A world of two agendas

This article studies the efficiency of different samples for content analysis of news in media effects studies by comparing the agenda-setting effect of a classic sample with the effect of a sample drawn based on audiences’ self-reported media habits. Contrary to the belief that exposure to sampled media content is necessary for observation of media effects, samples drawn based on overall readership/viewership of the media are more efficient than samples based on audiences’ actual consumption habits. A traditional media sample yields a stronger agenda-setting effect compared to a sample drawn based on self-reported media habits. But correlations between the two media samples are also strong. The findings suggest that a broad intermedia agenda-setting process makes it possible for researchers to draw a traditional sample that is representative of the issues salient to audiences regardless of their level of exposure to the sampled media. In other words, even in a demassified media environment, traditional samples are still the best option for media effects researchers.

The Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic Lockdown on Eating, Body Image, and Social Media Habits Among Women With and Without Symptoms of Orthorexia Nervosa

The COVID-19 pandemic is negatively impacting people’s mental health worldwide. The current study examined the effects of COVID-19 lockdown on adult women’s eating, body image, and social media habits. Furthermore, we compared individuals with and without signs of orthorexia nervosa, a proposed eating disorder. Participants were 143 women, aged 17–73 years (M = 25.85, SD = 8.12), recruited during a COVID-19 lockdown in Canada from May-June 2020. Participants completed self-report questionnaires on their eating, body image, and social media habits during the pandemic. The Eating Habits Questionnaire (EHQ) assessed symptoms of orthorexia nervosa. Compared to the period prior to lockdown, women with higher total orthorexia nervosa scores reported eating a lot more than usual, feeling greater pressure to diet and lose weight, thinking about food more often than usual, experiencing greater weight gain, and perceiving more pressure from social media specifically to lose weight and to exercise, compared to their healthy counterparts. We examined associations between individual EHQ subscales and perceived changes to eating and weight. Women who scored high on EHQ-Problems reported seeing more weight loss content on their social media than those who reported fewer orthorexia nervosa symptoms. Conversely, those who scored low on EHQ-Feelings reported feeling a lot less pressure to lose weight, somewhat less or a lot less pressure to lose weight or to exercise from social media specifically, and trended toward less laxative use during lockdown, compared to those who scored higher on orthorexia nervosa. And those who scored low on EHQ-Knowledge reported feeling somewhat less or a lot less pressure to lose weight than those who reported more orthorexia nervosa symptoms. Together, the findings suggest that women with symptoms of orthorexia nervosa are experiencing an exacerbation of disordered eating thoughts and behaviors during COVID-19, and that social media may be a contributing factor.

Shaping and Sharing Imagination

Changes in business and social environments have led society towards a complex landscape in which the relationship between mainstream media and participatory culture is completely changed, with a consequential blurring of boundaries between public and virtual space. As audience media habits are changing, a digital vision of reality is rising and engagement practices are evolving. As a consequence, there is the need for a new design methodology based on different skills working together. It is then necessary to adopt a disruptive approach to overcome the contemporary complexity, assuming storytelling activities, narrative practice and relationships among people as driving forces for innovation. The cases of Imagine Milan (2009-2012) and Plug Social TV (2013-ongoing), in which we tested listening and expressive tools, and communication strategies in order to activate a dialogue among communities. On the one hand, there is the aim of experiencing audiovisual languages through different narrative formats. On the other hand, we explored the use of stories in a collaborative process, spreading the narrative worlds across different channels. The aim of this paper is to describe our design approach, merging together tools and skills from different areas: communication design strategies as participative methods are linked to codesign actions; branding strategies, coming from the advertising field, as tools for identity development; audiovisual language considered as a cultural interface for listening to reality; transmedia practice as a cultural paradigm able to involve the audience into meaning-making processes; ultimately, social media advocacy is used to build relationships between virtual and real communities.

Prioritization and Representation

The idea that senators tailor their social media habits according to their priorities for representation adds another layer to what we know about members of Congress. Senators adopt three types or styles of communication, shaped by their own background and the preferences of the constituencies those communications are designed to reinforce. Senators make a choice to be a policy wonk, a constituent servant, or party warrior, which reflects their style of representation and how they want to be portrayed by constituents. This variation in representation is reflected in senators’ rhetorical agendas and made accessible in the era of rapid, public engagement on Twitter. Social media can bring out the worst in people—lewd remarks, haphazard comments, and criticism verging on cruelty—but at the same time, Twitter reveals senators’ priorities for representation.

SOCIAL MEDIA LOGIC AND HEALTH COMMUNICATION BETWEEN INDEPENDENCE AND CONSTRAINTS: EVIDENCE FROM ITALY DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

This paper presents the results of a study that investigated how local health authorities (LHAs) located in the most impacted areas by Covid-19 of Lombardy (North of Italy) answered to the challenges imposed by the pandemic through their official Facebook pages during the early weeks of the emergency (January-March 2020). The goal is to understand how the logics of social media affected LHAs’ communication, representing an opportunity for health institutions to enter a new phase of information diffusion and relations with stakeholders and layperson, but also a mean of constraints due to their algorithmic logics and limits of access. The originality of the approach is that, in order to understand the relationship between social media and local health authorities, the theoretical framework hybridizes health communication theories and social media studies. Empirical results showed that LHAs’ communication on Facebook was affected by the logics of programmability and popularity, and also that the institutional language was shaped by social media habits, with an intense use of visuals, hashtags and other engagement strategies. Findings highlighted also that Covid-19 related messaged triggered users’ interactions. The study pointed out the relevance of social media for healthcare communication, opening up new reflections and insights about platforms’ role on ordinary and emergency situations like the pandemic. Interdependence and tensions between public health communication and algorithmic and platform logics are critically discussed.

Social media use in patients with fibromyalgia and its effect on symptom severity and sleep quality

Background The aim of this study was to evaluate social media use in patients with fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) and determine the effect of social media use on disease severity and sleep quality. Materials and methods In total, 205 social media using patients with similar characteristics were included in the study. The study group consisted of 103 patients with FMS, and the control group consisted of 102 patients without FMS. The FMS symptom severity scale and diffuse pain index were used to determine the disease severity in FMS patients, the sleep disorder short form questionnaire (PROMIS) was used to evaluate sleep quality, and the Social Media Addiction Scale-Adult Form was used to evaluate social media addiction. A visual analog scale was applied to evaluate pain in both the patient and control groups, and social media usage times were recorded. Results We found that pain severity, sleep disturbance and social media addiction were higher in patients with FMS than in the control group, and there was no relationship between the rates of social media use in patients with FMS and the severity and prevalence of the disease. Conclusion The use of social media is more frequent in patients with FMS, which can motivate healthcare professionals to evaluate social media habits in individuals with FMS.

Media Generations in Serbia

This paper represents a small contribution to the study of media generations in Serbia. The research on which the paper is based starts from the model formulated by Goran Bolin, who drew on Karl Mannheim's theoretical postulates. The principal question that has served as the starting point of inquiry is in what way media (as technologies and content) and related experiences affect the forming of generational belonging of media generations in Serbia, and how they influence their use of media in the contemporary digital environment. In order to understand the context of the historical development of media in the formative period of life of generation members, the paper first provides a description of the "objective media environment". It consists of key years in the development of media in Serbia, crucial social events reported on by the media, and sociological analyses that contribute significantly to the understanding of each of the generations studied. For the purposes of the second and third level of analysis, a focus group study was carried out with members of three generations. Using the classification proposed by Oblinger and Oblinger, also used today by the Pew Research Center, the generations have been defined as (1) the Post-war Generation or Generation P (1946-1964), Generation X (1965-1980) and Generation M or Millennials (1981-1995). Their members were born before the intruduction of commercial intenet in Serbia, and grew up in different media and social environments. The second level of analysis, which Bolin terms the "subjective media environment", involved a phenomenological approach to the study of generation members' recollections of "first contacts" and subjective experiences contributing to the creation of a sense of generational belonging. Then, in order to establish which specific generational patterns are manifested in the contemporary media environment, an analysis was conducted of the way in which members of different generations use media today, which is the very reason they can be referred to as media generations. The research has highlighted the importance of two formative life periods; also, it suggests that it is in fact media generational units that manifest their specificities within each of the defined generations. In addition, it has been found that media generations can be distinguished not only according to their current media habits, but also according to the way they perceive the role of the media in society, the expectations they have of the media, and their understanding of their own position as users of these media. Thus Generation P, as the "generation of traditional media", perceives media primarily as content. Generation X, as a "mix of radio/music and internet generations", sees media primarily as technology that offers various possibilities. Generation M, on the other hand, can be said to be the first "networked generation" for which the media are a space that enables them to be continuously connected to others, and in which they can obtain information, find entertainment, and study/work.

Screen-based media and young children: Review and recommendations

Early childhood development is influenced by a child’s environmental experiences. The qualities of surrounding in which a child lives, grows up and learns are key for attaining their milestones. Increased availability of screen-based media in families leads to excessive screen time among young children, resulting in high chances of displacing parent–child interaction which is fundamental in a thriving child’s process of learning and development. Numerous publications have investigated the potential health impacts of early exposure and excessive usage of screen-based media among children, with literature suggesting links between excessive screen time and behavioural difficulties, developmental delay and increased risk of obesity, among other issues. Existing guidelines from international bodies call for limiting screen time to an hour per day for children aged two to five years old and urge that children below the age of two should not be exposed to any screen time. To spark awareness among parents and caregivers concerning the potential health impacts of screen-based media usage among young children, child media habits are recommended to be incorporated as part of toddlers’ developmental assessment in health clinics. A guideline for mindful usage of screen-based media focusing on children below the age of five tailored to a Malaysian context ought to be developed based on current evidence from research, theory and practice. A collaborative effort between concerned agencies is essential to ensuring a developmentally stimulating environment in which young children may grow up.