Social media usage and activism by non-western budding PR professionals during crisis communication

2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 98-112 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ulfet Kutoglu Kuruç ◽  
Baruck Opiyo
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Social Change ◽  
University Students ◽  
Social Networking ◽  
Survey Research ◽  
Social Networking Sites ◽  
Crisis Communication ◽  
Media Use ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Media Usage

Purpose A number of studies have documented the use and popularity of social networking sites among Millennials and late Millennials, especially in Western countries. However, the usage of these sites by non-Western young adults/late Millennials has just barely begun. Informed by literature and findings of recent research on audience information-seeking behavior and principles governing the usage of social media to obtain and disseminate crisis-related information, the purpose of this paper is to employ survey research to examine how senior PR-track non-Western late Millennial university students use social media to obtain and/or disseminate information on issues they perceived as “crises.” Design/methodology/approach A combination of survey research and critical communication methods were used to gather and analyze data from a sample of future non-Western budding PR professionals. Survey research was designed and used to investigate social media use among PR-major students studying at a large State University in the Mediterranean region to probe their perceptions of these media as forums for activism during moments of crisis. Questionnaire was designed to elicit responses on social media use and perceptions on a range of crisis-communication related issues, and their responses on the Likert scale that were later analyzed using the SPSS (version 21) program. Findings These future PR professionals appreciated the suitability of social media in disseminating crisis-communication messages. They also highlighted challenges that unethical use of such platforms pose to PR professionals. Social network sites were reported to be the most popular social media platforms used during crisis communication. Even though the respondents widely reported using social media to disseminate information during crisis situations – and answered in the affirmative that the use of social media at such times could positively contribute to social change, they did not consider themselves as activists who actively contribute to fostering of peace and justice. Originality/value A number of studies have documented the use of social networking sites among Millennials especially in Western countries. However, the usage of these sites by non-Western late Millennials has just barely begun. This paper attempts to do this. The study explored social media usage by the non-Western late Millennial PR-track university students. Attempts were also made to elicit such PR professionals’ perceptions of whether social media contribute to activist movements and social change during crisis, and whether they physically acted as activist on social media to contribute to the improvement of societal ills, and to bring local/global peace or not.

Influence of social networking sites on life satisfaction among university students: a mediating role of social benefit and social overload

2020 ◽  
Vol 120 (2) ◽  
pp. 141-164 ◽  
Author(s):  
Syed Ali Raza ◽  
Wasim Qazi ◽  
Bushra Umer ◽  
Komal Akram Khan
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
University Students ◽  
Social Networking ◽  
Social Networking Sites ◽  
Social Benefit ◽  
Psychological Outcomes ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Media Usage ◽  
The University

PurposeSocial media experience a rapid rise in recent years and steep into almost every aspect of people's lives by altering their lifestyles and creating an impact on their wellbeing. The purpose of the present study is to examine the influence of SNSs on life satisfaction among university students by first exploring what are the key gratifications which motivates them to engage in SNSs and then focusing on the psychological outcomes including social overload and social benefit from using SNSs that affects life satisfaction among the university students.Design/methodology/approachTheory of social influence and uses and gratifications theory were used in this study to examine the motivations for using SNSs, and the impact of psychological outcomes associated with SNSs usage, i.e. social benefit and social overload on life satisfaction among university students of Pakistan. Partial least squares-structural equation modeling is used to analyze the data.FindingsThe outcomes indicate that the need for maintaining interpersonal interconnectivity, entertainment value and social enhancement value derives the students' participation in social networking sites through which they encounter social benefit and social overload. The presence of social benefit enhances life satisfaction while social overload results in decreasing life satisfaction of students. Using social networking sites influences life satisfaction in the presence of social overload and social benefit while there is no direct influence of social networking sites on life satisfaction was evidenced.Research limitations/implicationsThe present study investigated the needs that drive the use of social media through the lens of UGT & Social influence approach. The other potential determinants of social media usage intention should be analyzed by employing variables of the other models.In this study social media was examined as a general platform used by the university students of Pakistan. In future researches the driving needs should be examined in the context of specific social networking sites.Practical implicationsThe presented findings embraces the implications for the authorities of higher education institutions and policy makers as it provides the useful insights about student 2019s motivations and participation behavior in SNSs which would help in developing strategies for desirable results.Social implicationsEducational institutions can utilize the research findings by incorporating social media tools in the academic system, student's interaction with their mentors will lead towards enhanced involvement of students and intellectual skills along with upgraded academic performance which will positively influence life satisfaction of the students.Originality/valueThe scarcity of findings was observed in the local environment specifically in the context of SNSs usage and well-being of the higher education students. This study addresses the motivational factors of SNSs usage and their psychological outcomes simultaneously and focused on the investigation of social media usage drivers and its outcomes among the university students of Pakistan.

scholarly journals Social Media Usage Patterns: Research Note Regarding the Lack of Universal Validated Measures for Active and Passive Use

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 205630511984874 ◽  
Author(s):  
Briana M. Trifiro ◽  
Jennifer Gerson
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Social Networking ◽  
Social Networking Sites ◽  
Media Use ◽  
General Measure ◽  
Social Media Use ◽  
Media Usage ◽  
Usage Patterns ◽  
Experimental Laboratory ◽  
Current Article

The existing literature regarding social media use provides extant evidence supporting the claim that usage patterns ultimately have the capability of impacting users. However, the vast majority of the literature is based upon experimental laboratory settings where participants are observed by researchers. The current article asserts that there is a significant deficiency within the discipline regarding the validated measurement of usage patterns of social networking sites (SNSs) and offers guidance for those who may want to develop a general measure.

scholarly journals Educational Use of Social Media in Higher Education: Gender and Social Networking Sites as the Predictors of Consuming, Creating, and Sharing Content

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 112-132
Author(s):  
Emel Dikbaş Torun
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Social Media ◽  
University Students ◽  
Social Networking ◽  
Social Networking Sites ◽  
Learning Resources ◽  
Education Students ◽  
Media Usage ◽  
The Social ◽  
Use Of Social Media

AbstractIntroduction:This study investigates the influence of gender and social networking sites (SNSs) such as Instagram, YouTube, WhatsApp, Facebook, and Twitter on consuming, creating, and sharing content within the educational social media usage behaviors of higher education students. The survey method is applied to measure students’ social media usage for educational purposes. So that a more effective use of social media in education can be provided, it is important to understand how university students vary in their educational use of social media. The aim of this study is to examine how higher education students use social media for their educational purposes based on the content and activities with which the students engage. The aim of the research is to determine the correlations, if any, between gender, preferred SNS type, and educational social media in regard to consuming, creating and sharing content.Methods:The derived scale is administered in Turkey with the participation of a total of 365 university students. Psychometric, validation and reliability analysis of the scale which is used in the study to collect the data were done first. Principal component analysis, exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, descriptive, correlations and multivariate analysis of variance are applied to analyze the social media usage for educational purposes. Gender and the SNS type were set as the additional predictors of the consuming, creating and sharing content on social media.Results:The validation and linguistic adaptation of the Inside School Social Media Behavior (ISSMB) scale from English to Turkish is performed first. Results showed that the three factors of the original scale were confirmed. Secondly, the derived scale is administered with the participation of a total of 365 university students. Results indicated that gender difference was a significant factor in explaining the content creation on social media. Instagram, WhatsApp, and YouTube are the most preferred SNSs for educational use among students at the higher education level. No significant effect was reported for the type of the SNS used in consuming, creating, and sharing educational content on social media. The type of the SNS used by the students was not found to influence educational social media usage; accordingly, students consume, create and share content, regardless of the type of the SNS they use.Discussion:Higher education level students prefer watching videos more than any other social media activity for their educational purposes. The second most frequently preferred social media usage activity was reported as searching for the learning resources or information pertaining to schoolwork. Creating content was the least favorable social media usage. When the social media usage purposes focus on schoolwork and are furthermore educational, males’ social media usage outperforms the females. Thus, males were more likely to create content by using social media for inside schoolwork purposes than the females. Males were also more likely to have sharing habits than the females in sharing learning resources e.g., class notes with their classmates by using social media for their inside schoolwork purposes.Limitations:The total number of participants used in the research sample is a limitation of this study. The study data were only collected in Turkey, and so the study results are only regionally generalizable.Conclusion:Higher education students are consumers of the social media when they use it for educational purposes. Accordingly, students prefer being “passive consumer social media users who avoid active content creating”. Students prefer watching the uploaded ready-to-watch videos who avoid instead of creating and uploading their own video content. When sharing items are compared with creating content items, students responded more to the latter. Students do share their information with classmates e.g. exam schedules and lecture notes. Compared to other sharing content usages, students less frequently preferred sharing extracurricular learning resources. The gender difference found herein is a predictor of social networking site usage among young people, and social networking usage changes according to gender. Males are reported as being more “giving” within a school setting when it comes to sharing the educational content with their colleagues and friends. Social media is a reality of our modern lives, one that is growing exponentially; it is highly crucial that researchers facilitate a better understanding of the ongoing changes and developments that are emerging and transforming learning.Both outside and inside school, the social media usage behaviors of young people can be examined according to different age groups do determine any age-related differences. The subject can be improved with new findings and results from different sample groups.

The effects of social media usage on loneliness and well-being: analysing friendship connections of Facebook, Twitter and Instagram

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shaoyu Ye ◽  
Kevin K.W. Ho ◽  
Andre Zerbe
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
University Students ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Access Time ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Media Usage ◽  
Usage Patterns ◽  
Social Media Platforms

Purpose This study aims to clarify the effects of different patterns of Facebook, Twitter and Instagram usage on user loneliness and well-being in Japan. Design/methodology/approach Based on responses to a self-report questionnaire in Japan, 155 university students were separated into 4 groups: users of Twitter only, users of Twitter and Facebook, users of Twitter and Instagram and users of all three social media. The effects of social media usage on loneliness and well-being for each group were analysed. Findings No social media usage effects on loneliness or well-being were detected for those who used only Twitter or both Twitter and Instagram. For those using both Twitter and Facebook, loneliness was reduced when users accessed Twitter and Facebook more frequently but was increased when they posted more tweets. Users of all three social media were lonelier and had lower levels of well-being when they accessed Facebook via PC longer; whereas their their access time of Facebook via smartphones helped them decrease loneliness and improve their levels of well-being. Originality/value The findings reported here provide possible explanations for the conflicting results reported in previous research by exploring why users choose different social media platforms to communicate with different groups of friends or acquaintances and different usage patterns that affect their loneliness and well-being.

scholarly journals Perceived value of social networking sites (SNS) in students' expressive participation in social movements

2014 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 56-78 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan D. Borrero ◽  
Shumaila Y. Yousafzai ◽  
Uzma Javed ◽  
Kelly L. Page
Keyword(s):  
Social Movements ◽  
University Students ◽  
Social Networking ◽  
Technology Acceptance ◽  
Social Networking Sites ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Ease Of Use ◽  
Perceived Usefulness ◽  
Intention To Use ◽  
Content Type

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to determine the beliefs that influence university students to use social networking sites (SNS) for expressive participation in social movements. Design/methodology/approach – The original technology acceptance model (TAM), a quantitative methodological approach, and a survey were used to collect responses from 214 university students in Spain. Structural equation modelling was used to test the proposed relationships. Findings – Results confirm that the perceived ease of use (PEU) and perceived usefulness (PU) of SNS significantly affect a student's intention to use SNS for expressive social participation in social movements, with use intention significantly affecting actual participation. There was no significant moderating effect of students' gender on these relationships. Originality/value – Although there is much discussion in the popular press about how people use SNS, there is no published empirical research on the determinants that contribute to a person's intention to use and actual use of SNS in the context of social movements. This paper is one of the first studies to investigate young people's perception of the SNS usefulness and ease of the use for participation in social movements.

Social Media A Tool for Social and Political Inclusion among Youth: A Study of Indian University Students

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 82-89
Author(s):  
Satish Kumar ◽  
Amit Sharma ◽  
Varinder Verma
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
University Students ◽  
Social Networking ◽  
Social Networking Sites ◽  
Quantitative Research ◽  
Mobile Apps ◽  
Social Needs ◽  
Inclusive Development ◽  
Survey Method

Social Media is an important tool for sharing information and communication among the people. Mobile Applications enable these social networking sites (SNS) to send and receive info-content to the target audience. Especially, University students in the country today use SNS extensively for information and entertainment needs. Social media is playing a crucial role in social and political awareness for inclusive development. The study focuses on how social networking apps help in fulfilling the social needs of youth? What are the effects of social media on studies of university students? How do political parties use SNS apps for youth? And how mobile apps are contributing to the Digital India movement? A survey method was used for quantitative research methodology with a stratified random sampling of 100 university students of two state university of Haryana. The study reveals that students consider mobile apps help in socially connected with well known, to whom they are meeting personally and they feel happy for sharing their thoughts. It also explains the use of social media can create a negative effect on studies. Political parties and political leaders are targeting youth for their propaganda and agenda-setting through mobile apps. In the Digital India movement mobile apps are empowering youth for inclusive development.

Gender Differences in Motivations to Use Social Networking Sites

2019 ◽  
pp. 676-691 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valeria Noguti ◽  
Sonika Singh ◽  
David S. Waller
Keyword(s):  
Gender Differences ◽  
Social Media ◽  
University Students ◽  
Social Networking ◽  
Social Networking Sites ◽  
Female Consumers ◽  
Cognitive Absorption

This chapter investigates gender differences in motivations to use social networking sites (SNS), a subset of social media. The present research focuses on Facebook given its prominence among currently available SNS. Analysing a survey of university students in Australia, the results indicate that female consumers are more likely than male consumers to use Facebook to seek information (to research and learn new things and to discuss products and brands) and for convenience (to obtain things with little effort). Both of these reasons in turn relate positively to their degree of engagement on Facebook, where engagement is operationalized as cognitive absorption which is a state of deep involvement with an activity.

Adoption of social networking sites for educational use

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 2-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Godfred Matthew Yaw Owusu ◽  
Rita Amoah Bekoe ◽  
Dorothea Sekyiwa Otoo ◽  
Akua Pokuaa Essah Koli
Keyword(s):  
University Students ◽  
Social Networking ◽  
Social Networking Sites ◽  
Ease Of Use ◽  
Perceived Usefulness ◽  
Survey Method ◽  
Perceived Ease Of Use ◽  
School Students ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Respondent Group

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the views of university students on social networking sites (SNSs) adoption for educational purposes and investigate the factors that motivate students to use SNSs for academic purposes.Design/methodology/approachA survey method of research was adopted and questionnaires were administered to the respondent group. A total of 522 valid responses from the University of Ghana Business School Students were used in the empirical analysis. Regression analysis was used to examine the relationship among the key constructs of the study.FindingsThe results of this study suggest that perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, the existence of facilitating conditions and the purposes of SNSs are the key factors that motivate students to adopt SNSs for academic purposes. However, the influence of other people in society and the desire to be identified with social groups were found not to be important predictors of SNSs use by students for educational purposes.Research limitations/implicationsThe data examined in this study are based on sample responses from only one university, which may limit the extent of generalization of the findings.Originality/valueThis paper provides some useful insights into the key predictors of SNSs adoption for educational use by university students from the perspective of a developing country.

scholarly journals Social Media Use and Job Performance in the Workplace: The Effects of Facebook and KakaoTalk Use on Job Performance in South Korea

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (10) ◽  
pp. 4052 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seung Yeop Lee ◽  
Sang Woo Lee
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Job Performance ◽  
Social Networking ◽  
Social Networking Sites ◽  
Instant Messaging ◽  
Media Use ◽  
Social Media Use ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Use Of Social Media ◽  
The Given

The use of social media, such as social networking sites and instant messaging, in everyday life continues to spread, along with social media use in the workplace. This study examined how using social media like Facebook (social networking sites) and KakaoTalk (instant messaging) at work affects individual job performance. It also analyzed whether social media use has different effects on individual job performance depending on the characteristics of the given task. The results demonstrated that both Facebook and KakaoTalk had linearly positive effects on individual job performance. Moreover, task equivocality had a positive moderating effect on the relationship between KakaoTalk use and job performance. The results may have significant implications for firms reviewing their policies on employees’ social media use. Since using social media such as Facebook and KakaoTalk in the workplace improves job performance, firms may consider encouraging employees toward this practice. In particular, they may consider supporting those employees who perform tasks with high task equivocality in making use of instant messaging platforms.

Technology acceptance model (TAM) and social media usage: an empirical study on Facebook

2014 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 6-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rupak Rauniar ◽  
Greg Rawski ◽  
Jei Yang ◽  
Ben Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Social Networking ◽  
Technology Acceptance ◽  
Technology Acceptance Model ◽  
Social Networking Site ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Media Usage ◽  
Usage Behavior ◽  
Acceptance Model

Purpose – Given the widespread popularity of social media, such as Twitter, Facebook, Google+, and LinkedIn, theorizing and understanding the user attitude and usage behavior of social media site is fundamental in developing future understandings and deployment of these new technologies. One approach to such studies on drivers of social media usage behavior would be to revisit the technology acceptance model (TAM). The purpose of this paper is to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – Decades of extensive research have focussed on validating the TAM, proposed by Davis (1986), for various types of information systems and communication technologies. TAM forecasts individual adoption and voluntary use of technology. This study examines individual adoption behavior of the most popular social networking site Facebook. The influences on the intention of using social networking based on individual's perceived ease of use (EU), the user's critical mass (CM), social networking site capability (CP), perceived playfulness (PP), trustworthiness (TW), and perceived usefulness (PU) is empirically examined with a primary data set of 398 users of Facebook gathered from a web-based questionnaire survey. Findings – The results demonstrate that the revised social media TAM model proposed in this study supports all the hypotheses of social media usage behavior. The results of this study provide evidence for the importance of additional key variables to TAM in considering user engagement on social media sites and other social-media-related business strategies. Originality/value – Based on our review of existing scientific literature on social media, few empirical studies have been conducted to scientifically evaluate and explain the usage behavior of social media using Facebook. A validated instrument of usage behavior of social media can provide usability experts and practitioners with a validated tool to assess social media acceptance and usage behavior. This can help us gain a better understanding of “who is and who is not using these sites, why and for what purposes” (Boyd and Ellison, 2007).

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