scholarly journals Echo Chamber Effect in Rumor Rebuttal Discussions About COVID-19 in China: Social Media Content and Network Analysis Study (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dandan Wang ◽  
Yuxing Qian
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Network Analysis ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Community Interactions ◽  
Echo Chamber ◽  
Negative Sentiment ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Chamber Effect

BACKGROUND The dissemination of rumor rebuttal content on social media is vital for rumor control and disease containment during public health crises. Previous research on the effectiveness of rumor rebuttal, to a certain extent, ignored or simplified the structure of dissemination networks and users’ cognition as well as decision-making and interaction behaviors. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to roughly evaluate the effectiveness of rumor rebuttal; dig deeply into the attitude-based echo chamber effect on users’ responses to rumor rebuttal under multiple topics on Weibo, a Chinese social media platform, in the early stage of the COVID-19 epidemic; and evaluate the echo chamber’s impact on the information characteristics of user interaction content. METHODS We used Sina Weibo’s application programming interface to crawl rumor rebuttal content related to COVID-19 from 10 AM on January 23, 2020, to midnight on April 8, 2020. Using content analysis, sentiment analysis, social network analysis, and statistical analysis, we first analyzed whether and to what extent there was an echo chamber effect on the shaping of individuals’ attitudes when retweeting or commenting on others’ tweets. Then, we tested the heterogeneity of attitude distribution within communities and the homophily of interactions between communities. Based on the results at user and community levels, we made comprehensive judgments. Finally, we examined users’ interaction content from three dimensions—sentiment expression, information seeking and sharing, and civility—to test the impact of the echo chamber effect. RESULTS Our results indicated that the retweeting mechanism played an essential role in promoting polarization, and the commenting mechanism played a role in consensus building. Our results showed that there might not be a significant echo chamber effect on community interactions and verified that, compared to like-minded interactions, cross-cutting interactions contained significantly more negative sentiment, information seeking and sharing, and incivility. We found that online users’ information-seeking behavior was accompanied by incivility, and information-sharing behavior was accompanied by more negative sentiment, which was often accompanied by incivility. CONCLUSIONS Our findings revealed the existence and degree of an echo chamber effect from multiple dimensions, such as topic, interaction mechanism, and interaction level, and its impact on interaction content. Based on these findings, we provide several suggestions for preventing or alleviating group polarization to achieve better rumor rebuttal.

Exploring the nexus of social media influencers and consumer brand engagement

2022 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Man Lai Cheung ◽  
Wilson K.S. Leung ◽  
Morgan X. Yang ◽  
Kian Yeik Koay ◽  
Man Kit Chang
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Social Interaction ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Motivational Factors ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Consumer Engagement ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Impact

PurposeGrounded in uses and gratification theory (UGT) and observational learning theory (OLT), this study aims to understand the impact of motivational factors on consumer-influencer engagement behaviors (CIEBs). Motivating factors, including entertainment, information seeking, reward and social interaction, are regarded as antecedents of consumers' OLT, as manifested by CIEB dimensions, including consumption, contribution and creation, and subsequently drive consumer engagement with the endorsed brands.Design/methodology/approachA self-administered questionnaire was distributed to Malaysian social media users. A total of 263 responses were collected and analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to examine the impact of motivational factors on CIEBs.FindingsThe results show that the three dimensions of CIEBs can be predicted by different gratifications (information seeking, entertainment, reward and interaction). In addition, two of the CIEB dimensions, consumption and contribution, were found to have a significant positive influence on consumers' engagement with endorsed brands.Practical implicationsThis study provides insights into how social media influencers (SMIs) could lead to CIEBs by creating entertaining and rewarding content that facilitates social interaction between consumers. SMIs and marketers that encourage consumers to browse, comment and share SMI-created posts will enhance consumer engagement with the endorsed brands, as engagement is driven by the consumption and contribution to SMI-created content.Originality/valueSMI marketing is increasing, and many brands are beginning to rely more on SMIs to promote brands. Yet, there is a dearth of studies that have examined how SMIs play a role in affecting consumers' engagement with endorsed brands. This study contributes to the marketing literature by developing and empirically testing the research model. Results suggest that social interaction, reward and entertainment are key motivational factors that drive CIEBs, which, in turn, foster consumer engagement with endorsed brands.

scholarly journals Blurred reputations: Managing professional and private information online

2018 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
pp. 16-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frances V.C. Ryan ◽  
Peter Cruickshank ◽  
Hazel Hall ◽  
Alistair Lawson
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Private Information ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
Information Science ◽  
Private Lives ◽  
Professional Reputation ◽  
Media Platform ◽  
Everyday Life Information Seeking ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Reputation Building

Results are reported from a study that investigated patterns of information behaviour and use as related to personal reputation building and management in online environments. An everyday life information seeking (ELIS) perspective was adopted. Data were collected by diary and interview from 45 social media users who hold professional and managerial work roles, and who are users of Twitter, Facebook and/or LinkedIn. These data were first transcribed, then coded with NVivo10 according to themes identified from a preliminary literature review, with further codes added as they emerged from the content of the participant diaries and interviews. The main findings reveal that the portrayal of different personas online contributes to the presentation (but not the creation) of identity, that information-sharing practices for reputation building and management vary according to social media platform, and that the management of online connections and censorship are important to the protection of reputation. The maintenance of professional reputation is more important than private reputation to these users. They are aware of the ‘blur’ between professional and private lives in online contexts, and the influence that it bears on efforts to manage an environment where LinkedIn is most the useful of the three sites considered, and Facebook the most risky. With its novel focus on the ‘whole self’, this work extends understandings of the impact of information on the building and management of reputation from an information science perspective.

scholarly journals Pregnancy-Related Information Seeking and Sharing in the Social Media Era Among Expectant Mothers: Qualitative Study (Preprint)

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chengyan Zhu ◽  
Runxi Zeng ◽  
Wei Zhang ◽  
Richard Evans ◽  
Rongrong He
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Pregnant Women ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
Chinese Culture ◽  
Instant Messaging ◽  
Media Usage ◽  
Related Information ◽  
Expectant Mothers ◽  
Media Channels ◽  
The Impact

BACKGROUND Social media has become the most popular communication tool used by Chinese citizens, including expectant mothers. An increasing number of women have adopted various forms of social media channels, such as interactive websites, instant messaging, and mobile apps, to solve problems and obtain answers to queries during pregnancy. Although the use of the internet by pregnant women has been studied extensively worldwide, limited research exists that explores the changing social media usage habits in China, where the 1 child policy ended in 2015. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to (1) present the status quo of pregnancy-related information seeking and sharing via social media among Chinese expectant mothers, (2) reveal the impact of social media usage, and (3) shed light on pregnancy-related health services delivered via social media channels. METHODS A qualitative approach was employed to examine social media usage and its consequences on pregnant women. A total of 20 women who had conceived and were at various stages of pregnancy were interviewed from July 20 to August 10, 2017. Thematic analysis was conducted on the collected data to identify patterns in usage. RESULTS Overall, 80% (16/20) of participants were aged in their 20s (mean 28.5 years [SD 4.3]). All had used social media for pregnancy-related purposes. For the seeking behavior, 18 codes were merged into 4 themes, namely, gravida, fetus, delivery, and the postpartum period; whereas for sharing behaviors, 10 codes were merged into 4 themes, namely, gravida, fetus, delivery, and caretaker. Lurking, small group sharing, bad news avoidance, and cross-checking were identified as the preferred patterns for using social media. Overall, 95% (19/20) of participants reported a positive mental impact from using social media during their pregnancy. CONCLUSIONS It is indisputable that social media has played an increasingly important role in supporting expectant mothers in China. The specific seeking and sharing patterns identified in this study indicate that the general quality of pregnancy-related information on social media, as well as Chinese culture toward pregnancy, is improving. The new themes that merge in pregnancy-related social media use represent a shift toward safe pregnancy and the promotion of a more enjoyable pregnancy. Future prenatal care should provide further information on services related to being comfortable during pregnancy and reducing the inequality of social media–based services caused by the digital divide.

Measuring the Impact of Social Media

2011 ◽  
pp. 24-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kimiz Dalkir
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Social Network ◽  
Social Network Analysis ◽  
Network Analysis ◽  
Evaluation Method ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Work Processes ◽  
The Social ◽  
Post Test ◽  
The Impact

This chapter focuses on a method, social network analysis (SNA) that can be used to assess the quantity and quality of connection, communication and collaboration mediated by social tools in an organization. An organization, in the Canadian public sector, is used as a real-life case study to illustrate how SNA can be used in a pre-test/post-test evaluation design to conduct a comparative assessment of methods that can be used before, during and after the implementation of organizational change in work processes. The same evaluation method can be used to assess the impact of introducing new social media such as wikis, expertise locator systems, blogs, Twitter and so on. In other words, while traditional pre-test/post-test designs can be easily applied to social media, the social media tools themselves can be added to the assessment toolkit. Social network analysis in particular is a good candidate to analyze the connections between people and content as well as people with other people.

scholarly journals Sentiment Analysis of Impact of Technology on Employment from Text on Twitter

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (07) ◽  
pp. 88
Author(s):  
Shahzad Qaiser ◽  
Nooraini Yusoff ◽  
Farzana Kabir Ahmad ◽  
Ramsha Ali
Keyword(s):  
Machine Learning ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
Support Vector ◽  
Ripple Effect ◽  
Learning Classifier ◽  
The People ◽  
Impact Of Technology ◽  
Negative Sentiment ◽  
The Impact

Many different studies are in progress to analyze the content created by the users on social media due to its influence and social ripple effect. Various content created on social media has pieces of information and user’s sentiments about social issues. This study aims to analyze people’s sentiments about the impact of technology on employment and advancements in technologies and build a machine learning classifier to classify the sentiments. People are getting nervous, depressed and even doing suicides due to unemployment; hence, it is essential to explore this relatively new area of research. The study has two main objectives 1) to preprocess text collected from Twitter concerning the impact of technology on employment and analyze its sentiment, 2) to evaluate the performance of machine learning Naïve Bayes (NB) classifier on the text. To achieve this, a methodology is proposed that includes 1) data collection and preprocessing 2) analyze sentiment, 3) building machine learning classifier and 4) compare the performance of NB and support vector machine (SVM). NB and SVM achieved 87.18% and 82.05% accuracy respectively. The study found that 65% of the people hold negative sentiment regarding the impact of technology on employment and technological advancements; hence people must acquire new skills to minimize the effect of structural unemployment.

Exploring the integration of social media within integrated marketing communication frameworks

2016 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-40 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael John Valos ◽  
Fatemeh Haji Habibi ◽  
Riza Casidy ◽  
Carl Barrie Driesener ◽  
Vanya Louise Maplestone
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Digital Media ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
Marketing Communications ◽  
Marketing Communication ◽  
Integrated Marketing ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Service Channel ◽  
Senior Services ◽  
The Impact

Purpose – At present no frameworks exist for services marketers to incorporate social media (SM) within marketing communications planning. The majority of integrated marketing communications (IMC) frameworks were developed prior to the development of the widespread use of digital and SM for information seeking, sales and service. The purpose of this paper is to investigate this issue for services marketers specifically as they differ from FMCG, industrial and durable marketers in terms of marketing messages, branding, media and channels. Furthermore, as they are less reliant on outsourced sale channels they have more potential than other industries to integrate social and digital media to build awareness, brands and sales. Design/methodology/approach – Depth interviews were conducted with eight senior services marketing executives to identify the impact of SM on marketing communications planning, implementation and measurement. Findings – The findings revealed that the unique characteristics of SM (such as interactivity and individualisation, integration of communication and distribution channels, immediacy and information collection) impact traditional marketing communications frameworks. These impacts manifested in 12 modifications specific to services and SM to traditional generic IMC frameworks encompassed by the themes of reach, service channel, word-of-mouth advocacy, consumer generated messages, listening and behavioural measurement. Practical implications – The rapidly evolving nature of SM means senior services marketers need to educate organisational stakeholders regarding implementation issues, which may be a barrier to effective integration of SM within marketing communications. Originality/value – With digital marketing communications budgets reaching 30 per cent within some organisations, it is timely to put forward a marketing communication decision-making framework that first incorporates SM and second is suitable for services marketers.

scholarly journals Does Mobile Social Media Undermine Our Romantic Relationships? The Influence of Fear of Missing Out (FoMO) On Young People’ Romantic Relationship

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lin Wang ◽  
Junping Qiu ◽  
Su Yan ◽  
Wei Liu
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Romantic Relationships ◽  
Romantic Relationship ◽  
Interpersonal Relationship ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Mobile Users ◽  
Fear Of Missing Out ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Use Of Social Media ◽  
The Impact

Abstract The widespread use of social media has a trans-formative effect on people’s work and lives. With the increasing information explosion and more cases of social media addiction, users have been always worried that they have missed some information. FoMO (Fear of Missing Out) of mobile users emerges. FoMO has affected users’ interpersonal relationship and behavior in the offline environment, especially for post-90s generation users (people born in the 1990’s). This paper explores the impact of FoMO of post-90s generation mobile users on romantic relationship in the context of social media. The sample size is 274 subjects. By using questionnaire survey and regression analysis, the impacts of FoMO on romantic relationship were analyzed from the perspectives of three dimensions of FoMO: cognitive, emotional and behavioral manifestations. Results show that behavioral manifestation of FoMO has a significant negative effect on romantic relationships, while emotional and cognitive manifestations of FoMO have no significant effects on romantic relationships. This paper enriches the research on the effects of psychology and information behavior of mobile social media users on their interpersonal relationship.

scholarly journals Viral misinformation and echo chambers: the diffusion of rumors about genetically modified organisms on social media

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (5) ◽  
pp. 1547-1564
Author(s):  
Xiaohui Wang ◽  
Yunya Song
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Genetically Modified Organisms ◽  
Genetically Modified ◽  
Content Type ◽  
User Attitudes ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Echo Chamber ◽  
Fact Checking ◽  
Chamber Effect

PurposeThe spread of rumors on social media has caused increasing concerns about an under-informed or even misinformed public when it comes to scientific issues. However, researchers have rarely investigated their diffusion in non-western contexts. This study aims to systematically examine the content and network structure of rumor-related discussions around genetically modified organisms (GMOs) on Chinese social media.Design/methodology/approachThis study identified 21,837 rumor-related posts of GMOs on Weibo, one of China's most popular social media platforms. An approach combining social network analysis and content analysis was employed to classify user attitudes toward rumors, measure the level of homophily of their attitudes and examine the nature of their interactions.FindingsThough a certain level of homophily existed in the interaction networks, referring to the observed echo chamber effect, Weibo also served as a public forum for GMO discussions in which cross-cutting ties between communities existed. A considerable amount of interactions emerged between the pro- and anti-GMO camps, and most of them involved providing or requesting information, which could mitigate the likelihood of opinion polarization. Moreover, this study revealed the declining role of traditional opinion leaders and pointed toward the need for alternative strategies for efficient fact-checking.Originality/valueIn general, the findings of this study suggested that microblogging platforms such as Weibo can function as public forums for discussing GMOs that expose users to ideologically cross-cutting viewpoints. This study stands to provide important insights into the viral processes of scientific rumors on social media.

Credible to Whom?

2017 ◽  
pp. 142-161
Author(s):  
Nathan Rodriguez
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Search Engine ◽  
Online Search ◽  
Case Study Approach ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Active Choice ◽  
Echo Chamber ◽  
Chamber Effect

This chapter adopts a case study approach to examine the echo chamber effect online. Individuals cobble together personalized newsfeeds by active choice and those choices are often accompanied by subtle manipulations in social media and online search engine algorithms that may shape and constrain the parameters of information on a given topic. In this chapter, the author studied vaccine-hesitant discourse in an online forum over a five-year period. Those conversations exhibited characteristics of what would be considered an echo chamber, as defined by Jamieson and Cappella (2008). The implications of this case study suggest that the echo chamber within the realm of vaccination can lead individuals toward content and information of dubious veracity, with significant implications for public health.

scholarly journals Diabetes on Twitter: A Sentiment Analysis

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 439-444 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elia Gabarron ◽  
Enrique Dorronzoro ◽  
Octavio Rivera-Romero ◽  
Rolf Wynn
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Sentiment Analysis ◽  
Text Message ◽  
Positive Association ◽  
Health Condition ◽  
Media Impact ◽  
Analysis Techniques ◽  
Negative Sentiment ◽  
Public Health Strategies ◽  
The Impact

Background: Contents published on social media have an impact on individuals and on their decision making. Knowing the sentiment toward diabetes is fundamental to understanding the impact that such information could have on people affected with this health condition and their family members. The objective of this study is to analyze the sentiment expressed in messages on diabetes posted on Twitter. Method: Tweets including one of the terms “diabetes,” “t1d,” and/or “t2d” were extracted for one week using the Twitter standard API. Only the text message and the number of followers of the users were extracted. The sentiment analysis was performed by using SentiStrength. Results: A total of 67 421 tweets were automatically extracted, of those 3.7% specifically referred to T1D; and 6.8% specifically mentioned T2D. One or more emojis were included in 7.0% of the posts. Tweets specifically mentioning T2D and that did not include emojis were significantly more negative than the tweets that included emojis (–2.22 vs −1.48, P < .001). Tweets on T1D and that included emojis were both significantly more positive and also less negative than tweets without emojis (1.71 vs 1.49 and −1.31 vs −1.50, respectively; P < .005). The number of followers had a negative association with positive sentiment strength ( r = –.023, P < .001) and a positive association with negative sentiment ( r = .016, P < .001). Conclusion: The use of sentiment analysis techniques on social media could increase our knowledge of how social media impact people with diabetes and their families and could help to improve public health strategies.

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