Retiring the Flip Phones: Exploring Social Media Use for Managing Public Health Incidents

2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 859-867
Author(s):  
Yasmin Khan ◽  
Shannon Tracey ◽  
Tracey O’Sullivan ◽  
Effie Gournis ◽  
Ian Johnson

ABSTRACTObjective:Communication is essential during public health emergencies and incidents. This research aimed to understand current uses and challenges for public health agencies using social media during these incidents.Methods:An exploratory, qualitative study was conducted using the structured interview matrix facilitation technique. Focus groups were held with professionals from local public health agencies across Ontario, Canada. Representation from different geographic regions was sought to capture differences in participant experience. An inductive approach to content analysis was used to identify emergent themes.Results:A diverse group of public health professionals (n = 36) participated. Six themes were identified. Social media is identified as a communication tool used to expand reach of messages, to engage in dialogue with the public, and to inform the scope of potential incidents. Barriers to its use include hesitancy to adapt, lack of trust and credibility, and organizational structure and capacity constraints. Key strategies proposed to promote social media use and address barriers resulted from participant discussions and are presented.Conclusion:Social media use is highly variable across public health agencies in Ontario. This study identifies and provides strategies to address barriers and practice gaps related to public health agencies’ use of social media during emergencies.

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Staci L Benoit ◽  
Rachel F. Mauldin

Abstract Background Social media use has become a mainstay of communication and with that comes the exchange of factual and non-factual information. Social media has given many people the opportunity to speak their opinions without repercussions and create coalitionS of like-minded people. This also has led to the development of a community know as anti-vaxxers or vaccine deniers. This research explores the extent to which vaccine knowledge has reached on social media. Methods This cross sectional research explored the relationship between the spread of information regarding vaccines in relation to social media use. A sample of 2515 people over the age of 18 around the world completed the survey via a link distributed on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. A series of questions on vaccine knowledge and beliefs were compounded to create an individual’s “knowledge score” and a “belief score”. Knowledge scores were ranked from low knowledge to high knowledge with increasing scores. Belief scores were ranked from belief in myths to disbelief in myths with higher scores. This score was then analysed, using a Welch test and post hoc testing when applicable, across demographics and questions relating to social media use. Results Significant relations were found in both the knowledge and belief categories, many of which were similar findings between the two. North Americans had significantly lower knowledge and belief scores compared to all other continents. While the majority of people primarily use Facebook, Twitter users were significantly more knowledgeable. It was also found that higher education was correlated with higher knowledge and belief scores. Conclusions Overall, these correlations are important in determining ways to intervene into the anti-vax movement through the use of social media. Cross demographics were not analysed in this study but could be in future studies. To better understand the social media exposures related to vaccine information a follow up structured interview research study would be beneficial. Note that due to the cross sectional nature of this study, causal relationships could not be made.


2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 276
Author(s):  
Keyda Sara Risdyanti ◽  
Andi Tenri Faradiba ◽  
Aisyah Syihab

Sampel dalam penelitian ini berjumlah 254 remaja dalam rentang usia 12-22 tahun, dengan metode pengambilan Media sosial menjadi alat komunikasi sehari-hari bagi remaja masa kini. Kemudahan mengakses media sosial membentuk remaja memiliki keterikatan dengan akun media sosialnya. Perilaku ini memunculkan adanya dampak negatif bagi remaja, baik itu bagi dirinya sendiri maupun diluar dirinya, seperti merusak hubungan sosial dengan orang lain maupun mengganggu pendidikan remaja secara tidak langsung. Hanya saja, pemicu penggunaan media sosial yang tidak sehat ini, diakibatkan karena adanya kekhawatiran memiliki hubungan yang terputus dengan orang-orang disekitarnya. Maka dari itu, penelitian ini bertujuan untuk melihat seberapa besar peranan yang dimiliki oleh fear of missing out (FOMO) terhadap problematic social media use (PSMU). sampel berbasis internet melalui volunteer (opt in) panel. Fear of Missing Out scale sebagai alat pengukuran untuk FOMO, sedangkan Social Media Use Questionnaire digunakan untuk mengukur PSMU. Hasil penelitian memiliki signifikansi secara positif (0,00>0,05), yang artinya semakin tinggi seseorang dalam memiliki perasaan takut, cemas, gelisah maupun khawatir bila tidak ikut terlibat dalam kegiatan sosial bersama orang disekitarnya, ia akan cenderung semakin memiliki keterikatan dengan media sosialnya hingga menimbulkan konsekuensi negatif bagi dirinya. Hasil juga menunjukan adanya sejumlah peranan yang diberikan oleh fear of missing out kepada problematic social media use sebesar 35,8%, sedangkan sisanya dipengaruhi oleh faktor lain. Social media has become the regular communication tool for today's youth. Ease of access media forms attachment of adolescents to their social media accounts. This behavior gives rise to negative impacts for adolescents, both for themselves and their surroundings, such as damaging social relationships with others and indirectly disrupting their education. Unhealthy use of social media is caused by fears of ruining relationships with people around them. Therefore, this study aims to see the extent to which the role of the fear of missing out (FOMO) affects problematic social media use (PSMU). The sample in this study amounted to 254 adolescents between 12-22 years age range, with internet-based sampling methods through volunteer (opt in) panels. The Fear of Missing Out scale is a measurement tool for FOMO, while the Social Media Use Questionnaire was used to measure PSMU. The result of the study indicated positive significance (0.00> 0.05), which means that the more a person is having feelings of fear, anxiety, or worry when not involved in social activities with people around them, they tend to have more attachment to the media social which in turn, causes negative consequences for them. The result also showed a number of influence by the fear of missing out to the problematic social media use as much as 35.8%, while the rest were influenced by other factors. 


2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 47
Author(s):  
Ntongha Eni Ikpi ◽  
Veronica Akwenabuaye Undelikwo

The use of social media platforms has over the years become a veritable tool for individuals, groups, institutions and corporate bodies for the promotion of health and wellness. In recent times, social media has become one of the most potent agents of the media through which health issues are addressed as well as generated and disseminated to different populations in society. The study was conducted to examine social media use and students’ health lifestyle modification in the University of Calabar, Nigeria. It sought to determine the extent to which students’ use of social media (Facebook, Twitter, and WhatsApp) influences the modification of their health-related lifestyles such as eating habits, sexual behaviour, cigarette and alcohol consumption, drug use and the engagement in fitness activities. The study adopted a randomized descriptive survey design and used a sample of 300 undergraduate students. The questionnaire was the main instrument used for collection of data while simple percentages and means were used to determine the difference between the expected mean of 2.50 and the observed means across various items in the questionnaire. The results showed that apart from Twitter, social media use by University of Calabar students has significantly influenced the modification of their health lifestyles. Since social media has become a veritable tool for the promotion of positive health lifestyle, effort should be made by government through the health sector to create more awareness among students and the entire population of social media users, on the health benefits accruing from use of social media.


Author(s):  
Yogesh K. Dwivedi ◽  
Elvira Ismagilova ◽  
Nripendra P. Rana ◽  
Ramakrishnan Raman

AbstractSocial media plays an important part in the digital transformation of businesses. This research provides a comprehensive analysis of the use of social media by business-to-business (B2B) companies. The current study focuses on the number of aspects of social media such as the effect of social media, social media tools, social media use, adoption of social media use and its barriers, social media strategies, and measuring the effectiveness of use of social media. This research provides a valuable synthesis of the relevant literature on social media in B2B context by analysing, performing weight analysis and discussing the key findings from existing research on social media. The findings of this study can be used as an informative framework on social media for both, academic and practitioners.


2017 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 194-209 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Schlagwein ◽  
Monica Hu

In this paper, we examine the relation between social media use and the absorptive capacity of organisations. Over the past 10 years, many organisations have systematically adopted social media. Trade press and consulting companies often claim that the systematic use of social media increases the performance of organisations. However, such claims are typically neither empirically grounded nor theoretically examined. In this paper, based on key informant interviews at 20 organisations, we examine these claims empirically and theoretically. Firstly, we examine the ways in which social media are used by organisations. We identify five different social media use types that support different organisational purposes (broadcast, dialogue, collaboration, knowledge management and sociability). Secondly, we analyse how these five social media use types relate to organisations' absorptive capacity. We find that particular social media use types (e.g., dialogue) support organisations' absorptive capacity and, ultimately, their performance although others (e.g., sociability) do not.


Author(s):  
Abinet Arega Sadore ◽  
Demelash Woldeyohannes Handiso ◽  
Tekle Ejajo Wontamo ◽  
Dejene Ermias Mekango ◽  
Sisay Moges

Abstract Background: Infection with coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has become a severe public health issue worldwide. A broad amount of information related to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic was disseminated by social media in Ethiopia. To date, there is limited evidence on the influence of social media use for covid-19 related information on covid-19 preventive practice. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the influence of social media use on the practice of COVID-19 preventive measures in Ethiopia. Methods: This study employed an anonymous internet-based online cross-sectional survey using Google forms to collects the data from the respondents from 15 May to 17 June 2020 in Ethiopia. Multivariable logistic regression was used to assess the relationship between social media usage as a predictor and COVID-19 preventive practice, after adjusting for socio-demographic and risk perception of COVID-19 variables. The data were analysed using SPSS version 21. Results: A total of 372 respondents have participated in the study. From 372, 208(55.9%) respondents in this study were male. Study participants who had good utilization of social media to get COVID-19 related information were 9.5 times engaged in COVID-19 preventive practices compared to study participants who had poor utilization of social media to get covid-19 related information (AOR= 9.59, 95% CI = 5.70 - 16.13). Also, study participants who had a high-risk perception of COVID-19 were 2.6 times engaged in COVID-19 practices compared to study participants who had a low-risk perception of covid-19 (AOR = 2.63, 95% CI = 1.58 - 4.38). Study participants who were students at the time of this study were four times more likely to show adequate COVID-19 preventive practice score compared to those who had another occupational status (AOR= 4.07, 95% CI= 1.66 - 9.98) Conclusions: Our results show that the usage of social media networks can have a positive effect on the practice of preventive measures and public safety against COVID-19; high-risk perception contributed to preventive activities against COVID-19. Social networking platforms can be used by public health agencies as an important method to raise public health understanding by disseminating concise messages to targeted audiences.


2021 ◽  
Vol 36 (2spl) ◽  
pp. 672-680
Author(s):  
Chrysa AGAPITOU ◽  
◽  
Evanthia RIZOU ◽  
Aggeliki KONSTANTOGLOU ◽  
Dimitrios FOLINAS ◽  
...  

The primary aim of this paper is to examine the use of social media by managers in the field of tourism, especially in small and medium-sized businesses in Greece. An explanatory quantitative survey has been applied to collect, process and analyze primary data using questionnaires answered by 302 tourist accommodation owners, originated from 35 prefectures across the mainland and the islands of Greece. The research has indicated that the degree of social media dynamics is also large in small and medium-sized businesses. Regarding the goals that every business wishes to achieve by using social media, it has come up that businessmen seem to be content with their simple preserve on social media and retain mainly an informative and advertising approach. Based of the findings, it has become apparent that social media use, even for advertising purposes, occurs but without being a part of a general strategy promotion, thus with no specific plan or goals, without realizing the benefits of their advantages, and with no results measurements.


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