scholarly journals ‘I feel the irritation and frustration all over the body’ Affective ambiguities in networked parenting culture

2021 ◽  
pp. 136787792110035
Author(s):  
Mari Lehto ◽  
Susanna Paasonen
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Media Use ◽  
Research Data ◽  
The Body ◽  
Social Media Use ◽  
Working Through ◽  
Media Research ◽  
Social Media Research ◽  
Study Participants

This article investigates the affective power of social media by analysing everyday encounters with parenting content among mothers. Drawing on data composed of diaries of social media use and follow-up interviews with six women, we ask how our study participants make sense of their experiences of parenting content and the affective intensities connected to it. Despite the negativity involved in reading and participating in parenting discussions, the participants find themselves wanting to maintain the very connections that irritate them, or even evoke a sense of failure, as these also yield pleasure, joy and recognition. We suggest that the ambiguities addressed in our research data speak of something broader than the specific experiences of the women in question. We argue that they point to the necessity of focusing on, and working through affective ambiguity in social media research in order to gain fuller understanding the complex appeal of platforms and exchanges.

scholarly journals The Role of Subjective Construals on Reporting and Reasoning about Social Media Use

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 205630512110353
Author(s):  
Angela Y. Lee ◽  
Roberta Katz ◽  
Jeffrey Hancock
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Qualitative Analysis ◽  
Media Effects ◽  
Media Use ◽  
Social Media Use ◽  
Media Research ◽  
Social Media Research ◽  
Survey Methodologies ◽  
The Relationship

The ways people estimate and make sense of the time they spend with social media should be influenced by the subjective construals that they draw on to guide their perceptions and behaviors on social media. Through qualitative analysis of 60 interviews, we identify how subjective construals of social media can influence two distinct processes relevant to the study of social media effects. First, we find that the process of estimating and self-reporting time spent on social media is influenced by differences in how people construed “social media” in field-standard questions. Conceptual variability in definitions of “social media,” aggregated time spent across multiple sessions and platforms, and perceived norms about use affected their responses. Second, we find that participants’ reasoning about the role of social media in their lives revolved around two key construals about the valence of its effects (positive vs negative) and their perceived agency relative to social media (being in control vs subject to control). People who felt in control of their use also viewed social media more positively, and those who felt controlled by social media viewed it more negatively. These conceptualizations of the nature and effects of social media use—which we discuss as social media mindsets—were closely tied to behaviors and outcomes. These two findings have fundamental implications not only for survey methodologies in social media research but also for how we conceptualize the relationship between social media use and psychological outcomes.

scholarly journals The Influence of Social Media use on Practice of Covid-19 Preventive Measures Among Ethiopian Residents: An Online Cross-Sectional Study

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
Abinet Arega Sadore ◽  
Demelash Woldeyohannes Handiso ◽  
Tekle Ejajo Wontamo ◽  
Dejene Ermias Mekango ◽  
Sisay Moges
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Risk Perception ◽  
Preventive Measures ◽  
Media Use ◽  
Social Media Use ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Preventive Practice ◽  
Related Information ◽  
Study Participants

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.

Exploring the “Social” in Social Media: Adolescent Relatedness—Thwarted and Supported

2021 ◽  
pp. 074355842110621
Author(s):  
Monique West ◽  
Simon Rice ◽  
Dianne Vella-Brodrick
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Social Connectedness ◽  
Media Use ◽  
Focus Group Discussions ◽  
Group Discussions ◽  
Social Media Use ◽  
Rich Picture ◽  
Relational Experiences ◽  
The Social ◽  
Media Research

The pervasiveness of social media in adolescents’ lives has important implications for their relationships. Considering today’s adolescents have grown up with social media, research capturing their unique perspectives of how social media impacts their relationships is needed to increase understanding and help guide behaviors that nurture social-connectedness. Utilizing multiple qualitative methods, this study explores adolescents’ perspectives of how their social media use impacts their relationships. The sample comprised 36, Year 9 students aged 15 years from four metropolitan schools in Melbourne, Australia. All participants completed a rich picture mapping activity and focus group discussions. To gain deeper understandings, a sub-sample of 11 adolescents participated in subsequent one-on-one interviews. Reflexive thematic analysis generated two overarching themes (1) developing and strengthening relationships and (2) diminishing relationships. Sub-themes included; making new friends, maintaining relationships, deepening connections, enhancing belonging, rifts and strains, and anti-social behavior. Findings revealed nuanced insights into “how” and “why” adolescents believe social media impacts relationships. Adolescents explained that social media transforms interactions through amplifying and intensifying relational experiences resulting in both beneficial and detrimental outcomes for their relationships. Cultivating the positive aspects of adolescents’ social media use whilst mitigating the negative is important toward supporting relatedness and fostering wellbeing.

scholarly journals Understanding Brexit on Facebook: Developing Close-up, Qualitative Methodologies for Social Media Research

2021 ◽  
pp. 136078042110373
Author(s):  
Natalie-Anne Hall
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Media Use ◽  
Political Knowledge ◽  
Contentious Politics ◽  
Sociological Research ◽  
Social Media Use ◽  
Media Research ◽  
Qualitative Methodologies ◽  
The Relationship

Facebook has frequently been implicated in the 2016 ‘Brexit’ referendum result, and support for Leave has been linked to wider nativist and populist mobilisations online. However, close-up, qualitative sociological research has not been conducted into the relationship between Brexit and social media use. This is, in part, due to the computational turn in online research, which has led to a disproportionate focus on quantitative big data analysis. This article argues for the value of close-up, qualitative enquiry to facilitate situated understandings of the reality of social media use and what it means to individuals. It outlines one such methodology developed to investigate pro-Leave Facebook users, to demonstrate how challenges posed by such research can be overcome, and the opportunities such enquiry affords for studying the role of social media in contentious politics. Invaluable insights gained include the way Facebook provides an empowering tool for making claims to political knowledge in the context of growing transnational nativist and populist grievances.

scholarly journals A Call for a Public Health Agenda for Social Media Research

10.2196/16661 ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (12) ◽  
pp. e16661 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sherry Pagoto ◽  
Molly E Waring ◽  
Ran Xu
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Research Agenda ◽  
Media Use ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The Public ◽  
Media Research ◽  
Social Media Research ◽  
Health And Well Being ◽  
Health Agenda

Research has revealed both the benefits and harms of social media use, but the public has very little guidance on how best to use social media to maximize the benefits to their health and well-being while minimizing the potential harms. Given that social media is intricately embedded in our lives, and we now have an entire generation of social media natives, the time has come for a public health research agenda to guide not only the public’s use of social media but also the design of social media platforms in ways that improve health and well-being. In this viewpoint we propose such a public health agenda for social media research that is framed around three broad questions: (1) How much social media use is unhealthy and what individual and contextual factors shape that relationship; (2) What are ways social media can be used to improve physical and mental well-being; and (3) How does health (mis)information spread, how does it shape attitudes, beliefs and behavior, and what policies or public health strategies are effective in disseminating legitimate health information while curbing the spread of health misinformation? We also discuss four key challenges that impede progress on this research agenda: negative sentiment about social media among the public and scientific community, a poorly regulated research landscape, poor access to social media data, and the lack of a cohesive academic field. Social media has revolutionized modern communication in ways that bring us closer to a global society, but we currently stand at an inflection point. A public health agenda for social media research will serve as a compass to guide us toward social media becoming a powerful tool for the public good.

The Grotesque Protest in Social Media as Embodied, Political Rhetoric

2017 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristin Marie Bivens ◽  
Kirsti Cole
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Power Relations ◽  
Media Use ◽  
Political Rhetoric ◽  
The Body ◽  
Political Movements ◽  
Social Media Use ◽  
Bodily Fluids ◽  
Communicative Act ◽  
The Grotesque

The grotesque protest—emboldened through social media—employs the body’s fluids to push back against attempts to legislate bodies. Although social media use is commonly understood as engaging audience members who share ideological frames, it can instead diversify protest networks and encourage discourse. Social media provides individuals opportunities to resist attempts to control bodies and to reinsert individuals’ voices in political discourse aimed to exclude those bodies. The body functions as the modality in which the communicative act occurs, and the body’s fluids function as the medium for inventing disruptive, grotesque protest strategies. Activists such as Rupi Kaur, The Satanic Temple’s Jex Blackmore, and those using Twitter hashtags #periodsforPence and #PEEOTUS use bodily fluids and tissues to emphasize resistance to political movements attempting to control and legislate bodies. The protest campaigns show that the grotesque can be an effective tool for opening space, transgressing boundaries, demanding attention, and equalizing differential political power relations.

scholarly journals At home and online during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic and the relationship to alcohol consumption in a national sample of U.S. adults

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen G Chartier ◽  
Jeanine P.D. Guidry ◽  
Catherine A. Lee
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Alcohol Consumption ◽  
Alcohol Use ◽  
Media Use ◽  
National Sample ◽  
Social Media Use ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
At Home

Objective: The current study seeks to understand the links between social media use and alcohol consumption during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Method: Data were from the national Understanding American Study, a probability-based Internet panel weighted to represent the U.S. population. Subjects (N=5874; 51% female) were adults, 18 years and older, who completed a March survey (wave 1) and a follow-up survey one month later (wave 3). Analyses assessed the relationship of social media use at wave 1 with wave 3 alcohol use, accounting for wave 1 alcohol use and the socio-demographic characteristics of the sample. We examined the effect of working or studying from home as a moderator. Results: Twitter and Instagram users, but not Facebook users, drank more frequently at wave 3 than non-users. For Instagram users, more frequent alcohol use at wave 3 was at least partially attributed to the frequency of drinking at wave 1. The interaction between Twitter use and working or studying from home was statistically significant. The combination of being on Twitter and working or studying from home was associated with drinking more days a week. Conclusions: Exposure to content about COVID-19 and increased alcohol consumption during the pandemic may contribute to more frequent alcohol use for some social media users, especially those sheltering at home. The study of public health messaging via social media to change alcohol use behaviors during traumatic events is warranted.

scholarly journals THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON BODY COMPARISON TENDENCY, BODY-ESTEEM AND SLEEP QUALITY AMONG FEMALE STUDENTS IN A PRIVATE UNIVERSITY IN SHAH ALAM/ MALAYSIA

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 229-234
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Sleep Quality ◽  
Media Use ◽  
Body Esteem ◽  
Private University ◽  
Female Students ◽  
The Body ◽  
Social Media Use ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Body Comparison

Introduction: Based on many studies probing the spectrums of social media, it has become evident that social media has changed a variety of human interactive activities such as communication, shopping, source of influence on perception, and even search for knowledge. The study aims to find the relationship between social media usage with the body comparison tendency, body esteem levels, and sleep quality. Methodology: a cross-sectional study design using quantitative data conducted among female students of a private university with a sample size of 267 and using a self-administered questionnaire for data collection. A convenience sampling was used from different faculties of the university. Results: It was found that excessive use of social media significantly predicted that participants engage in body comparison behaviours P<?0.001. It was also found that social media use influenced body esteem levels significantly. Higher social media use influences sleep quality significantly, as well. Conclusion: The results showed that social media use for more than 3 hours had a significant impact on body comparison tendencies among those female university students. It was also concluded that body esteem levels among those that fell into this category who used social media for more than 3 hours were lower compared to those who used social media for lesser than 3 hours in general. In evaluating the impact of social media on sleep quality, it was found that nearly half is at high risk of suffering from insomnia or sleep-related disorders.

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