, it becomes apparent that after the introduction of the NetzDG in Germany, more content is being blocked and deleted. Also, a comparison of the various laws regulating online content in these countries was conducted. It was found that not only Germany has tightened the regulation of online content and that other countries are also trying to transform the Internet into a more hate free environment.     

Research on Chinese social media users’ communication behaviors during public emergency events

In recent years, China has been in a period of social transition. Public emergency events have occurred frequently, and social media have developed rapidly. Social media users in China not only represent traditional audiences but also play an increasingly important role in crisis communication during public emergency events by expressing their views, discussing events with others and sharing information both online and offline. According to national telephone survey data from China, nearly two-thirds of the respondents engaged in communication behaviors during public emergency events, and more than forty percent of those users communicated by social media. Hundreds of millions of Chinese social media users are becoming the driving force of the public opinion field. To better understand social media users’ online information dissemination behaviors and influencing factors, we developed the hierarchical logistic regression model and observed that demographic variables (gender and age), social media use, people’s concerns regarding public emergencies and people’s need to monitor the government’s performance during public emergencies significantly influence online information dissemination behaviors. Our study has practical significance and academic value for understanding the online public opinion field and online political participation in China.     

How compulsive WeChat use and information overload affect social media fatigue and well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic? A stressor-strain-outcome perspective

Social media has been increasingly utilized as an effective avenue for individuals to obtain needed social support and health-related information, especially during the on-going global COVID-19 pandemic. However, surprisingly few empirical studies have concentrated on the detrimental impact of social media adoption on young adults’ psychosocial well-being and mental health. Drawing upon previous stressor-strain-outcome theoretical paradigm (SSO), the present research investigates how psychosocial well-being assessments, especially compulsive WeChat use and information overload could trigger social media fatigue and, furthermore, how social media fatigue would ultimately result in emotional stress and social anxiety. This article utilized the cross-sectional design whereby statistical data were collected from 566 young people to test the conceptual research model. This research results demonstrate that perceived information overload through WeChat could significantly trigger social media fatigue among young people. Moreover, perceived information overload could indirectly predict emotional stress and social anxiety through the mediation of social media fatigue. This present work has vital theoretical and practical implications for widespread adoption of newly emerging communication technologies to enhance mental health and well-being among younger generation during recent public health crises.     

Are female users equally active? An empirical study of the gender imbalance in Korean online news commenting

Because online news is pervasive and online comments provide space for people to express their opinions and participate in open discussions, they affect public opinion. However, at least in Korea, male users seem not only to be more active in consuming online news but also in commenting online. Many previous studies have investigated the gender imbalance in news consumption of not only traditional media but also online media. Although a few studies explored gender differences in online comments on news, no study has investigated such gender differences using actual data on the basic profiles of commenters. To fill the gap between previous studies and reality and address the gender imbalance in online news comments and public opinion, this study examined the differences between male and female online news commenters. Furthermore, using actual data provided by Naver, the dominant Internet portal in Korea, this study analyzed the characteristics of female news commenters and those of news content where female users most actively commented. This study found that—at least in Korea—fewer women comment on news, they are less active than men, and that there is a difference between younger and older women. This study also found that people write more comments in a day as their age increases and the gender differences decrease with age.     

Understanding publics’ post-crisis social media engagement behaviors: An examination of antecedents and mediators

This study examines the psychological mechanisms underlying the process that enables publics’ individual differences (e.g., the levels of uncertainty avoidance and social media usage) to give rise to varying post-crisis social media engagement intentions (e.g., information seeking, support seeking, and negative word-of-mouth). The study confirms that this process is serially mediated by perceived threat severity, perceived susceptibility, and negative emotions. These psychological mediators, however, function differently between uncertainty avoidance and social media usage. For uncertainty avoidance, a high arousal negative emotion (e.g., anger, fear) is a more essential step to influence engagement intentions than a low arousal emotion (e.g., shame, guilt). For social media usage, however, the type of aroused negative emotions does not matter. Rather, the relationship social media usage has with information seeking is different from that with support seeking and negative word-of-mouth intentions. Social media usage induces information seeking intentions only through publics’ cognitive appraisals of the situation without the activation of negative emotions, while it induces supporting seeking and negative word-of-mouth intentions through both cognitive appraisals and negative emotion arousals.     

How does social media change Chinese political culture? The formation of fragmentized public sphere

Social media promotes a broad discussion about the contemporary public sphere in China. Analyzing the relationship between social media and democratic politics in the unique context of China helps us to rethink a metamorphosis of Habermas’s public sphere model. The study supports the idea that the online public sphere more often than not transforms into a fragmentized formation of the multiple tensions between participatory democracy, journalism transformation and governmental authority. It may be difficult, under a single theoretical framework of civil society, to map out the complexities in Chinese social media. The key point is how a fragmentized structure of the public sphere has been integrated in the power game process of achieving consensus. Based on the special Internet policies and political environment in China, the implication of public sphere theory in Chinese social media is reconsidered.     

Does excessive social media use decrease subjective well-being? A longitudinal analysis of the relationship between problematic use,loneliness and life satisfaction

Current literature suggests problematic social media use (PSMU) predicts reduced social and psychological well-being. Lonely people are more prone to experience the negative outcomes of PSMU, but only few studies have focused explicitly on how loneliness affects the relationship between PSMU and subjective well-being experiences. In this paper, we examine if loneliness influences the association between PSMU and life satisfaction. We used nationally representative cross-sectional data from Finnish social media users (N = 2991) and follow-up panel data (N = 2021). First, we tested if PSMU affects satisfaction with life indirectly through loneliness while controlling for a set of background variables. Next, we examined whether changes in PSMU and loneliness affect life satisfaction over time. First analyses showed that PSMU was associated with life satisfaction negatively, but the effect was largely confounded by loneliness. Longitudinal analysis revealed increased PSMU did not predict decreased satisfaction with life within individuals, but increased PSMU predicted increased loneliness, and increased loneliness predicted decreased satisfaction with life. The analyses indicate that loneliness is a crucial element that contributes to the relationship between PSMU and life satisfaction. In addition, earlier observations that PSMU might increase loneliness over time were confirmed.     

Why do people access news with mobile devices? Exploring the role of suitability perception and motives on mobile news use

Using self-reported survey data (N = 281), the present study explores the structural relationships among mobile users’ perceptions of the suitability of two types of mobile news (political feature news and entertainment news), users’ motivations for mobile news usage, and their behavioral patterns. Our findings show that two types of perceived suitability for mobile news, particularly for political feature news, are strongly associated with all dimensions of motivations for mobile news usage. Furthermore, as predicted, our findings show that the information-seeking motive is the very factor that determines mobile news usage. The results also reveal that the accessibility motive mediates the relationship between the perceived suitability of obtaining news via a mobile device and users’ mobile news behavior. However, contrary to our expectation, the social utility motive does not mediate the relationship between users’ perceptions of the suitability of mobile devices for this purpose and their mobile news usage. Finally, the information-seeking and accessibility motives each have an indirect effect on the association between perceived suitability and mobile news usage. The implications of the study and recommendations for future research are also discussed.     

Does social capital matter to the Millennials? Social capital and user engagements in online video platforms

User engagements in video platforms are considered critical for not only businesses in measuring attention, but also for understanding social, cultural dynamics of a form of information platform that has increasingly become influential. For instance, different generations may perceive and engage in online video platforms differently. This study investigates various factors influencing online video platform user engagements in the forms of showing empathy (e.g., “like”), commenting, and sharing. In addition to traditional motivational factors informed by the uses and gratification theory, the study explores how perception of video platforms as social platforms play a mediating role and whether such effects are moderated by generation. A moderated mediation model positing mediating role of social capital and moderating role of generational difference tested against the three types of engagement. Results indicate intriguing generational effect between the Generation X and the Millennials on social capital’s role in online video platform engagement.     

Do social media matter? The effects of information seeking on COVID-19 psychological and behavioral processes

With the evolution of media technologies, social media have developed as a means to purposive and incidental use and subsequent benefits and detriments. This study investigates how individuals’ use of information via social media helps them achieve psychological and behavioral advances in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. This study’s novelty lies in its positioning of social media information seeking (SMIS) as a precursor to the staged behavioral processes of the Theory of Planned Behavior. This novel extension entails the testing of a conceptual model of the influence of SMIS on three psychological factors (i.e., attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control), which, in turn, predict behavioral intention. It implements cross-sectional data from a survey of adults in New York City in 2020 (N = 1,021). The structural equation models were well-fitting and generally validated by the data, including the posited two steps from SMIS to psychological factors to behavioral intention. Structural equation modeling underscores the role of SMIS as a core driver of wearing a facemask, with positive effects on attitudes and perceived behavioral control and subsequent mediated positive effects on behavioral intention. In terms of sheltering in place, there was evidence of positive effects of SMIS on perceived behavioral control and, in turn, from the three psychological factors to behavioral intention, but the mediation role of the psychological factors was weaker in this model. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

Does the digital divide matter? Factors and conditions that promote ICT literacy

Individuals’ computer skills have long been noteworthy for both education and the labor market. Although the support provided through curricula in schools develops these skills to a certain extent, digital divide still exists for individuals with different socio-demographic characteristics. The concept of digital divide, used to define individuals who do not have equal access to digital technologies, has started to be seen as a determining factor for digital competencies with its expanding scope. The current study aims to take a perspective to investigate the effect of socio-demographic variables, which may cause digital divide, on students' ICT literacy. With this study, it is sought to explain the effect of current inequalities regarding digital access on students' ICT skills. To this end, the socio-demographic characteristics of the students in the sample of Korea and Chile from the participating countries of the International Computer and Information Literacy Study (ICILS) were examined in the context of ICT literacy. The characteristics of the models created were compared for both countries. While parents’ level of education variable stands out for the Chilean model, the internet connection variable is remarkable for the Korean model. It is anticipated that the findings of the research will contribute to understanding the dynamics of the digital divide and its possible consequences, and can be a source for preventive policy steps to be developed.     

The media use of American youngsters in the age of narcissism : Surviving in a 24/7 media shock and awe – distracted by everything

Digital life in the age of nonstop connection is not easy, especially not for the so-called Millennials, youngsters born after 1980. Research findings, such as the recently released comprehensive reports by the Kaiser Family Foundation and Pew Foundation, highlight that media are among the most powerful forces in young people’s lives today. Eight- to twenty-somethings in the US spend more than 50 h in front of a screen each week. That is more than a regular working week. The TV shows they watch, video games they play, songs they listen to, books they read, text messages they send and websites they visit are an enormous part of their lives, offering a constant stream of messages about families, peers, relationships, gender roles, sex, violence, food, values, clothes, and so on.     

Participation – In what? Radio,convergence and the corporate logic of audience input through new media in Zambia

Recent literature has pointed to the way in which new media such as the internet and mobile phones have the capacity to enable more participatory and interactive communication, either through user-generated content or through a broader participation of audiences in mainstream media’s content production. This potential is celebrated even more in contexts in which there is deemed to be a lack of political accountability or limited consultation of citizens by government. This article investigates the extent to which new technologies have changed the quality of audience participation in radio content production in Zambia. Engaging with literature on participation in media studies as well as development studies and based on interviews with station managers, producers and presenters of six radio stations in Zambia, the article examines both the opportunities and limits of the use of internet and mobile phones in audience participation. It argues that there is a need to situate these practices within a broader corporate logic in which participation is not merely about adding more voices but also feeds into radio stations’ commercial strategies of increasing revenue and accessing personal data of listeners through SMS and social media.     

Understanding the impacts of Internet use on senior Citizens’ social participation in China: Evidence from longitudinal panel data

Scholars have appealed to build a digitally inclusive society to include senior citizens. However, conclusions on the impacts of Internet use on senior citizens’ social participation are divided. In order to address the above issue, this study addresses two questions: 1) how Internet use is related to senior citizens’ social participation; and 2) what the specific impacts of Internet use are on different subgroups’ social participation. We aim to understand the specific impacts of Internet use on senior citizens’ social participation meanwhile explore the reasons causing the abovementioned inconsistence in prior studies. We ran different panel regression models to address these questions based on a dataset drawn from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study. Our empirical results indicate that seniors who are Internet users have higher social participation than those who do not use the Internet even after controlling out other influencing factors; however, frequent Internet use leads to less social participation among senior citizens. For senior citizens with higher cognitive functioning, both using Internet or not and the frequency of Internet use lead to more social participation. Both using Internet or not and the frequency of Internet use cause senior citizens with pensions to engage in fewer social activities. For female senior citizens, frequent Internet use leads to lower social participation. These findings suggest that government and communities should improve digital infrastructures and offer senior citizens more opportunities to access the Internet; meanwhile, local communities, social workers, and family members should direct senior citizens to use the Internet in a reasonable manner.