scholarly journals Problematic social media use is associated with the evaluation of both risk and ambiguity during decision making

Author(s):  
Dar Meshi ◽  
David Freestone ◽  
Ceylan Özdem-Mertens

AbstractBackground and aimsPeople can engage in excessive, maladaptive use of social media platforms. This problematic social media use mirrors substance use disorders with regard to symptoms and certain behavioral situations. For example, individuals with substance use disorders demonstrate aberrations in risk evaluations during decision making, and initial research on problematic social media use has revealed similar findings. However, these results concerning problematic social media use have been clouded by tasks that involve learning and that lack a clear demarcation between risky and ambiguous decision making. Therefore, we set out to specifically determine the relationship between problematic social media use and decision making under both risk and ambiguity, in the absence of learning.MethodsWe assessed each participant's (N = 90) self-reported level of problematic social media use. We then had them perform the wheel of fortune task, which has participants make choices between a sure option or either a risky or ambiguous gamble. In this way, the task isolates decisions made under risk and ambiguity, and avoids trial-to-trial learning. Results: We found that the greater an individual's problematic social media use, the more often that individual choses high-risk gambles or ambiguous gambles, regardless of the degree of ambiguity.Discussion and conclusionsOur findings indicate that greater problematic social media use is related to a greater affinity for high-risk situations and overall ambiguity. These findings have implications for the field, specifically clarifying and extending the extant literature, as well as providing future avenues for research.

Author(s):  
Vittoria Franchina ◽  
Mariek Vanden Abeele ◽  
Antonius van Rooij ◽  
Gianluca Lo Coco ◽  
Lieven De Marez

Fear-of-missing-out (FOMO) refers to feelings of anxiety that arise from the realization that you may be missing out on rewarding experiences that others are having. FOMO can be identified as an intra-personal trait that drives people to stay up to date of what other people are doing, among others on social media platforms. Drawing from the findings of a large-scale survey study among 2663 Flemish teenagers, this study explores the relationships between FOMO, social media use, problematic social media use (PSMU) and phubbing behavior. In line with our expectations, FOMO was a positive predictor of both how frequently teenagers use several social media platforms and of how many platforms they actively use. FOMO was a stronger predictor of the use of social media platforms that are more private (e.g., Facebook, Snapchat) than platforms that are more public in nature (e.g., Twitter, Youtube). FOMO predicted phubbing behavior both directly and indirectly via its relationship with PSMU. These findings support extant research that points towards FOMO as a factor explaining teenagers’ social media use.


Author(s):  
Aysha Agbarya ◽  
Nicholas John

This study investigates the interface between increased religiousity among Muslim Arab women in Israel, and their social media use. To understand their use of social media as part of a profound change in social identity, fifteen semi-structured interviews were conducted with Muslim women aged 19-26 who are, or have been, social media users, who live in Israel, and who have become significantly more religious than they had previously been. The findings show two different logics of social media use in times of religious identity change. The first includes reconstructing social media ties to be an alternative, supportive environment, while the second relates to decision making based on the religious rules newly adopted by respondents. Two main social practices were related to the second kind of social media use: managing (and often removing) ties with male users, which raised profound personal dilemmas, and removing digital traces by deleting past posts and photos. Such decisions were made to obey religious rules rather than to gratify personal needs. Social media accompany and assist in the identity change, starting from its very beginnings, and throughout the process. While previous research shows that SNS tie management is an essential part of our identity, our findings show the religious identity of women to be a distinct case where religious rules guide behaviour and decision making. The very fact that these acts and dilemmas are visible to us is a result of paying special attention to identities in flux.


Author(s):  
Katharine Jones ◽  
Mark S. Glynn

Children's use of social media affects their interactions with consumer brands. Because children's social media use is a part of people's increasing use of social platforms to communicate and share content with each other, it is important to understand how children are using such platforms as sources of market-related information. This is because children's socialisation as consumers depends upon their accessing a range of market-related information sources, and social media platforms are envisaged to facilitate such access. Children's interactions with consumer brands are governed by interaction processes, and such processes shape the relationships that children may form with brands. Understanding these interaction processes will provide insights for parents, educators, and business marketers seeking information as to how the next generation of consumers use social media for market-related activities.


Societies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Hruska ◽  
Petra Maresova

Social media has evolved over the last decade to become an important driver for acquiring and spreading information in different domains such as business, entertainment, crisis management, and politics. The increasing popularity of social media raises a number of questions regarding why we use it so much and what aspects influence this activity. What about gender? What about education, income, age or social status? This paper answers some of these questions using statistical analyses and by dividing overall social media use into selected social media, i.e., Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube, and Twitter. The analysis used a dataset that contains information related to 2002 respondents from the U.S. and their social media activity. The results show that people with high household incomes and high education use social media the most. As age increases, social media use decreases, while bigger household income means that social media are used more. Overall, understanding where and at what frequency users are on social media can be a key competitive advantage. When using social networks correctly for marketing, companies can significantly improve their brand awareness, customer satisfaction, quality, reach, and profit.


2016 ◽  
Vol 140 (9) ◽  
pp. 956-957 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maren Y. Fuller ◽  
Timothy Craig Allen

Social media use is very common and can be an effective way for professionals to discuss information and interact with colleagues. Twitter (Twitter, Inc, San Francisco, California) is a social media network where posts, termed tweets, are limited to 140 characters. Professional use of Twitter is ideal for physicians interested in both networking and education and is optimally used to facilitate in-person networking. Live-tweeting (posting real-time reactions to events) at professional meetings is also a popular and highly successful use of Twitter. Physicians report patient privacy as the top concern preventing use of social media for professional reasons, and although generally social media use is safe, it is essential to understand how to protect patient confidentially. Other social media platforms with potential for professional use include Facebook (Facebook, Inc, Menlo Park, California), Instagram (Facebook, Inc), YouTube (YouTube, LLC, San Bruno, California), and Periscope (Twitter, Inc). With Twitter and other social media options, now is the time for pathologists to increase our visibility on social media and worldwide.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 104-115
Author(s):  
Christine W Njuguna ◽  
Joyce Gikandi ◽  
Lucy Kathuri-Ogola ◽  
Joan Kabaria-Muriithi

There is a rise in unprecedented political infractions, disturbances and electoral violence in Africa with the youth playing a significant role. Thus, the study broadly investigated social media use and electoral violence among the youth in Kenya using two objectives that were to assess the use of social media platforms among the youth and to investigate the relationship between social media use and electoral violence among the youth. Guided by the Dependency Theory and the Social Responsibility Theory, the study was carried out in Mathare Constituency, Nairobi County, Kenya. Data collection involved questionnaires, key informant interviews and focus group discussions. Analysis of quantitative data was by descriptive statistics and regression while qualitative data was analyzed through transcription. The study findings showed that the use of social media platforms in communication has been growing with WhatsApp becoming the most ‘preferred’ platform in Kenya. The study outcome exposed the fact that social media had an important and positive effect on electoral violence among the Kenyan youth in Mathare (R = .812). On the other hand, social media (Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram) had a strong explanatory strength on electoral violence among the Kenyan youth in Mathare (R2 = .659). This means that social media accounts for 65.9 percent of electoral violence among the Kenyan youth in Mathare Constituency, Nairobi County. The study, therefore, concluded that there is a relationship between social media and electoral violence among the Kenyan youth in Mathare. The study finally recommends that the government should embrace and enforce self-regulation mechanisms by Internet service providers to deter incitement. In addition, there should be increased efforts to educate and inform Internet users on the importance of assessing the credibility of information. Promotion of productive engagement as an effective instrument of dealing with online hatred is key.


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. 


Author(s):  
Leena Paakkari ◽  
Jorma Tynjälä ◽  
Henri Lahti ◽  
Kristiina Ojala ◽  
Nelli Lyyra

(1) Background: The use of social media has become an integral part of adolescents’ daily lives. However, the intensive use of social media can develop into a health-threatening addiction, but unfavourable health consequences can occur even with less use. Social media user groups categorized as no-risk, moderate risk (of developing problematic behaviour), and problematic use were examined with reference to their prevalence, their associations with individual determinants and health, and the increased health risk between groups. (2) Methods: The Finnish nationally representative HBSC data (persons aged 11, 13, and 15, n = 3408) and descriptive and binary logistic regression analysis were applied. (3) Results: Problematic social media use (9.4%) was most common among older age groups, and among persons with moderate/low school achievement, low health literacy, and low parental monitoring. Belonging to a moderate risk group (33.5%) was most frequent among girls, and among adolescents with low/moderate parental monitoring and health literacy. All the negative health indicators systematically increased if the respondent belonged to a moderate risk or problematic use group. (4) Conclusions: The study confirmed the association between problematic social media use and negative health outcomes and highlighted the need to pay close attention to adolescents at moderate risk who exhibited negative health outcomes.


2021 ◽  
pp. 146144482110443
Author(s):  
Maria Nordbrandt

There is considerable disagreement among scholars as to whether social media fuels polarization in society. However, a few have considered the possibility that polarization may instead affect social media usage. To address this gap, the study uses Dutch panel data to test directionality in the relationship between social media use and affective polarization. No support was found for the hypothesis that social media use contributed to the level of affective polarization. Instead, the results lend support to the hypothesis that it was the level of affective polarization that affected subsequent use of social media. The results furthermore reveal heterogeneous patterns among individuals, depending on their previous level of social media usage, and across different social media platforms. The study gives reason to call into question the predominating assumption in previous research that social media is a major driver of polarization in society.


2014 ◽  
Vol 38 (117) ◽  
pp. 54-76 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathleen Smeaton ◽  
Kate Davis

Public libraries are increasingly using social media in an attempt to meet users in their own spaces. Social media can be useful when used to create a participatory library service emphasising engagement with users. However, there has been little empirical investigation into the success of social media use by public libraries. This article reports on the findings of a research project that explored the use of social media by Australian public libraries. Two organisations participated in case studies that involved interviews, document analysis, and social media observation. To contextualise the use of social media in the case study organisations, a sub-study was undertaken involving observation of an additional 24 public libraries across Australia. This article focuses on the findings from the observation sub-study. It presents and applies a methodology for classifying social media content to determine whether the sample libraries’ social media use is indicative of a participatory approach to service delivery. This article explores how a range of social media platforms are used by the sample libraries and considers what best practice in participatory library service looks like. The two case study organisations’ use of social media is highlighted as exemplary practice.


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