scholarly journals Internet Users Engage More With Phatic Posts Than With Health Misinformation On Facebook

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manon Berriche ◽  
Sacha Altay

Social media like Facebook are harshly criticized for the propagation of health misinformation. Yet, little research has provided in-depth analysis of real-world data to measure the extent to which Internet users engage with it. This article examines 6.5 million interactions generated by 500 posts on an emblematic case of online health misinformation: the Facebook page Santé + Mag, which generates five times more interactions than the combination of the five best-established French media outlets. Based on the literature on cultural evolution, we tested whether the presence of cognitive factors of attraction, that tap into evolved cognitive preferences, such as information related to sexuality, social relations, threat, disgust or negative emotions, could explain the success of Santé + Mag’s posts. Drawing from media studies findings, we hypothesized that their popularity could be driven by Internet users’ desire to interact with their friends and family by sharing phatic posts (i.e. statements with no practical information fulfilling a social function such as “hello” or “sister, I love you”).We found that phatic posts were the strongest predictor of interactions, followed by posts with a positive emotional valence. While 50% of the posts were related to social relations, only 28% consisted of health misinformation. Despite its cognitive appeal, health misinformation was a negative predictor of interactions. Sexual contents negatively predicted interactions and other factors of attraction such as disgust, threat or negative emotions did not predict interactions. These results strengthen the idea that Facebook is first and foremost a social network used by people to foster their social relations, not to spread online misinformation. We encourage researchers working on misinformation to conduct finer-grained analysis of online contents and to adopt interdisciplinary approach to study the phatic dimension of communication, together with positive contents, to better understand the cultural evolution dynamics of social media.

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manon Berriche ◽  
Sacha Altay

Social media like Facebook are harshly criticized for the propagation of health misinformation. Yet, little research has provided in-depth analysis of real-world data to measure the scale of the phenomenon. This article examines an emblematic case of online health misinformation: the Facebook page Santé + Mag, which generates five times more interactions than the combination of the five best-established French media outlets. Based on the literature on cultural evolution, we hypothesized that its huge success can hardly be explained by the misleading nature of its content (H1) but rather by its diffusion of posts containing cognitive attractors that tap into evolved cognitive preferences, such as information related to sexuality, social relations, threat, disgust or negative emotions (H2-6). Drawing from media studies findings, suggesting that Facebook is primarily used to connect with friends and family, we hypothesized that the popularity of Santé + Mag could be driven by Internet users’ desire to strengthen their relationships by sharing phatic posts (i.e. statements with no practical information aiming at engaging or maintaining social interactions such as “hello”) (H7).To test these hypotheses, we examined 500 posts, along with their 6.5 million interactions and tracked the presence of misleading health contents, psychological attractors, and phatic posts. Our analyses showed that most posts were related to social relations, that only a quarter consisted of health misinformation, and that despite their emphasis on threat, they were negative predictors of interactions. Phatic posts, composed of short sentences such as “Sister I love you”, were the strongest predictor of interactions, followed by posts with a positive emotional valence. Sexual contents negatively predicted interactions and other cognitive attractors such as disgust, threat or negative emotional valence did not predict interactions. These results strengthen the idea that Facebook is first and foremost a social network used by people to foster their social relations, not to spread online misinformation. We encourage researchers working on disinformation to conduct finer-grained analysis of online contents and to adopt interdisciplinary approach to study the phatic dimension of communication, together with positive contents, to better understand the cultural evolution dynamics of social media.


2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tri Sanjaya ◽  
Iwan Joko Prasetyo

One type of social media is social networking sites that are currently very liked by internet users. Snapchat itself is an application that is used to instantly share messages (communicate), but in a unique way. The satisfaction of using social media as interpersonal communication media is obtained from how big the ability of social network in fulfilling requirement of its user is thing that want to be researched by researcher. This research uses descriptive research type with quantitative approach that is research which only describe situation or event. This study did not seek or explain the relationship, did not test the hypothesis or make predictions. In this research the sampling technique used is Stratified Random Sampling or random sampling stratification. From the tabulation data, it was found that male students were satisfied using snapchat with high cognitive and divergence (3.75), personal identity satisfaction (3.95), social relations satisfaction (3.98), then in the aspect motives for the use of snapchats, surveillance motives (3.84), personal identity motives (3.57), personal relationship motives (4.00), then entertainment motives (3.66). Keywords: Social media, snapchat, user satisfaction


Infoman s ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 115-124
Author(s):  
Yopi Hidayatul Akbar ◽  
Muhammad Agreindra Helmiawan

Social media is one of the information media that is currently widely used by several companies and personally to convey information, with the presence of social media companies no longer need to spread offers through print media, they can use information technology tools in this case social media to submit offers the products they sell to users globally through social media. This social media marketing technique is the process of reaching visits by internet users to certain sites or public attention through social media sites. Marketing activities using social media are usually centered on the efforts of a company to create content that attracts attention, thus encouraging readers to share the content through their social media networks. The application of the QMS method is certainly not only submitted through search engine webmasters, but also on a website keywords must be applied that relate to the contents of the website content, because with the keyword it will automatically attract visitors to the university website based on keyword phrases that they type in the search engine. With Search Media Marketing Technique (SMM) is one of the techniques that must be applied in conducting sales promotions, especially in car dealers in Bandung, it is considered important because each product requires price, feature and convenience socialization through social media so that sales traffic can increase. Each dealer should be able to apply the techniques of Social Media Marketing (SMM) well so that car sales can reach the expected target and provide profits for sales as car sellers in the field.


2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 60
Author(s):  
Ranny Rastati

In 2017 the majority of internet users are 19-34 years old or 49.52% (APJI, 2017). Almost half of the internet users in Indonesia are digital natives who were born after 1980: Generation Y (1980-1995) and Generation Z (1996-2009). This research will be focused on Generation Z as the true generation of the internet. Generation Z was born when the internet is available, a contrast to Generation Y who is still experiencing the transition of the internet. The purpose of this research is to find an effective way of providing information about media literacy to Generation Z. Through descriptive qualitative, the study was conducted with in-depth interview and observation toward 12 university students in Jakarta. The results showed that there are four effective ways of providing information about media literacy which is i) videos distributed to social media such as Youtube and Instagram, ii) interesting memes in communicative style, iii) through selebgram or micro-celebrity in Instagram who is consider as a role model and have a positive image, and iv) roadside billboards. Another interesting finding is that male informants tend to like media literacy information through videos and memes, while female informants prefer campaigns conducted by positive image selebgram and billboard. AbstrakPada tahun 2017 pengguna internet di Indonesia mayoritas berusia 19-34 tahun yaitu sebanyak 49,52% (APJI, 2017). Dari data tersebut terlihat bahwa hampir sebagian pengguna internet di Indonesia adalah digital natives atau penutur asli teknologi digital yaitu orang-orang yang lahir setelah tahun 1980: Generasi Y (1980-1995) dan Generasi Z (1996-2009). Penelitian ini akan difokuskan kepada Generasi Z karena mereka dianggap sebagai sebenar-benarnya generasi internet. Generasi Z lahir saat teknologi tersebut sudah tersedia, berbeda dengan Generasi Y yang masih mengalami transisi teknologi hingga menuju internet. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah mencari tahu cara yang efektif dalam memberikan informasi mengenai media literasi kepada generasi Z. Metode yang digunakan adalah deskriptif kualitatif dengan observasi dan wawancara mendalam. Informan berjumlah 12 orang mahasiswa di Jakarta. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa ada empat cara yang efektif dalam memberikan informasi mengenai media literasi yaitu i) video yang disebarkan ke media sosial seperti Youtube dan Instagram, ii) meme menarik dengan bahasa yang mudah dimengerti, iii) melalui selebgram yang menjadi panutan dan berimage positif, dan iv) papan iklan di pinggir jalan. Temuan menarik lainnya adalah informan laki-laki cenderung menyukai informasi media literasi melalui video dan meme yang disebarkan ke media sosial, sementara perempuan lebih menyukai kampanye yang dilakukan oleh selebgram berimage positif dan papan iklan.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 108
Author(s):  
Idoia Rúa Hidalgo ◽  
Maria Galmes-Cerezo ◽  
Carmen Cristofol-Rodríguez ◽  
Irene Aliagas

The ability of GIFs to generate emotionality in social media marketing strategies is analyzed. The aim of this work is to show how neuroscience research techniques can be integrated into the analysis of emotions, improving the results and helping to guide actions in social networks. This research is structured in two phases: an experimental study using automated biometric analysis (facial coding, GSR and eye tracking) and an analysis of declared feelings in the comments of Instagram users. Explicit valence, type of emotion, length of comment and proportion of emojis are extracted. The results indicate that the explicit measure of emotional valence shows a higher and more positive emotional level than the implicit one. This difference is influenced differently by the engagement and the proportion of emojis in the comment. A further step has been taken in the measurement of user emotionality in social media campaigns, including not only content analysis, but also providing new insights thanks to neuromarketing.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine C. Pollack ◽  
Diane Gilbert-Diamond ◽  
Jennifer A. Emond ◽  
Alec Eschholz ◽  
Rebecca K. Evans ◽  
...  

Abstract Influencer marketing may be amplified on livestreaming platforms (e.g., Twitch) compared with asynchronous social media (e.g., YouTube). However, food and beverage marketing on Twitch has not been evaluated at a user level. The present study aimed to compare users’ self-reported exposure to food marketing and associated attitudes, consumption and purchasing behaviours on Twitch compared with YouTube. A survey administered via social media was completed by 621 Twitch users (90 % male, 64 % white, 69 % under 25 years old). Of respondents, 72 % recalled observing at least one food or beverage advertisement on Twitch. There were significant differences in the recall of specific brands advertised on Twitch (P < 0⋅01). After observing advertised products, 14 % reported craving the product and 8 % reported purchasing one. In chat rooms, 56 % observed conversations related to food and 25 % participated in such conversations. There were significant differences in the number of users who consumed various products while watching Twitch (P < 0⋅01). Of users who frequented YouTube (n 273), 65 % reported negative emotions when encountering advertising on YouTube compared with 40 % on Twitch (P < 0⋅01). A higher proportion felt Twitch's advertising primarily supported content creators (79 v. 54 %, P < 0⋅01), while a higher proportion felt that YouTube's advertising primarily supported the platform (49 v. 66 %, P < 0⋅01). The findings support that food marketing exposures on Twitch are noticeable, less bothersome to users and influence consumption and purchasing behaviours. Future studies are needed to examine how the livestreaming environment may enhance advertising effectiveness relative to asynchronous platforms.


Author(s):  
Yuming Zhang ◽  
Fan Yang

Companies use corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosures to communicate their social and environmental policies, practices, and performance to stakeholders. Although the determinants and outcomes of CSR activities are well understood, we know little about how companies use CSR communication to manage a crisis. The few relevant CSR studies have focused on the pressure on corporations exerted by governments, customers, the media, or the public. Although investors have a significant influence on firm value, this stakeholder group has been neglected in research on CSR disclosure. Grounded in legitimacy theory and agency theory, this study uses a sample of Chinese public companies listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange to investigate CSR disclosure in response to social media criticism posted by investors. The empirical findings show that investors’ social media criticism not only motivates companies to disclose their CSR activities but also increases the substantiveness of their CSR reports, demonstrating that companies’ CSR communication in response to a crisis is substantive rather than merely symbolic. We also find that the impact of social media criticism on CSR disclosure is heterogeneous. Non-state-owned enterprises, companies in regions with high levels of environmental regulations, and companies in regions with local government concern about social issues are most likely to disclose CSR information and report substantive CSR activities. We provide an in-depth analysis of corporate CSR strategies for crisis management and show that crises initiated by investors on social media provide opportunities for corporations to improve their CSR engagement.


2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 205630512110249
Author(s):  
Jamie Wong ◽  
Crystal Lee ◽  
Vesper Keyi Long ◽  
Di Wu ◽  
Graham M. Jones

This article describes how the Chinese state borrows from the culture of celebrity fandom to implement a novel strategy of governing that we term “fandom governance.” We illustrate how state-run social media employed fandom governance early in the COVID-19 pandemic when the country was convulsed with anxiety. As the state faced a crisis of confidence, state social media responded with a propagandistic display of state efficacy, broadcasting a round-the-clock livestream of a massive emergency hospital construction project. Chinese internet users playfully embellished imagery from the livestream. They unexpectedly transformed the construction vehicles into cute personified memes, with Baby Forklift and Baby Mud Barfer (a cement mixer) among the most popular. In turn, state social media strategically channeled this playful engagement in politically productive directions by resignifying the personified vehicles as celebrity idols. Combining social media studies with cultural and linguistic anthropology, we offer a processual account of the semiotic mediations involved in turning vehicles into memes, memes into idols, and citizens into fans. We show how, by embedding cute memes within modules of fandom management such as celebrity ranking lists, state social media rendered them artificially vulnerable to a fall in status. Fans, in turn, rallied around to “protect” these cute idols with small but significant acts of digital devotion and care, organizing themselves into fan circles and exhorting each other to vote. In elevating the memes to the status of celebrity idols, state social media thereby created a disposable pantheon of virtual avatars for the state, and consolidated state power by exploiting citizens’ voluntary response to vulnerability. We analyze fandom governance as a new development in the Chinese state’s long history of governing citizens through the management of emotion.


Author(s):  
Lukasz D. Kaczmarek ◽  
Todd B. Kashdan ◽  
Maciej Behnke ◽  
Martyna Dziekan ◽  
Ewelina Matuła ◽  
...  

AbstractWhen individuals communicate enthusiasm for good events in their partners' lives, they contribute to a high-quality relationship; a phenomenon termed interpersonal capitalization. However, little is known when individuals are more ready to react enthusiastically to the partner's success. To address this gap, we examined whether positive and negative emotions boost or inhibit enthusiastic responses to partner's capitalization attempts (RCA). Participants (N = 224 individuals) responded to their partner's success. Before each capitalization attempt (operationalized as responses following the news that their partner won money in a game), we used video clips to elicit positive (primarily amusement) or negative (primarily anger) or neutral emotions in the responder. We recorded emotional valence, smiling intensity, verbal RCA, and physiological reactivity. We found indirect (but not direct) effects such that eliciting positive emotions boosted and negative emotions inhibited enthusiastic RCA (smiling intensity and enthusiastic verbal RCA). These effects were relatively small and mediated by emotional valence and smiling intensity but not physiological reactivity. The results offer novel evidence that positive emotions fuel the capitalization process.


2021 ◽  
pp. 194016122110091
Author(s):  
Magdalena Wojcieszak ◽  
Ericka Menchen-Trevino ◽  
Joao F. F. Goncalves ◽  
Brian Weeks

The online environment dramatically expands the number of ways people can encounter news but there remain questions of whether these abundant opportunities facilitate news exposure diversity. This project examines key questions regarding how internet users arrive at news and what kinds of news they encounter. We account for a multiplicity of avenues to news online, some of which have never been analyzed: (1) direct access to news websites, (2) social networks, (3) news aggregators, (4) search engines, (5) webmail, and (6) hyperlinks in news. We examine the extent to which each avenue promotes news exposure and also exposes users to news sources that are left leaning, right leaning, and centrist. When combined with information on individual political leanings, we show the extent of dissimilar, centrist, or congenial exposure resulting from each avenue. We rely on web browsing history records from 636 social media users in the US paired with survey self-reports, a unique data set that allows us to examine both aggregate and individual-level exposure. Visits to news websites account for about 2 percent of the total number of visits to URLs and are unevenly distributed among users. The most widespread ways of accessing news are search engines and social media platforms (and hyperlinks within news sites once people arrive at news). The two former avenues also increase dissimilar news exposure, compared to accessing news directly, yet direct news access drives the highest proportion of centrist exposure.


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