Linking Facebook User Types With Civic Participation: From a Communication Infrastructure Perspective

2021 ◽  
pp. 089443932199714
Author(s):  
Rebecca Ping Yu ◽  
Chih-Hui Lai
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Information Sharing ◽  
Civic Participation ◽  
Political Interest ◽  
Civic Action ◽  
Communication Infrastructure ◽  
Public Expression ◽  
Communication Infrastructure Theory ◽  
Personal Interests

The rise of social media has coincided with the emergence of an expressive citizenship model that emphasizes the role of expression in networked environments centering on personal interests. Yet relatively little is known about how civic participation might develop from daily, general social media use. Drawing on communication infrastructure theory, this study uses two-wave survey data from Taiwan to investigate which types of Facebook users are more likely to become civic action takers and how. Results show that high public expressers—those who manifest higher levels of public expression (e.g., updating status)—have more integrated connectedness to the civic information sharing network, which in turn facilitates civic participation. This pathway to civic participation is relatively open to users with diverse levels of political interest. Overall, these findings help to explain how general social media users become civic action takers, presenting important implications for addressing inequalities in civic participation.

The influence of public health information sharing on social media during the early COVID-19 outbreak

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chiao-Chieh Chen ◽  
Yu-Ping Chiu
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Information Sharing ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Related Information ◽  
Activity Effect ◽  
Network Cluster ◽  
Public Health Information ◽  
Health Information Sharing

PurposeSocial media have become famous platform to search and share the COVID-19-related information. The objective of this research is to bridge the gap by proposing the effects of network cluster and transmitter activity on information sharing process.Design/methodology/approachData were collected by using Facebook application, which was available for 14 days (May 1–14) in 2020. These data were analyzed to determine the influence of the network cluster and transmitter activity.FindingsThe results showed that network cluster is positively related to transmitter activity on social media. In addition, transmitter activity partially mediated the effect of network cluster on the extent of information liked and shared. That is, transmitter activity can affect COVID-19-related information sharing on Facebook, and the activity effect is plausible and should become stronger as social network become denser.Originality/valueThis study has contributed to the knowledge of health information sharing in social media and has generated new opportunities for research into the role of network cluster. As social media is firmly entrenched in society, researches that improve the experience or quality for users is potentially impactful.

scholarly journals The role of social media in clubfoot: information sharing and social support

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-88
Author(s):  
Gabriel Hanna ◽  
Brian D. Batko ◽  
James Potter ◽  
Joseph Ippolito ◽  
Folorunsho Edobor-Osula
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Information Sharing ◽  
Emotional Support ◽  
Medical Information ◽  
Second Opinion ◽  
Level Of Evidence ◽  
Success Stories ◽  
Congenital Foot Deformity ◽  
Facebook Pages

Purpose Clubfoot is the most common congenital foot deformity in children. Caregivers often seek medical information on the internet. The aim of the study was to characterize how social media is used by caregivers to access medical information. Methods A search was performed on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube platforms. Information was quantitatively assessed. Comments were qualitatively assessed, and the Kruskal-Wallis test was used to study thematic comment distribution. Results In total, 58 Facebook groups and pages, 109 YouTube accounts and ten Twitter accounts related to clubfoot were discovered from 2007 to 2019. Facebook groups and pages had a collective 56 123 members and 80 544 total likes, respectively. YouTube had a collective 3 280 454 views, with 54 969 total comments throughout the accounts. Comment themes most commonly included sharing information and advice (38.7%), appreciation and success stories (12.8%), emotional support (12.7%) and social media as a second opinion (11.9%). Facebook groups contained a significantly higher number of comments related to ‘social media as a second opinion’ compared with Facebook pages (p = 0.001), Twitter (p = 0.016) and YouTube (p < 0.0001) while YouTube contained a significantly lower number of comments related to ‘sharing information’ compared with Facebook groups, pages and Twitter (p < 0.0001). Conclusion Social media continues to be a growing tool for information sharing and the findings of this study highlight the importance placed by caregivers on the advice of their peers. The online presence of caregivers may represent an opportunity for orthopaedic surgeons to communicate with patients and help them make informed decisions. Level of evidence IV

Studenten Journalistiek in Nederland: profiel, motieven en rolperceptiesMet speciale dank aan alle docenten van de journalistieke hbo- en Masteropleidingen (inclusief de postacademische) die ons toegang en tijd gaven om surveys onder hun studenten af te nemen; Isabel Awad zijn we meer dan erkentelijk voor haar coördinerende en kritische lezersrol; Liesbeth Hermans, Nico Drok en Folker Hanusch bedanken we voor de stimulerende gesprekken tijdens dit onderzoek.

2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernadette Kester ◽  
Nel Ruigrok
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Training And Education ◽  
News Analysis ◽  
Tunnel Vision ◽  
Strong Focus ◽  
The Media ◽  
Journalism Students ◽  
New Generation ◽  
Personal Interests

Journalism students in The Netherlands: profile, motivation and role perception The general profile of the Dutch journalism student that emerges from the survey is quite consistent with international research. Using creativity and writing skills in a professional way are stronger motivations than the wish to contribute to democracy. Dutch students consider journalists as impartial providers of news (analysis) and stimulators of public debate. The watchdog role seems to be less popular. Striking is the conclusion that Dutch journalism students are not so much driven by idealistic motives, but merely personal interests. Only MA students who value the watchdog role of the media, stick to their idealistic motive. Feminization of the profession also reflects in training and education. As digital natives, with a strong focus on social media, we expect this new generation of journalists to search and find methods to avoid or fight the negative aspects of social media such as tunnel vision and fake news.

The role of social media in selective dorsal rhizotomy for children: information sharing and social support

2019 ◽  
Vol 35 (11) ◽  
pp. 2179-2185 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael J. Canty ◽  
Sara Breitbart ◽  
Lauren Siegel ◽  
Darcy Fehlings ◽  
Golda Milo-Manson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Information Sharing ◽  
Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy ◽  
Dorsal Rhizotomy

scholarly journals The symbol of social media in contemporary protest: Twitter and the Gezi Park movement

2020 ◽  
pp. 135485652093374
Author(s):  
Olu Jenzen ◽  
Itir Erhart ◽  
Hande Eslen-Ziya ◽  
Umut Korkut ◽  
Aidan McGarry
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Social Movement ◽  
Information Sharing ◽  
Digital Media ◽  
Collective Identity ◽  
Visual Analysis ◽  
Main Emphasis ◽  
Media Practices

This article explores how Twitter has emerged as a signifier of contemporary protest. Using the concept of ‘social media imaginaries’, a derivative of the broader field of ‘media imaginaries’, our analysis seeks to offer new insights into activists’ relation to and conceptualisation of social media and how it shapes their digital media practices. Extending the concept of media imaginaries to include analysis of protestors’ use of aesthetics, it aims to unpick how a particular ‘social media imaginary’ is constructed and informs their collective identity. Using the Gezi Park protest of 2013 as a case study, it illustrates how social media became a symbolic part of the protest movement by providing the visualised possibility of imagining the movement. In previous research, the main emphasis has been given to the functionality of social media as a means of information sharing and a tool for protest organisation. This article seeks to redress this by directing our attention to the role of visual communication in online protest expressions and thus also illustrates the role of visual analysis in social movement studies.

‘To activists: Please post and share your story’: Renewing understandings on civic participation and the role of Facebook in the Indignados movement

2017 ◽  
Vol 32 (6) ◽  
pp. 583-597 ◽  
Author(s):  
Venetia Papa
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Civic Participation ◽  
Political Community ◽  
Political Activity ◽  
The Political ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Political Issues ◽  
International Financial Crisis ◽  
Online Social Media

The global upsurge in protest, which has accompanied the current international financial crisis, has highlighted the extensive use of online social media in activism, leaving aside the extent to which citizenship is enacted, empowered and potentially transformed by social media use within these movements. Drawing on citizenship and communication theories, this study employs a cross-country analysis of the relationship between citizenship, civic practices and social media within the Indignados movement in Greece and France. By the use of semi-structured interviews, we attempt to discern the degree of involvement of actors with the political community in question and explore the complex layers of their motivations and goals around participation. Content analysis employed in the movement’s Facebook groups allows us to critically evaluate the potential of social media in (re)defining the meaning and practice of civic participation. Findings indicate that the failure of traditional forms of civic participation to attain and resolve everyday political issues becomes its potential to transfer the political activity in other sites of struggle. The role of Facebook is double: it can reinforce civic talk and debate through activists’ digital story telling (around shared feelings and personal stories) significant for meaningful activist participation online and offline. Second, it can support new forms of alternative politics inspired by more participatory modes of engagement.

scholarly journals ‘Volunteering is like any other business’: Civic participation and social media

2017 ◽  
Vol 20 (6) ◽  
pp. 2186-2207 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne Kaun ◽  
Julie Uldam
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Crucial Role ◽  
Power Relations ◽  
Civic Participation ◽  
Analytical Framework ◽  
Migration Crisis ◽  
Technological Affordances ◽  
Shed Light

The increased influx of refugees in 2015 has led to challenges in transition and destination countries such as Germany, Sweden and Denmark. Volunteer-led initiatives providing urgent relief played a crucial role in meeting the needs of arriving refugees. The work of the volunteers in central stations and transition shelters was mainly organised with the help of Facebook, in terms of both inward and outward communications. This article examines the role of social media for civic participation drawing on Swedish volunteer initiatives that emerged in the context of the migration crisis in 2015 as a case study. Theoretically, this article provides an analytical framework, including power relations, technological affordances, practices and discourses, which helps shed light on the interrelation between social media and civic participation.

Social Networking Sites and Civic Participation: Analyzing the Mediating Role of Online Bridging Social Capital

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashmeet Kaur ◽  
H.K. Dangi
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Social Networking ◽  
Social Networking Sites ◽  
Civic Participation ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
Bridging Social Capital ◽  
Mediating Role ◽  
Wide Range

Technological advancements have introduced creative communication media with social media being one of its kind. Since its introduction, the use of social media is rising in India providing people a better penetrating medium to share their views and ideas. These networking sites have given people a wide range of options to share views about social issues as well. Civic participation is a personal or group effort to resolve a social issue. With the onset of social media, offline civic participatory activities have made a transition to the online space as well. With the soaring influence of social media, this study aims to determine the extent to which Social Networking Sites (SNS) usage influences social capital and civic participatory behaviour. It aims to examine whether SNS use aids in the development of behavior that fosters civic participation. Further, the mediating role of online bridging social capital is analyzed in the relationship between SNS use intensity and civic participation of users. The results show the role of SNS in positively influencing online and offline civic participatory behaviour of the users with online bridging social capital acting as a mediating variable. However, the cross-sectional nature of this study constrained the ability to infer causal associations. The study concludes with recommendations and directions for future research. The different SNS can be compared to learn about their respective influence on civic participatory behavior and infer this phenomenon in an enhanced manner.

scholarly journals Does Cultural Difference Matter on Social Media? An Examination of the Ethical Culture and Information Privacy Concerns

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (19) ◽  
pp. 8286
Author(s):  
Sangmi Chai
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Information Sharing ◽  
Cultural Difference ◽  
Information Privacy ◽  
Ethical Culture ◽  
Privacy Concerns ◽  
Information Privacy Concerns ◽  
Study Results ◽  
The Impact

While social media has become a very popular tool for sharing information and news worldwide, the ethical culture of the users emerged as a significant issue in cyber space. This research investigates the role of perceived ethical culture and information privacy concerns on social media behaviors. More importantly, this study investigates the role of cultural difference in the relationship among those factors. Based on the study results of U.S. and Korean social media users, this study found ethical culture to be positively associated and information privacy concerns negatively associated with users’ information-sharing behavior on social media. In addition, the study results indicated that the size of the impact of the two facts are varied between the two countries. This study’s results direct that users’ perceived ethical culture and privacy concerns are important factors affecting social media users’ information sharing. However, these factors could have a different impact with cultural differences.

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