Benefits and Risks of Social Networking Sites

Author(s):  
Angelina I. T. Kiser

One of the challenges facing university and college professors is the use of effective and efficient communication with their students. One solution could be the use of social networking sites to engage students and the U.S. 2010 Digital Year in Review (2011), social networking continues to grow as one of the web’s top activities with 9 out of every 10 U.S. Internet users accessing break down communication barriers, according to a social networking site every month. The study includes an in-depth review of the uses, benefits and risks of social networking sites as well as how they might be utilized in a college or university setting. The researcher in this study surveyed university business students at a private, four-year, Hispanic-serving institution in Texas about their use of social networking sites and how professors might integrate these sites into the curriculum.

Author(s):  
Angelina I. T. Kiser

One of the challenges facing university and college professors is the use of effective and efficient communication with their students. One solution could be the use of social networking sites to engage students and the U.S. 2010 Digital Year in Review (2011), social networking continues to grow as one of the web’s top activities with 9 out of every 10 U.S. Internet users accessing break down communication barriers, according to a social networking site every month. The study includes an in-depth review of the uses, benefits and risks of social networking sites as well as how they might be utilized in a college or university setting. The researcher in this study surveyed university business students at a private, four-year, Hispanic-serving institution in Texas about their use of social networking sites and how professors might integrate these sites into the curriculum.


1970 ◽  
pp. 237-260
Author(s):  
Jolanta Jarczyńska

Social networking sites (SNS), popularly called portals, are sites that combine multiple functions. Users might communicate by SNS with their friends, share photos and movies or participate in groups. SNS satisfy their users’ needs such as the need to connect or to self-present. These functions of SNS make them attractive. It is not surprising, therefore, that in recent years there has been an increasing number of people, especially young ones, using social networking sites. Facebook (FB)is the most popular social network in the world. Statistics carried out by FB indicate a rapid increase in the number of Internet users who make use of this particular social networking site. The article presents the characteristics of the phenomenon of school students’ excessive use of social networking sites. It defines the basic concepts, describes the diagnostic criteria for abuse of social networking sites and theories to explain this behavior. It shows the loss and benefits of excessive use of social networks and presents tools used in research to measure school students’ excessive use ofsocial networking sites.


2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 165-175
Author(s):  
Robert R. Wright ◽  
Austin Evans ◽  
Chad Schaeffer ◽  
Rhett Mullins ◽  
Laure Cast

Technological advances such as smartphones and tablets have made social media and social networking sites (SNS; e.g., Facebook, Snapchat) increasingly accessible and popular. The literature, however, contains mixed results as to the effects associated with the increased use of SNS, with some studies suggesting benefits and others pointing to detriments to users’ overall wellness (e.g., social, mental, physical). As such, the current investigation examined the wellness of different SNS users among internet users solicited through Amazon’s MTurk (N = 2,083). Participants completed an online questionnaire that assessed their daily use of several SNS and constructs related to social, mental, and physical health. Results suggest that users of image-based SNS (e.g., Snapchat) show the most significant (p < .05) and substantial (d > .20) deficits and users of video-based (e.g., Marco Polo, WhatsApp) and professional (e.g., LinkedIn) SNS manifested the best wellness profiles. However, regardless of SNS type, increased total daily use of SNS was significantly (p < .05) related to worse health and wellness. Thus, differential health and wellness associated with SNS use may be at least partially explained by the type of SNS used such that using certain platforms may be more detrimental or beneficial than others.


2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 205630511770440 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Santarossa ◽  
Sarah J. Woodruff

The aim of this study was to investigate whether problematic social networking site (SNS) use (i.e., degree of dependent relationship with SNSs), total SNS time/day, total SNS friends, and specific SNS activities were related to body image (BI), self-esteem (SE), and eating disorder (ED) symptoms/concerns. A sample of young adults ( N = 147) completed an online survey which measured SNS usage, problematic SNS use, BI, SE, and ED symptom/concerns. The findings revealed that females and males spent 4.1 ± 3.9 and 2.9 ± 2.8 hr on SNS, respectively, with the majority of time spent lurking (i.e., looking at another users’ profile but not actually communicating with them). Furthermore, problematic SNS use was found to be related to BI, SE, and ED symptoms/concerns. Moreover, SNS activities, such as lurking and posting comments on others’ profiles, were found to be related to BI, whereas SNS total time was found to be related to ED symptoms/concerns. Overall, this study demonstrates the possible correlational influence of SNSs on BI, SE, and ED symptoms/concerns.


Author(s):  
Anastasiia Zerkal ◽  
◽  
Viktoriia Holomb ◽  

The article considers the peculiarities of the formation of marketing communication strategies of the enterprise in terms of digitalization of the economy. The main directions of mass media in the twentieth century are determined and the delimitation of modern social media is presented. The conditions of compliance of the website have been determined so that it can be considered as a part of web 2.0: the ability to independently contribute to the content of the site; User control of your own information and website design -interactive and useful. The influence of digital and mobile technologies on the peculiarities of users' communication, as well as their attitude to the interactivity of social networks is proved. The potential of social networks to support their brands, increase the customer base and promote goods and services of enterprises has been identified. It is determined that due to its popularity, social networking sites have had a significant impact on ways of social communication and as a result have changed the sales channels of enterprises. It is estimated that the number of people using social networks is growing very fast, and at the time of writing, more than 2.62 billion people are using social networking sites. The largest social networks were analyzed: Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram. Their features and advantages for both users and professional marketers of enterprises are determined. It is estimated that in 2021, 71% of the total number of Internet users were users of social networks, and this percentage is projected to increase. The most popular activity among Internet users is social networking, and it has a high level of user engagement, which has a positive impact on the sales of businesses that work with digital marketing tools. The ease and low cost of Internet marketing compared to conventional advertising has proven that businesses in all sectors of the economy can more effectively reach their target audience, and social networks help influence other potential customers, and allow businesses to get useful feedback on their product or service. Ultimately, this leads to improved products / services and customer engagement, ie improves the company's marketing communication strategies in today's digital economy.


Author(s):  
Hamed Qahri-Saremi ◽  
Isaac Vaghefi ◽  
Ofir Turel

Prior studies have primarily used "variable-centered" perspectives to identify factors underlying user responses to social networking site (SNS) addiction, their predictors and outcomes. This paper extends this perspective by taking a person-centered approach to examine (1) the prototypical subpopulations (profiles) of users' extent of SNS addiction and responses to it, (2) how affiliations with these profiles can explain user behaviors toward SNS use, and (3) how personality traits can predict affiliations with these profiles. To this end, we propose a typological theory of SNS addiction and user responses to it via two empirical, personcentered studies. Study 1 draws on survey data from 188 SNS users to develop a typology of users based on the extent of their SNS addiction and their responses to it. It further examines the relations between affiliation with these profiles and users' SNS discontinuance intention, as a typical behavioral response to SNS addiction. Study 2 uses survey data from 284 SNS users to validate the user typology developed in Study 1 and investigate its relations to users' Big Five personality traits. Our findings shed light on a typology of five prototypical profiles of SNS users-cautious, regular, consonant, dissonant, and hooked-who differ in their extent of SNS addiction and their cognitive, emotional, and behavioral responses to it. Our findings also demonstrate how Big Five personality traits can predict user affiliations with these prototypical profiles.


IFLA Journal ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 44 (3) ◽  
pp. 203-222
Author(s):  
Deirdre McGuinness ◽  
Anoush Simon

This paper explores the use of social networking sites amongst the student population of a Welsh university, with particular respect to information-sharing and privacy behaviours, and the potential impact of social networking site checks by employers on future use of these sites. A mixed-methods research design incorporating both quantitative and qualitative approaches was employed to investigate the research question. Results demonstrated that participants were concerned with maintaining privacy online, and were careful with regards to posting and protecting information on social networking sites; however, protective measures were imperfect due to human and system errors. Most respondents were aware of social networking site surveillance, with many noting that this would have an impact on their future use; however, users are active in protecting their privacy through a combination of use of privacy settings and varied levels of information disclosure dependent on context.


2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 84-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul R. Brewer ◽  
Michael Habegger ◽  
Ruby Harrington ◽  
Lindsay H. Hoffman ◽  
Philip Edward Jones ◽  
...  

AbstractVoters and political candidates increasingly use social networking sites (SNSs) such as Facebook. This study uses data from an online posttest-only experiment (N = 183) in analyzing how exposure to supportive or challenging user comments on a fictional candidate's Facebook page influenced participants’ perceptions of and willingness to vote for the candidate, as well as whether candidate replies to each type of user comments affected these outcomes. Participants who viewed a page with supportive comments and “likes” reported more favorable perceptions of and greater support for the candidate, relative to participants who viewed a page with challenging comments. Thus, the appearance of interactivity between a candidate and other users on the candidate's Facebook page can shape the responses of those viewing the page. However, exposure to candidate replies to either supportive or challenging comments did not lead to significantly more favorable perceptions or a greater likelihood of voting for the candidate.


2017 ◽  
Vol 41 (4) ◽  
pp. 558-579 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jayan Chirayath Kurian ◽  
Blooma Mohan John

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore themes eventuating from the user-generated content posted by users on the Facebook page of an emergency management agency. Design/methodology/approach An information classification framework was used to classify user-generated content posted by users including all of the content posted during a six month period (January to June 2015). The posts were read and analysed thematically to determine the overarching themes evident across the entire collection of user posts. Findings The results of the analysis demonstrate that the key themes that eventuate from the user-generated content posted are “Self-preparedness”, “Emergency signalling solutions”, “Unsurpassable companion”, “Aftermath of an emergency”, and “Gratitude towards emergency management staff”. Major user-generated content identified among these themes are status-update, criticism, recommendation, and request. Research limitations/implications This study contributes to theory on the development of key themes from user-generated content posted by users on a public social networking site. An analysis of user-generated content identified in this study implies that, Facebook is primarily used for information dissemination, coordination and collaboration, and information seeking in the context of emergency management. Users may gain the benefits of identity construction and social provisions, whereas social conflict is a potential detrimental implication. Other user costs include lack of social support by stakeholders, investment in social infrastructure and additional work force required to alleviate the technological, organisational, and social barriers in communication among stakeholders in emergency management. A collective activity system built upon the Activity Theory was used as a lens to describe users’ activity of posting content on the Facebook page of an emergency management agency. Practical implications By analysing the findings, administrators and policy makers of emergency management could identify the extent to which the core principles of disaster recovery are accomplished using public social networking sites. These are achieved in relation to: pre-disaster recovery planning; partnership and inclusiveness; public information messaging; unity of effort; and, psychological recovery to maximise the success of recovery in a disaster. Furthermore, a core principle which evoked a mixed response was timeliness and flexibility. Originality/value Previous studies have examined the role of social networking sites in disastrous situations, but to date there has been very little research into determining themes found in user-generated content posted on the Facebook page of an emergency management agency. Hence, this study addresses the gap in literature by conducting a thematic analysis of user-generated content posted on the Facebook page of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.


2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 173-198
Author(s):  
Gun Gun Heryanto

Internet as a new media is a communication channel that can be a new public sphere. Especially after the migration of web 1.0 to web 2.0, internet users are connected to many social networking sites and interactive weblog to share informations, ideas and thought. It also allows the debate surrounding the Ahmadiyya get space between netizens. Polemic about Ahmadiyya no longer solely a matter of aqidah as a matter of prophecy, al Mahdi and al Masih, revelation, caliphate and jihad but also a matter of Human Rights (HAM) and the law. We need to map out the themes of the talk surrounding the Ahmadiyya among internet users as well as the need to know the context and dynamics of the evolving discourse on new media. This study traced 100 posts written by Internet users in Kompasiana during 2008-2012 as well as the data from the focus group discussion (FGD) with Kompasianer.


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