scholarly journals Social Media and Attitude Change: Information Booming Promote or Resist Persuasion?

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yizhi Wang ◽  
Yuwan Dai ◽  
Hao Li ◽  
Lili Song

Emerging social media platforms such as Twitter and its Chinese equivalent Weibo have become important in information-sharing and communication. They are also gradually becoming stronger in guiding public opinion. When compared with traditional media, these platforms have salient characteristics, such as highly efficient dissemination of information and interactive commentary, which can contribute to information overload. In earlier research, only the effect of social media on attitude change has been studied, but the specific mechanism of this effect in the context of information overload has not been found. To answer this question, we measured the attitude change of participants after they read Weibo posts about street vendors. A 2 (post-attitude: positive posts vs. negative posts) × 4 (reading time: 35 vs. 25 vs. 15 vs. 5 min) experiment was set up, and the Single Category Implicit Attitude Test was used to measure the implicit attitudes. The interaction effect revealed that in both positive and negative posts, less reading time (i.e., information overload) had a stronger influence. Users were more easily persuaded by posts under high overload. Furthermore, the changes in the attitudes of users were not simply stronger with more information. We found three stages, namely, obedience, resistance, and acceptance, with different mechanisms. Therefore, in the positive information overload condition, the attitudes of individuals eventually change in a positive way. In the negative information overload condition, individuals tend to be biased against the group being reported.

Author(s):  
Rowan Daneels ◽  
Hadewijch Vanwynsberghe

Increasingly complex and multipurpose social media platforms require digital competences from parents and adolescents alike. While adolescents grow up with social media, parents have more difficulties with them, leading to uncertainties regarding their adolescents’ social media mediation. This study contributes to parental mediation research by (1) investigating whether mediation strategies defined by previous research are also relevant for social media use, and (2) exploring whether parents’ social media literacy is connected to the choice for a certain mediation strategy, as previous research already identified other impact factors such as children’s age or family composition. Using a qualitative research design, we interviewed 14 parents and 13 adolescents from 10 families in Belgium. Results indicate that, consistent with previous research, parents in this study mostly use active mediation focusing on risks and safety on social media. However, some parents monitor their children through social media accounts specifically set up for monitoring, or specialized mobile apps. Furthermore, parents with high (mostly critical) social media literacy choose active mediation over restrictive or technical strategies, recognizing opportunities of social media and letting adolescents explore on their own.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 76-90
Author(s):  
Madhura Manish Bedarkar ◽  
Mahima Mishra ◽  
Ritesh Ashok Khatwani

This article explores the role of social media in facilitating women entrepreneurs in India. It adopts a case study approach to explore the effectiveness of social media platforms in supporting women entrepreneurs. PULA (Pune Ladies), a closed Facebook Group, set up in 2015 for women in Pune, was selected as a case study. Fifteen in-depth interviews were conducted among 15 active women entrepreneurs of this group to explore the benefits received in terms of visibility, marketing opportunities, revenue generation, psychological benefits (sense of belongingness, self-confidence, motivation), and counselling to name a few. Their responses were analyzed for commonalities and divergences. The article finds that PULA not only offers a cost-effective platform for women entrepreneurs to showcase their products/services but also helps them in enhancing the visibility and financial performance of their businesses. The findings of this study will guide women entrepreneurs in leveraging social media platforms through greater visibility, networking and marketing their products/ services more efficiently.


2019 ◽  
Vol 35 (12) ◽  
pp. 17-19

Purpose This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies. Design/methodology/approach This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context. Findings Organizations should utilize social media platforms like Twitter to communicate effectively with stakeholders impacted in the wake of a preventable corporate crisis. It is critical to deploy relevant communication strategies in order to repair relations and minimize damage caused to the reputation and legitimacy of the firm. Originality/value The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.


2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 19-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carolin Gerlitz

Abstract Social media platforms have been characterised by their programmability, affordances, constraints and stakeholders - the question of value and valuation of platforms, their data and features has, however, received less attention in platform studies. This paper explores the specific socio-technical conditions for valuating platform data and suggests that platforms set up their data to become multivalent, that is to be valuable alongside multiple, possibly conflicting value regimes. Drawing on both platform and valuation studies, it asks how the production, storing and circulation of data, its connection to user action and the various stakeholders of platforms contribute to its valuation. Platform data, the paper suggests, is the outcome of capture systems which allow to collapse action and its capture into pre-structured data forms which remain open to divergent interpretations. Platforms offer such grammars of action both to users and other stakeholders in frontand back-ends, inviting them to produce and engage with its data following heterogeneous orders of worth. Platform data can participate in different valuation regimes at the same time - however, the paper concludes, not all actors can participate in all modes of valuation, as in the end, it is the platform that sets the conditions for participation. The paper offers a conceptual perspective to interrogate what data counts by attending to questions of quantification, its entanglement with valuation and the various technologies and stakeholders involved. It finishes with an empirical experiment to map the various ways in which Instagram data is made to count.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 073-075
Author(s):  
Benjelloun Roukaya ◽  
Otheman Yassine

The expansion of social media platforms has given birth to a specific professional category in charge of « sanitizing » social media and keeping it free of “inappropriate” content. These content moderators, as a result of being constantly exposed to potentially traumatic images, may be at risk of developing stress-related symptoms. Here we present the case of a social media content moderator who experienced intrusive images, anxiety symptoms and insomnia. Literature about this subject is very scarce, while the need is increasing to assess this phenomenon and set up strategies of monitoring, counseling and treating this category of workers. Key points The expansion of social media platforms has given birth to a specific professional category: content moderators. As a result of being constantly exposed to potentially traumatic images, content moderators may be at risk of developing stress-related symptoms. The need is increasing to assess this phenomenon and set up strategies of monitoring, counseling and treating this category of workers.


2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 46-58
Author(s):  
Halvdan Haugsbakken

In recent years, several Norwegian public organizations have introduced Enterprise Social Media Platforms. The rationale for their implementation pertains to a goal of improving internal communications and work processes in organizational life. Such objectives can be attained on the condition that employees adopt the platform and embrace the practice of sharing. Although sharing work on Enterprise Social Media Platforms can bring benefits, making sense of the practice of sharing constitutes a challenge. In this regard, the paper performs an analysis on a case whereby an Enterprise Social Media Platform was introduced in a Norwegian public organization. The analytical focus is on the challenges and experiences of making sense of the practice of sharing. The research results show that users faced challenges in making sense of sharing. The paper indicates that sharing is interpreted and performed as an informing practice, which results in an information overload problem and causes users to become disengaged. The study suggests a continued need for the application of theoretical lenses that emphasize interpretation and practice in the implementation of new digital technologies in organizations.  


2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-70 ◽  
Author(s):  
Viriya Taecharungroj

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to use user-generated content (UGC) on social media platforms to infer the possible place brand identities of two famous metropolitan areas in Bangkok, Thailand, namely, Khaosan Road and Yaowarat (Bangkok’s Chinatown), both of which are famous for their street vendors and nightlife. These two places are interesting study sites because of recent identity conflicts among their stakeholders. The method developed in this research can help other places to better understand place brand identities and, as such, effectively plan for and manage those places.Design/methodology/approachThe author used content analysis to study 782 user-generated images on Flickr and 9,633 user-generated textual reviews of Khaosan Road and Yaowarat from TripAdvisor and Google Maps’ Local Guide. MAXQDA was used to code all the images. User-generated textual reviews were studied using Leximancer. The author also introduced a positivity of concept analysis to identify positive and negative components of place brand identity.FindingsThe author developed a place brand identity framework that includes three pillars, namely, place physics, place practices and place personality. Content analysis of the images generated 105 codes and a count of the frequency of the codes that represent place brand identity. Content analysis of textual reviews created the concepts in the three pillars and identified the positive and negative concepts for both places. The results of both image and text analyses showed that street food vending is one of the most salient components of place brand identity for both Khaosan Road and Yaowarat.Practical implicationsThe author suggested several place branding strategies for the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration such as turning Khaosan Road into a music scene for both visitors and locals, controlling excessive and aggressive commercialism, sponsoring the production of creative and authentic content, initiating a compelling online campaign that focusses on the items sold in Yaowarat, hosting a spotlight event such as a seafood festival and improving hygiene and walkability.Originality/valueBoth the advancement of digital technologies and the complexity of stakeholders create a need for empirical studies on place branding involving the participation of the widest possible range of stakeholders and studies on the influence of social media. This research is the first to use both image and text analyses to study place brand identity from UGC. The use of both analyses allows the two methods to complement one another while mitigating the weaknesses of each.


2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 6
Author(s):  
Heru Susanto ◽  
Leu Fang Yie ◽  
Fadzliwati Mohiddin ◽  
Arief Amier Rahman Setiawan ◽  
Parastou Khodaparast Haghi ◽  
...  

When the world was engulfed by a COVID-19 pandemic crisis, various activities could not be carried out normally. Activities may continue from home during a crisis by the use of a smartphone through the internet, because almost all people have their own smartphone, without requiring additional purchase of hardware. For formal learning, people can take the opportunity to use social media platforms to undertake conversations easily by using smart phones, even tablets. Teenagers or adults who are still studying in higher education institutions can undertake continuous learning for their work assignments. For example, they can use these tools to communicate through social media such as the WhatsApp, Telegram, Zoom, Microsoft Team, and Edmodo apps to connect with friends and lecturers. This research reveals trends of digital social media security and usability in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic situation, such as working from home, establishing a start-up, improving business processes and conducting online business within the digital ecosystem. The result is interesting and there are many uses of social media which have been addressed in this study during the COVID-19 pandemic for business purposes. The various social media platforms have different features that are available for use by subscribers, and also make it easier for people to do business. This is mainly due to the fact that they open up the global market and also make it cheaper to advertise. The government as well as the private sector has been in the forefront when it comes to the use of social media. Maintaining a good online presence is one of the key aspects that determine the success of start-up companies. This is due to the fact that most customers usually rely on the customer reviews in determining the ability of a company to meet the needs of clients. The main reason why most companies set up a customer relations department that is mandated with the responsibility of responding to customer feedback on various online platforms. On the other hand, the increased use of social media has brought new challenges when it comes to the security of information. Users must, therefore, secure their servers and technology from external and internal threats. One of the strategies used is the use of passwords to log into a portal where each person authorized to access the portal is provided with a password that is unique and known only by the user. The study has covered all these areas in detail including the use of database management systems in an organization or individual.


2014 ◽  
Vol 30 (11) ◽  
pp. 35-38

Purpose – This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies. Design/methodology/approach – This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context. Findings – The arrival of Web 2.0 represents one of the more striking technological developments of the new century. Social media has taken the Internet to new heights by enabling users to exploit different platforms to generate and share content. Business organizations have wisely become attuned to this trend. An increasing number are thus exploiting the scope of social media platforms as a means to target customers effectively. The ability of such media to transform the way information is exchanged furthers their appeal. Consumers are now able to actively engage with one another and also communicate more productively with firms. Practical implications – The paper provides strategic insights and practical thinking that have influenced some of the world’s leading organizations. Originality/value – The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.


First Monday ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Perrine Poupin

This article analytically describes the digital technologies-embedded repression practices developed against a local grassroot environmental protest in Far Northern Russia. Unlike urban political opposition that uses United States-based social media platforms (Facebook and Twitter), grassroots movements mainly use VKontakte, the Russia-developed dominant social network in the country. They use it despite the potential privacy and security risks this platform has posed to users since 2014. By means of an ethnographic approach, this article focuses on government responses to online protest activities and counter-practices formulated by activists to circumvent limitations. Inhabitants have been fighting since July 2018 against a waste landfill project designed to ship vast quantities of garbage from Moscow to a remote site called Shies. A protest camp was set up and maintained to physically preserve the site, joined by people from all over Russia. This article shows that, even as it became a target of government surveillance, VKontakte remains a crucial tool for local activism.


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