scholarly journals A Decade of Research on Social Media and Journalism: Assumptions, Blind Spots, and a Way Forward

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 11-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seth C. Lewis ◽  
Logan Molyneux
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Public Life ◽  
Digital Transformation ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Journalism Studies ◽  
Blind Spots

Amid a broader reckoning about the role of social media in public life, this article argues that the same scrutiny can be applied to the journalism studies field and its approaches to examining social media. A decade later, what hath such research wrought? In the broad study of news and its digital transformation, few topics have captivated researchers quite like social media, with hundreds of studies on everything from how journalists use Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Snapchat to how such platforms facilitate various forms of engagement between journalists and audiences. Now, some 10 years into journalism studies on social media, we need a more particular accounting of the assumptions, biases, and blind spots that have crept into this line of research. Our purpose is to provoke reflection and chart a path for future research by critiquing themes of what has come before. In particular, our goal is to untangle three faulty assumptions—often implicit but no less influential—that have been overlooked in the rapid take-up of social media as a key phenomenon for journalism studies: (1) that social media would be a net positive; (2) that social media reflects reality; and (3) that social media matters over and above other factors.

Understanding the Experiences of Anger in the Onset and Progression of Psoriasis: A Qualitative Study Using Social Media (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olivia Hughes ◽  
Rachael Hunter
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Psychosocial Interventions ◽  
Skin Condition ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Chronic Skin ◽  
Skin Conditions ◽  
The Impact

BACKGROUND Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory skin condition, which can be affected by stress. Living with psoriasis can trigger negative emotions, which may influence quality of life. OBJECTIVE This study explored the experiences of people with psoriasis with attention to the potential role of anger in the onset and progression of the chronic skin condition. METHODS Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with twelve participants (n=5 females, n=7 males) recruited online from an advert on a patient charity’s social media platforms. Data were transcribed and analysed using thematic analysis. RESULTS Four key themes were identified: (1) ‘I get really angry with the whole situation:’ anger at the self and others, (2) the impact of anger on psoriasis: angry skin, (3) shared experiences of distress, and (4) moving past anger to affirmation. CONCLUSIONS Findings suggest that anger can have a perceived impact on psoriasis through contributing to sensory symptoms and unhelpful coping cycles and point to a need for enhanced treatment with more psychological support. The findings also highlight the continued stigma which exists for people living with skin conditions and how this may contribute to, and sustain, anger for those individuals. Future research could usefully focus on developing targeted psychosocial interventions to promote healthy emotional coping with psoriasis.

Social Media and Identity

2019 ◽  
pp. 1365-1386
Author(s):  
Erika Melonashi
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Identity Development ◽  
Identity Formation ◽  
Political Identity ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Theoretical Frameworks ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Media And Identity

The present chapter aims to explore the relationship between social media and identity by reviewing theoretical frameworks as well as empirical studies on the topic. Considering the complexity of the concept of identity, a multidisciplinary theoretical approach is provided, including Psychological Theories, Sociological Theories and Communication Theories. These theories are revisited in the context of online identity formation and communication through social media. Different aspects of identity such as gender identity, professional identity, political identity etc., are discussed and illustrated through empirical studies in the field. Moreover, the role of social media as a factor that might either promote or hinder identity development is also discussed (e.g., phenomena such as cyber-bulling and internet addiction). Finally recommendations and suggestions for future research are provided, including the need for multidisciplinary theoretical frameworks to the investigation of the relationships between social media and identity.

From Rural Majority to Urban Majority Africans

2018 ◽  
pp. 1505-1526
Author(s):  
Umar G. Benna
Keyword(s):  
Work Environment ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Research Method ◽  
Digital Transformation ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Exploratory Research ◽  
Online Questionnaire ◽  
Rapid Urbanization ◽  
High Population Growth

Africa is experiencing triple processes of high population growth, rapid urbanization, and digital transformation. The undercurrents of these processes suggest that the continent is turning from rural majority to urban majority, and this situation raises the question of where will this majority work? Arab Spring and the turbulent situation in the Middle East suggest what could be the result of inaction. This chapter attempts to answer this question by using exploratory research method to highlight the potential role of mainly young entrepreneurs to define, through online questionnaire responses, their preferred terrain of workplace creation in local areas, cities, rural areas and in the diverse regions of Africa as well as on the ubiquitous online work environment extending from home to anywhere in the continent. The chapter ends with a review of the observations and suggestions about future research.

Play It Like Beckham!

2017 ◽  
pp. 43-61
Author(s):  
Sylvaine Castellano ◽  
Insaf Khelladi
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
Future Research ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Research Directions ◽  
Media Usage ◽  
Future Research Directions ◽  
The Impact

New opportunities and challenges are emerging thanks to the growing Internet importance and social media usage. Although practitioners have already recognized the strategic dimension of e-reputation and the power of social media, academic research is still in its infancy when it comes to e-reputation determinants in a social networks context. A study was conducted in the sports setting to explore the impact of social networks on the sportspeople's e-reputation. Whereas the study emphasized (1) the influence of social networks' perception on the sportspeople's e-reputation, and the neutral roles of (2) the motives for following sportspeople online, and (3) the negative content on the Internet, additional insights are formulated on maintaining, restoring and managing e-reputation on social networks. Finally, future research directions are suggested on the role of image to control e-reputation.

“I Wish I Could Grow a Full Beard”: The Amateur Pogonotropher on the Beardbrand YouTube Channel

2018 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 295-306
Author(s):  
Christopher J. Schneider
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Exploratory Study ◽  
Ideal Type ◽  
Media Analysis ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Ideal

Pogonotrophy refers to beard cultivation including growth and grooming practices. This exploratory study contributes to the little understood role of beard culture on YouTube. Scholarship examining the relationship between social media platforms such as YouTube and beard culture is almost nonexistent. This gap in the research allows us to ask the following: What sorts of content do users circulate about beards on YouTube? And, how does this content contribute to how users interact and learn about beards? A total of 62,061 user-generated comments across 310 videos featured on the Beardbrand YouTube channel were collected and examined using qualitative media analysis. Three themes emerged from an analysis of these data: the yeard quest, the ideal type, and how to beard. The findings illustrate the important role that YouTube plays in fostering contemporary beard culture. Suggestions for future research are noted.

scholarly journals The electoral photograph reloaded: a social semiotic approach

Letras ◽  
2016 ◽  
pp. 73 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francisco Osvanilson Dourado Veloso
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Presidential Election ◽  
Digital Transformation ◽  
Political Campaigns ◽  
Semiotic Approach

While studies on the role of social media in political campaigns are growing, we still need to understand how well established communicative resources such as political photographs have been adapted in face of the digital transformation. Departing from Barthes (1972) discussion on electoral photographs, this paper discusses the production of Interactive meanings in photographs uploaded by the three main contenders in the Presidential Election 2014 in Brazil. The results show an expansion both in the functions and semiotic strategies adopted to establish a relationship with viewers through electoral photographs.

scholarly journals The Perfect Storm: A Developmental–Sociocultural Framework for the Role of Social Media in Adolescent Girls’ Body Image Concerns and Mental Health

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sophia Choukas-Bradley ◽  
Savannah Roberts ◽  
Anne J. Maheux ◽  
Jacqueline Nesi
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Body Image ◽  
Peer Relationships ◽  
Adolescent Girls ◽  
Physical Appearance ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Body Image Concerns ◽  
Perfect Storm

In this theoretical review paper, we provide a developmental–sociocultural framework for the role of social media (SM) in contributing to adolescent girls’ body image concerns, and in turn, depressive symptoms and disordered eating. We propose that the features of SM (e.g., idealized images of peers, quantifiable feedback) intersect with adolescent developmental factors (e.g., salience of peer relationships) and sociocultural gender socialization processes (e.g., societal over-emphasis on girls’ and women’s physical appearance) to create the “perfect storm” for exacerbating girls’ body image concerns. We argue that, ultimately, body image concerns may be a key mechanism underlying associations between adolescent girls’ SM use and mental health. In the context of proposing this framework, we provide empirical evidence for how SM may increase adolescent girls’ body image concerns through heightening their focus on: (1) other people’s physical appearance (e.g., through exposure to idealized images of peers, celebrities, and SM influencers; quantifiable indicators of approval); and (2) their own appearance (e.g., through appearance-related SM consciousness; exposure to one’s own image; encouraging over-valuing of appearance; and peer approval of photos/videos). Our framework highlights new avenues for future research on adolescent girls’ SM use and mental health, which recognize the central role of body image.

scholarly journals The role of social media in the creation of brand experiences

2018 ◽  
Vol 34 (61) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mauricio Losada-Otálora ◽  
Iván D. Sánchez
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Declarative Memory ◽  
Empirical Work ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Sense Making ◽  
Brand Experience ◽  
Brand Associations ◽  
Content Consumption ◽  
The Creation

The relationship between social media and brand experience remains unclear in spite of the strategic importance of social platforms in marketing. To narrow this gap of knowledge, this paper addresses three research objectives: first, defining what is brand experience on social media. Second, explaining how does brand experience come to life on social media? And, third, understanding how do social media create a brand experience. A set of propositions that comes from sense-making, marketing, and cognitive literature suggests that (a) brand experience on social media is the bundle of brand associations to attributes, emotions, or sensations that result from a sense-making process by which a consumer gives meaning to brand-related content consumption or creation on social media; (b) consumer encodes, stores, and retrieves brand experiences for declarative memory as brand associations to attributes, emotions, or sensations; (c) social media may trigger brand experience creation; however, these media may have challenging effects for brand experiences management (e.g., make difficult the creation of long-term brand experiences). Such a conceptual understanding of the role of social media at customer experience creation, paired with a set proposition for empirical work, provide a guide to future research into this field.

scholarly journals A survey of social media use in emergency situations: A literature review

2020 ◽  
pp. 026666692091389 ◽  
Author(s):  
Najeeb Gambo Abdulhamid ◽  
Daniel Azerikatoa Ayoung ◽  
Armin Kashefi ◽  
Boyce Sigweni
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
Emergency Response ◽  
The Other ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Emergency Situations ◽  
Research Stream ◽  
Use Of Social Media ◽  
Areas Of Interest

This study reviews literature on the use of Social Media (SM) in emergency response operations while identifying gaps in this research stream that need attention from Information Systems (IS) researchers. The research is grounded in past works and attempts to build on research on the application of SM in emergencies. It focuses on understanding the role of SM in the prevention, management and response to emergencies. The review contains a detailed literature exposition of IS and disasters journals. The appraisal of such research stream led the review to focus on the concept of digital volunteerism as an offshoot of crowdsourcing initiatives. Findings from the review reveal that previous studies overlooked the interfacing challenges between formal and traditional aid agencies on one hand and digital humanitarians on the other. Consequently, we identify gaps in the extant literature and propose areas of interest for future research.

Economic Inequality and News Media

2020 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
News Media ◽  
Economic Inequality ◽  
Mediated Communication ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
Mainstream Economics ◽  
Journalism Studies ◽  
Key Issues ◽  
Blind Spots

Despite the rediscovery of the inequality topic by economists and other social scientists in recent times, relatively little is known about how economic inequality is mediated to the wider public. That is precisely where this book steps in: it examines how mainstream news media discuss, respond to, and engage with such important trends. The book addresses significant ‘blind spots’ in the two disciplinary areas most related to this book—political economy and media/journalism studies. Firstly, key issues related to economic inequalities tend to be neglected in media and journalism studies field. Secondly, mainstream economics have paid relatively little attention to the evolving scope and role of mediated communication.

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