Acceptance of Health Messages Conveyed by Parasocial Opinion Leaders on Twitter among Followers

2021 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 104-121
Author(s):  
Teck Chew Saw ◽  
◽  
Emma Mohamad ◽  
Sabariah Mohamed Salleh ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Opinion Leader ◽  
Health Messages ◽  
Opinion Leaders ◽  
Parasocial Relationships ◽  
Parasocial Relationship ◽  
Twitter Users ◽  
Message Reception ◽  
Delivery Style

Social media does not only provide a space for individuals to communicate, but it also encourages individuals to find and share health information. This situation has led to a change in the patterns and functions of health opinion leaders that exist on social media. Health opinion leaders influence media users by sharing and delivering health information and are capable of fostering parasocial relationships with media users. Therefore, it is essential to investigate the process by which parasocial opinion leaders shape health messages on social media. In correspondence, this study sought to understand the level of acceptance of health messages among Twitter users of the information tweeted by parasocial opinion leaders. In-depth interviews were conducted on 25 followers of parasocial health opinion leaders on Twitter. This study found that the formation of health messages and information conveyed by parasocial health opinion leaders could influence their followers. Four forms of message reception were identified in this study: 1) information and complexity reduction (a description, information delivery style, information sharing, information, and health literacy, and correction of information and mythical perceptions), 2) health orientation, 3) stimulation of interest, and 4) strengthening of the image and ethics of professionalism. Additionally, this study also discovered that media users perceived health opinion leaders as mentors, family members, friends, and idols. Keywords: Health communication, opinion leader, parasocial opinion leaders, parasocial relationship, social media.

Online Opinion Leaders in the Health Promotion Digital Era

2021 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 295-309
Author(s):  
Joyce Cheah Lynn-Sze ◽  
◽  
Azlina Kamaruddin ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Health Promotion ◽  
Health Communication ◽  
Opinion Leader ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Opinion Leaders ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
The Public

Health opinion leaders have widely embraced social media for health promotion and public health communication which can make a strong influence on the public decision making. However, despite the growing relevance of public health threats such as infectious diseases, pandemic influenza and natural disasters, research has paid little attention to the qualities of opinion leaders. Moreover, there is limited evidence that public health organisations use social media appropriately to engage in meaningful conversations with audiences. Thus, the aims of the study are to describe principles of communication practised by online opinion leaders to promote health issues, to discuss the strategies of social media used, to explain the opinion leaders’ influence attributes in health decision making and finally to develop a model of online opinion leader in the contemporary health promotion era. Content analysis was conducted on Facebook postings of five selected health opinion leaders. In addition, semi-structured interviews with 10 followers were conducted. The findings of the study revealed that there are three principles of communication practised by online opinion leaders, which are language, interaction and themes. There are three strategies opinion leaders use to influence the public: social connectivity, social support and social consultation. Furthermore, there are five opinion leaders’ attributes that influence the public’s decision making, namely personality, authenticity, trust/credibility, professional knowledge and social position. The model would be beneficial in educating and guiding the current public health opinion leaders in order to establish health and social well-being. Keywords: Online opinion leader, online health communication, public health, two-step flow theory, decision making.

scholarly journals Media Sosial dan Connective Action: Studi Kasus Penggunaan Twitter sebagai Ruang Solidaritas selama Pandemi COVID-19

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Kristianto Kristianto ◽  
Abdul Basith Ramadhan ◽  
Fernandito Dikky Marsetyo
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Content Analysis ◽  
Opinion Leader ◽  
Time Frame ◽  
Media Analysis ◽  
Opinion Leaders ◽  
Social Media Analysis ◽  
Connective Action

Tulisan ini membahas munculnya aksi solidaritas di media sosial Twitter. Dengan menggunakan kerangka teori connective action dan efektivitas gerakan di media sosial, tulisan ini bertujuan untuk menjelaskan bagaimana aksi solidaritas di Twitter muncul dan menjelaskan aktor yang terlibat di dalamnya. Selain itu, tulisan ini juga bertujuan untuk menjelaskan efektivitas dari aksi solidaritas. Penelitian dilakukan dengan analisis media sosial dan analisis konten. Penelitian menunjukkan bahwa aksi solidaritas yang muncul di Twitter merupakan respons atas situasi krisis akibat pandemi COVID-19. Meskipun merespons isu dalam rentang waktu yang sama dan menggunakan narasi yang serupa, aksi solidaritas yang dimunculkan oleh individu, organisasi, dan komunitas dilakukan secara personal dan tidak saling terikat secara langsung. Namun demikian, tidak semua aksi solidaritas mendapatkan impresi/engagement yang tinggi. Aktor yang menjadi opinion leader, yang dipengaruhi oleh faktor indegree, retweet dan mention, memiliki pengaruh besar dalam melakukan aksi solidaritas.    This article discusses the emergence of solidarity actions on Twitter social media. Using the framework of connective action and the effectiveness of social media movements, this paper aims to explain how solidarity actions on Twitter emerge and explain the actors involved in it. Besides, this paper also aims to explain the effectiveness of solidarity actions. The research was conducted with social media analysis and content analysis. Research shows that the solidarity action that appears on Twitter is a response to the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Although responding to issues in the same time frame and using similar narratives, solidarity actions raised by individuals, organizations, and communities are carried out personally and are not directly tied to each other. However, not all solidarity actions received high impressions/engagement. Actors who are opinion leaders, who are influenced by indegree, retweet, and mention factors, have a big influence in carrying out solidarity actions.  Keywords: solidarity; crisis; opinion leader; twitter; connective action 

scholarly journals The Development of a Smart Health Awareness Message Framework Based on the Use of Social Media: Quantitative Study

10.2196/16212 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (7) ◽  
pp. e16212
Author(s):  
Elaf Ali Alsisi ◽  
Ahmed Al-Ashaab ◽  
Wadhah Ahmed Abualfaraa
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Health Promotion ◽  
Technology Acceptance ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Health Messages ◽  
Perceived Usefulness ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Intention To Use ◽  
Health Awareness ◽  
Smart Health

Background Social media has recently provided a remarkable means of delivering health information broadly and in a cost-effective way. Despite its benefits, some difficulties are encountered in attempting to influence the public to change their behavior in response to social media health messages. Objective This study aimed to explore the factors that affect individuals’ acceptance of using social media as a tool for receiving health awareness messages and adapting such content accordingly by developing a smart health awareness message framework. Methods A quantitative method was adapted to validate the hypotheses and proposed framework through the development of a survey based on the technology acceptance model with the extension of other constructs. The survey was distributed on the web to 701 participants from different countries via Qualtrics software; it generated 391 completed questionnaires, and the response rate was 55.8% (391/701). Results Of the 391 respondents, 121 (30.9%) used social media platforms often during the week, and 27 participants (6.9%) did not use social media. In addition, 24.0% (94/391) of the respondents used these platforms to seek health information. On the basis of the results, perceived usefulness (β=.37; P<.001), gain-framed message (β=.04; P<.001), and loss-framed message (β=.08; P<.001) were seen to positively and significantly influence people’s intention to use social media as a means to spread information about health promotion. The proposed smart health awareness message framework identifies 64.2% of the variance in intention to use, 55.4% of the variance of perceived usefulness, and 26.2% of the variance of perceived ease of use. Conclusions This study sheds light on the factors that are associated with people’s intention to use and adopt social media in the health promotion domain. The findings reveal that the intention of using social media for health awareness purposes is positively impacted by the perception of usefulness of social media and the design of health messages. Future research might seek to explore other factors that relate to people’s behavior. This point of view will assist health organizations in developing their health messages more effectively and to be patient friendly.

scholarly journals Ystävyyttä vai illuusiota?

2021 ◽  
Vol 34 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 95-110
Author(s):  
Miisa Rotola-Pukkila ◽  
Pekka Isotalus
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Private Information ◽  
Parasocial Relationships ◽  
Self Disclosure ◽  
Good Basis ◽  
Private Lives ◽  
Research Journal ◽  
The Social ◽  
Parasocial Relationship ◽  
Personal Content

Sosiaalisen median vaikuttajien seuraajille voi muodostua affektiivisia ystävyyden kaltaisia tunnesiteitä eli parasosiaalisia suhteita seuraamiansa mediapersoonia kohtaan. Sosiaalisessa mediassa on otolliset lähtökohdat parasosiaalisten tunteiden syntymiselle ja kehittymiselle, kun vaikuttajat päästävät katsojat kurkistamaan elämäänsä kuvien ja videoiden välityksellä, kertovat itsestään henkilökohtaisia asioita seuraajilleen ja puhuttelevat yleisöä tuttavalliseen tyyliin.Artikkelissa syvennytään parasosiaalisen suhteen syntyyn ja sitä edistäviin tekijöihin. Tutkimuksen kohteena on sosiaalisen median vaikuttaja Mmiisas eli Miisa Rotola-Pukkila. Tutkimus toteutettiin netnografisella tutkimusmenetelmällä, ja parasosiaalisen suhteen ilmenemistä vaikuttajalle tarkasteltiin seuraajien lähettämistä Instagramin yksityisviesteistä. Lisäksi vaikuttaja kirjasi havaintojaan ja ajatuksiaan parasosiaalisesta ilmiöstä kolmen viikon ajan tutkimuspäiväkirjaan.Tuloksista ilmeni, että ainakin osalla seuraajista saattaa olla hyvinkin vahva parasosiaalinen suhde sosiaalisen median vaikuttajaan. Seuraajien yksityisviesteistä oli havaittavissa monia kuvitellun ystävyyden piirteitä, jotka osoittavat vahvaa yksipuolista tunnesidettä vaikuttajaan. Mmiisas-vaikuttajan lähes kaikki sisältö perustuu itsestäkertomiseen. Tuloksista on nähtävissä, että kaikista henkilökohtaisimmat aiheet edistivät vahvimmin seuraajien parasosiaalisen suhteen ulottuvuuksien ilmenemistä viesteissä.Tulosten pohjalta artikkelissa myös pohditaan, missä mielessä parasosiaalinen suhde on vaikuttajalle tavoittelemisen arvoista, sillä Mmiisas-vaikuttaja rakentaa tiivistä ja lähes ystävyydenkaltaista suhdetta seuraajiinsa yksityisyytensä kustannuksella. Seuraajien vastavuoroinen viestintä ja avoin itsestäkertominen antavat uudenlaista näkemystä siitä, että parasosiaalinen suhde voi olla kuvitellun ystävyyden lisäksi vastavuoroinen ja vahva luottamussuhde vaikuttajan ja yleisön välillä.Avainsanat: parasosiaalisuus, parasosiaalinen suhde, sosiaalinen media, julkisuus, InstagramFriendship or illusion? The appearance of parasocial relationships in followers’ messages to the social media influencerFollowers may develop an emotional, affective, and one-sided friendship-like bond with a social media influencer, also known as a parasocial relationship. Social media creates a good basis for the development of parasocial relationships because followers have an opportunity to peek into influencers’ private lives, while the influencers disclose personal issues and address the audience in an acquaintance-like style.In this article, the formation of parasocial relationships and the elements that foster them are considered. The study aims to investigate an audience’s relationship with Finnish social media influencer Mmiisas (Miisa Rotola-Pukkila). The method used was netnography. The data were collected from private messages, which the followers sent to the influencer on Instagram. The influencer Mmiisas also kept a research journal during the three-week research period.Results revealed that at least some of the followers had a strong parasocial relationship with the influencer. In the private messages, there were many features of imagined friendship that showed a strong one-sided relationship with the influencer. Nearly all of Mmiisas’ content is based on self-disclosure. The results showed that highly personal content seems to foster the characteristics of followers’ parasocial relationships in their messages.The article discusses how beneficial a parasocial relationship is for an influencer. For example, Mmiisas seemed to build a strong friendship-like bond with her followers by sharing pieces of private information. The followers’ reciprocal communication and self-disclosure create the perspective that a parasocial relationship may also be a confidential relationship between an influencer and his or her followers.Keywords: parasociality, parasocial relationship, social media, publicity, Instagram

How do users adopt health information from social media? The narrative paradigm perspective

2018 ◽  
Vol 48 (3) ◽  
pp. 116-126
Author(s):  
Jia Li ◽  
Jie Tang ◽  
Xuan Liu ◽  
Ling Ma
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Driving Forces ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Health Messages ◽  
Low Ses ◽  
Narrative Paradigm ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Use Of Social Media ◽  
Information Adoption

Introduction: A recent trend in health information seeking and sharing is the use of social media. Although there are several benefits to the use of social media for health communication, the quality of health information exchanged on social media is troubling due to its informal, unregulated mechanisms for information collection, sharing and promotion. Therefore, it is important to understand how users adopt health information from social media. Method: Considering the user-generated and storytelling nature of social media messages, this research employed the narrative paradigm perspective to explain the social media health information adoption phenomenon. Specifically, narrative coherence (NC) and narrative fidelity (NF) were hypothesised to have positive effects on the intention to adopt (IA). Additionally, socio-economic status (SES) was viewed as a proxy variable to cognitive capability and was hypothesised to moderate the effects of NC and NF. A scenario-based survey was conducted to test the proposed research model. Results: We obtained a total of 257 valid questionnaires. The results indicated that NF ( p < 0.001) had a positive effect on the IA social media health information. The NC ( p < 0.01) had no impact on the low SES users but a positive impact on the high SES users. Further, the effect of NF ( p < 0.01) on the IA was higher for high SES users than low SES users. Conclusions: NC and NF are two major driving forces in social media health information adoption, and the effect of both narrative paradigm variables depends on the SES users. Implications Results of this study show how the narrative paradigm, with a focus on the storytelling method of communication rather than logical scientific argument, can not only explain the uptake of health messages from social media, but also provide guidance as to how to create health messages on social media that more effectively target end users.

INTERAKSI DAN HUBUNGAN PARASOSIAL DALAM AKUN MEDIA SOSIAL SELEBRITI INDONESIA

2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-93
Author(s):  
Nuria Astagini ◽  
Veronica Kaihatu ◽  
Yugo Dwi Prasetyo
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Parasocial Interaction ◽  
Emotional Attachment ◽  
Parasocial Relationships ◽  
Actual Reality ◽  
Form Identification ◽  
Parasocial Relationship ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Depth Interviews

Interaction and parasocial relationships are one-way relationships formed through the media. This type of relationship can be seen through various social media accounts owned by celebrities. Fans interactions with their idol celebrities in social media will lead to the formation of positive and negative parasocial relationships. This study was conducted to see how the relationship and parasocial relationship that exists between the fans with the celebrities in social media. Through observation on social media accounts owned by several celebrities in Indonesia, and in-depth interviews conducted with informants; It is known that various comments given by fans is a description of a parasocial interaction. Fans who always comments on every updated information uploaded by their idol, shows a parasocial relationship. This relationship is a picture of emotional attachment from the fans. The interaction and parasocial relationship in social media are closely related to the concept of hyperreality. All things related to a particular celebrity may be rendered artificially, so the fans will eventually form identification of the celebrity with hyperrealitas or reality that is different from the actual reality.

Overcoming stakeholder social media fatigue: a trialogue approach

2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (6) ◽  
pp. 40-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Youngji Seo ◽  
Marilyn J. Primovic ◽  
Yan Jin
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Business Communication ◽  
Research Literature ◽  
Parasocial Relationships ◽  
Deep Dive ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Parasocial Relationship ◽  
Rapid Changes ◽  
Vicarious Interaction ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The continuation of rapid changes in Web 2.0 has transformed the practice of business communication and stakeholders’ expectations. This paper aims to paramount one issue facing corporate communicators is stakeholders’ social media fatigue that leads to online disengagement and social media strategy ineffectiveness. Design/methodology/approach A systematic review of research literature and a deep dive in the professional reports regarding corporate communication and social media strategies are conducted. Findings To tackle the challenge of stakeholder social media fatigue, a conceptual model is provided to guide the development of alternative social media strategies that capitalize on the impact of vicarious interaction and reenergize stakeholders via trialogue based on the corporate-influencer-stakeholder (parasocial) relationships. Originality/value A model for overcoming stakeholder social media fatigue via optimizing corporate-influencer-stakeholder (parasocial) relationship is proposed and elaborated, with actionable social media strategies recommended for corporate communicators to use.

scholarly journals Analisis Key Opinion Leaders di Media Sosial dalam Membentuk Opini Khalayak

Koneksi ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 90
Author(s):  
Jacksen Jacksen ◽  
Eko Harry Susanto ◽  
Nigar Pandrianto
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Diffusion Of Innovation ◽  
Opinion Leader ◽  
Business Owners ◽  
Qualitative Approach ◽  
Opinion Leaders ◽  
Social Media Marketing ◽  
Key Opinion Leaders ◽  
Key Opinion Leader

Content is a new way of doing promotions that have various forms, such as videos and images. This research discusses the process of creating content created by a key opinion leader. The person who acts as the key opinions leader is the owner of his own business. The theories used in this study are advertising, social media, marketing content, key opinion leaders, two-stage communication, diffusion of innovation and opinion. The method used is case study with qualitative approach and using interview, observation, and documentation techniques. The results of this study can be known that the content created by a key opinion leader must be diverse in order to attract the attention of the audience. The diversity of content produced must have a clear purpose, so that later the message can be conveyed properly and the goal can be achieved. Content created by engaging business owners directly will increase credibility in the business. Therefore, it can be concluded that the creation of a content must be diverse, informative, educational. While content involving its own business owners will increase high credibility.Konten merupakan cara baru seseorang dalam melakukan promosi yang memiliki berbagai macam bentuk, seperti video dan gambar. Penelitian ini membahas tentang proses pembuatan konten yang diciptakan seorang key opinion leaders. Orang yang berperan sebagai key opinions leader adalah pemilik bisnisnya sendiri. Teori yang digunakan pada penelitian ini adalah periklanan, media sosial, marketing content, key opinion leaders, komunikasi dua tahap, difusi inovasi dan opini. Metode yang digunakan adalah studi kasus dengan pendekatan kualitatif dan menggunakan teknik wawancara, observasi, serta dokumentasi. Hasil penelitian ini dapat diketahui bahwa konten yang diciptakan oleh seorang key opinion leader harus lah beragam agar dapat menarik perhatian penontonnya. Keberagaman konten yang dihasilkan harus memiliki tujuan yang jelas, sehingga nantinya pesan dapat tersampaikan dengan baik dan tujuan dapat tercapai. Konten-konten yang diciptkana dengan melibatkan pemilik bisnisnya secara langsung akan meningkatkan kredibilitas pada bisnis yang dijalani. Untuk itu dapat disimpulkan bahwa pembuatan sebuah konten harus lah beragam, informatif, mengedukasi. Sedangkan konten yang melibatkan pemilik bisnisnya sendiri akan meningkatkan kredibilitas yang tinggi.

scholarly journals The Development of a Smart Health Awareness Message Framework Based on the Use of Social Media: Quantitative Study (Preprint)

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elaf Ali Alsisi ◽  
Ahmed Al-Ashaab ◽  
Wadhah Ahmed Abualfaraa
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Health Promotion ◽  
Technology Acceptance ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Health Messages ◽  
Perceived Usefulness ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Intention To Use ◽  
Health Awareness ◽  
Smart Health

BACKGROUND Social media has recently provided a remarkable means of delivering health information broadly and in a cost-effective way. Despite its benefits, some difficulties are encountered in attempting to influence the public to change their behavior in response to social media health messages. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to explore the factors that affect individuals’ acceptance of using social media as a tool for receiving health awareness messages and adapting such content accordingly by developing a smart health awareness message framework. METHODS A quantitative method was adapted to validate the hypotheses and proposed framework through the development of a survey based on the technology acceptance model with the extension of other constructs. The survey was distributed on the web to 701 participants from different countries via Qualtrics software; it generated 391 completed questionnaires, and the response rate was 55.8% (391/701). RESULTS Of the 391 respondents, 121 (30.9%) used social media platforms often during the week, and 27 participants (6.9%) did not use social media. In addition, 24.0% (94/391) of the respondents used these platforms to seek health information. On the basis of the results, perceived usefulness (β=.37; <i>P</i>&lt;.001), gain-framed message (β=.04; <i>P</i>&lt;.001), and loss-framed message (β=.08; <i>P</i>&lt;.001) were seen to positively and significantly influence people’s intention to use social media as a means to spread information about health promotion. The proposed smart health awareness message framework identifies 64.2% of the variance in intention to use, 55.4% of the variance of perceived usefulness, and 26.2% of the variance of perceived ease of use. CONCLUSIONS This study sheds light on the factors that are associated with people’s intention to use and adopt social media in the health promotion domain. The findings reveal that the intention of using social media for health awareness purposes is positively impacted by the perception of usefulness of social media and the design of health messages. Future research might seek to explore other factors that relate to people’s behavior. This point of view will assist health organizations in developing their health messages more effectively and to be patient friendly.

Twitter jako źródło wiedzy o stanie zdrowia polskiego społeczeństwa – ujęcie infodemiologiczne.

2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (49) ◽  
pp. 120-0
Author(s):  
Agata Malesińska
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Original Research ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Public Health Information ◽  
Twitter Users ◽  
Novel Concept ◽  
Insight Into

Article explores a novel concept of mining social media for information on public health (infodemiology) and provides insight into chosen results of original research covering random tweets by Polish Twitter users. Author asks what public health information can be learned from “Polish Twitter” and whether the collected data might be a valuable and reliable starting point for a broader analysis of Polish public health.

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