A Study on the Factors Influencing Continued Use of Social Networking Services

Social networking sites (SNSs) have become popular in India with the proliferation of Internet. SNSs have gained the interests of academicians and researchers. The current study is an endeavor to understand the continuance of social networking sites in India. The study applies an extended version of theory of planned behavior. Additional factors privacy concerns and habits were incorporated into the standard theory of planned behaviour. A survey was conducted in a Central University in India. Overall, data was collected from 150 respondents. PLS-SEM was used to test the proposed model. All the hypotheses except the moderating role of habits between intentions and continued use of social networking sites, were supported by the results. Habits were found to affect continued use of social networking sites indirectly through continued intentions.

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Twitter Analysis of the Nonmedical Use and Side Effects of Methylphenidate, and User Sentiment about the Drug (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.16466 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Jungu Kim ◽

Su Cheol Kim ◽

Jaegwon Jeong ◽

Myeong Gyu Kim

Keyword(s):

Side Effects ◽

Social Networking ◽

Brand Names ◽

Social Networking Services ◽

Hyperactivity Disorder ◽

Search Terms ◽

Nonmedical Use ◽

Twitter Analysis ◽

Sentiment Score ◽

The Cost

BACKGROUND Methylphenidate, a stimulant used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), has the potential for nonmedical uses such as study and recreation. In the era of active use of social networking services (SNSs), experience with the nonmedical use or side effects of methylphenidate might be shared on Twitter. OBJECTIVE To analyze monthly tweets about methylphenidate, its nonmedical use and side effects, and user sentiments about methylphenidate. METHODS Tweets mentioning methylphenidate from August 2018 to July 2019 were collected using search terms for methylphenidate and its brand names. Only tweets written in English were included. The monthly number of tweets about methylphenidate and the number of tweets containing keywords related to the nonmedical use and side effects of methylphenidate were analyzed. Precision was calculated as the number of true nonmedical use or side effects divided by the number of tweets containing each keywords. Sentiment analysis was conducted using the text and emoji in tweets, and tweets were categorized as very negative (less than -3), negative (-3 to -1), neutral (0), positive (1 to 3), or very positive (more than 3), depending on the sentiment score. RESULTS A total of 4,169 tweets were ultimately selected for analysis. The number of tweets per month was lowest in August (n=264) and highest in May (n=435). There were 292 (7.0%) tweets about nonmedical uses of methylphenidate. Among those, 200 (4.8%) described use for studying, and 15 (0.4%) described use for recreation. In 91 (2.2%) tweets, snorting methylphenidate was mentioned. Side effects of methylphenidate, mainly poor appetite (n=74, 1.8%) and insomnia (n=54, 1.3%), were reported in 316 (7.6%) tweets. The average sentiment score was 0.027 ± 1.475, and neutral tweets were the most abundant (n=1,593, 38.2%). CONCLUSIONS Tweets about methylphenidate were most abundant in May, mentioned nonmedical use for study or recreation, and contained information about side effects. Analysis of Twitter has the advantage of saving the cost and time needed to conduct a survey, and could help identify nonmedical uses and side effects of drugs.

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Role of social networking services for scientists in promoting scientific output on example of Polish representatives of social communication and media sciences

Global Knowledge Memory and Communication ◽

10.1108/gkmc-12-2019-0147 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 69 (8/9) ◽

pp. 717-736

Author(s):

Małgorzata Kowalska-Chrzanowska ◽

Przemysław Krysiński

Keyword(s):

Social Networking ◽

Social Communication ◽

Scientific Communication ◽

Scientific Output ◽

Scientific Publications ◽

Social Networking Services ◽

Content Type ◽

Starting Point ◽

The Media ◽

Usage Level

Purpose This paper aims to answer the question of how the Polish representatives of social communication and media sciences communicate the most recent scientific findings in the media space, i.e. what types of publications are shared, what activities do they exemplify (sharing information about their own publications, leading discussions, formulating opinions), what is the form of the scientific communication created by them (publication of reference lists' descriptions, full papers, preprints and post prints) and what is the audience reception (number of downloads, displays, comments). Design/methodology/approach The authors present the results of analysis conducted on the presence of the most recent (2017–2019) publications by the Polish representatives of the widely understood social communication and media sciences in three selected social networking services for scientists: ResearchGate, Google Scholar and Academia.edu. The analyses covered 100 selected representatives of the scientific environment (selected in interval sampling), assigned, according to the OECD classification “Field of Science”, in the “Ludzie nauki” (Men of Science) database to the “media and communication” discipline. Findings The conducted analyses prove a low usage level of the potential of three analysed services for scientists by the Polish representatives of social communication and media sciences. Although 60% of them feature profiles in at least one of the services, the rest are not present there at all. From the total of 113 identified scientists' profiles, as little as 65 feature publications from 2017 to 2019. Small number of alternative metrics established in them, implies, in turn, that if these metrics were to play an important role in evaluation of the value and influence of scientific publications, then this evaluation for the researched Polish representatives of social communication and media sciences would be unfavourable. Originality/value The small presence of the Polish representatives of the communication and media sciences in three analysed services shows that these services may be – for the time being – only support the processes of managing own scientific output. Maybe this quite a pessimistic image of scientists' activities in the analysed services is conditioned by a simple lack of the need to be present in electronic channels of scientific communication or the lack of trust to the analysed services, which, in turn, should be linked to their shortcomings and flaws. However, unequivocal confirmation of these hypotheses might be brought by explorations covering a larger group of scientists, and complemented with survey studies. Thus, this research may constitute merely a starting point for further explorations, including elaboration of good practices with respect to usage of social media by scientists.

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Tool to Retrieve Less-Filtered Information from the Internet

Information ◽

10.3390/info12020065 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (2) ◽

pp. 65

Author(s):

Yuta Nemoto ◽

Vitaly Klyuev

Keyword(s):

Social Networking ◽

Communication Technology ◽

Search Engines ◽

General Purpose ◽

Main Role ◽

Practical Application ◽

Social Networking Services ◽

Search Results ◽

Metasearch Engine ◽

Filter Bubble

While users benefit greatly from the latest communication technology, with popular platforms such as social networking services including Facebook or search engines such as Google, scientists warn of the effects of a filter bubble at this time. A solution to escape from filtered information is urgently needed. We implement an approach based on the mechanism of a metasearch engine to present less-filtered information to users. We develop a practical application named MosaicSearch to select search results from diversified categories of sources collected from multiple search engines. To determine the power of MosaicSearch, we conduct an evaluation to assess retrieval quality. According to the results, MosaicSearch is more intelligent compared to other general-purpose search engines: it generates a smaller number of links while providing users with almost the same amount of objective information. Our approach contributes to transparent information retrieval. This application helps users play a main role in choosing the information they consume.

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Magic mantle using social VPNs against centralized social networking services

2016 14th Annual Conference on Privacy, Security and Trust (PST) ◽

10.1109/pst.2016.7906984 ◽

2016 ◽

Author(s):

Yasushi Shinjo ◽

Naoki Kainuma ◽

Daiyuu Nobori ◽

Akira Sato

Keyword(s):

Social Networking ◽

Social Networking Services

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Defining user risk in social networking services

Aslib Journal of Information Management ◽

10.1108/ajim-07-2014-0087 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 67 (1) ◽

pp. 94-115 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

David Haynes ◽

Lyn Robinson

Keyword(s):

Social Media ◽

Social Networking ◽

Personal Data ◽

Sample Survey ◽

Policy Makers ◽

Social Networking Services ◽

Content Type ◽

The Uk ◽

Purposive Sample ◽

Risk Categories

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify the risks faced by users of online social networking services (SNSs) in the UK and to develop a typology of risk that can be used to assess regulatory effectiveness. Design/methodology/approach – An initial investigation of the literature revealed no detailed taxonomies of risk in this area. Existing taxonomies were reviewed and merged with categories identified in a pilot survey and expanded in purposive sample survey directed at the library and information services (LIS) community in the UK. Findings – Analysis of the relationships between different risk categories yielded a grouping of risks by their consequences. This aligns with one of the objectives of regulation, which is to mitigate risks. Research limitations/implications – This research offers a tool for evaluation of different modes of regulation of social media. Practical implications – Awareness of the risks associated with use of online SNSs and wider social media contributes to the work of LIS professionals in their roles as: educators; intermediaries; and users of social media. An understanding of risk also informs the work of policy makers and legislators responsible for regulating access to personal data. Originality/value – A risk-based view of regulation of personal data on social media has not been attempted in such a comprehensive way before.

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