Social Media Education Provided by National Governing Bodies of Sport: An Examination of Practices for Youth Olympic Games and Olympic Games Athletes

Social media provides athletes with many opportunities as well as challenges. Scholars have argued for proactive, educational social media training instead of traditional policy and punishment models, yet research on this topic is limited. Therefore, this study sought to understand the social media training/education national governing bodies (NGBs) provided to athletes ranging from Youth Olympic Games (YOG) to Olympic level, and to examine NGB communication employees’ perceptions regarding athletes’ social media use and their organization’s social media training. Utilizing uses and gratifications theory, a sequential mixed method was employed involving a survey of U.S. NGBs and in-depth interviews with NGB communication personnel. While most NGBs used proactive, educational social media training for Olympic athletes, few did the same for YOG athletes. NGB employees felt social media use posed significant benefits or gratifications to athletes, and education and training helped to enhance those benefits as well as minimize the challenges, or failed gratifications, athletes experience on social media.

Consumer engagement in value co-creation within virtual video game communities

With the emergence of the gaming industry as the most empowering form of entertainment, video game online communities have become a refuge for many users who are looking to fulfil specific needs, leading them to participate in creating their own experiences. Drawing upon the uses and gratifications theory, this research aims to understand the motivations behind consumer engagement in value co-creation within digital game distribution services (exp. Steam), and how it affects loyalty. To the extent of the author’s knowledge, little research has addressed this question within the gaming industry. We conducted an online survey administered to video game platforms users, through which 195 valid answers were collected. Findings suggest that hedonic along with personal and social motivations have positive influence on user’s engagement to co-create value, which in return increases their loyalty behavior.

The Interpretation of Chinese Youth’s Values Orientation in Post Epidemic Era Based on Buzzwords in Prototype Category Theory

The buzzwords born in the post-2020 epidemic era reflect the changes in the values of Chinese youths. However, little empirical research has been conducted to understand why people use buzzwords and changes of values of Chinese youths. Adopting the uses and gratifications theory and prototype category theory by means of regression analysis was employed to analyze the data collected from 112 undergraduate and graduate students in China Three Gorgeous University. The results reveal that socializing needs were the strongest motivation in predicting the usage intention of buzzwords. Applying the method of continuous comparison to analyze the data, the study found that the political, international, social, and moral views of Chinese youths have possessed more inclusive international value and more integrated social value in the post-epidemic era. This study has certain enlightenment to the value orientation of contemporary college students.

Penggunaan Media Sosial Instagram dalam Meningkatkan Literasi Kesehatan Pada Mahasiswa

This study entitled "Use of Instagram Social Media in Improving Health Literacy in Syiah Kuala University Students" aims to assess the use of Instagram social media by seeking information about health in improving student health literacy at Syiah Kuala University. This study uses the uses and gratifications theory. This research is a qualitative research with descriptive type. The criteria for informants in this study were Syiah Kuala University students, active users of Instagram social media, and using Instagram for health-related purposes. Data collection methods used are interviews, and documentation. The results of this study indicate that Instagram is proven to be able to meet the needs of students to get access to the health information needed. The seven informants have good conceptual knowledge so that they can improve their health literacy through the use of Instagram social media. Students also have a better understanding of health after being exposed to health content on Instagram. This is in line with the students' motives to obtain useful health information in increasing their understanding of health, so that they can make the right health decisions, it contributes to improving students' health literacy.

Consumer’s Motivation toward Purchase Intention on Online Product with Mediating Effect of Trust in Brunei

This study proposes a conceptual framework for determining the influences of consumers’ motivation toward purchase intention on online product in Brunei. Nowadays, purchasing goods via internet is growing rapidly in the whole world and it gives confidence to a researcher to explore what factors influence consumer see at the time of purchase goods via online. However, this study argues that the driver of the motivation on consumer is yet to be fully identified due to lack of studies that investigate the specific influence as a separate phenomenon and has not been tested in Brunei yet. Therefore, this study analyses the Uses and Gratifications Theory and Theory of Trust, to develop the understanding of consumers’ motivation and purchase intention on online product. The aim for this study is to explore the factors of consumers’ motivation in Brunei such as social media, online customer reviews, social influence and website design/features. This is to examine whether they have relationship between purchase intention and trust as a mediator. The data will be updated by quantitative method where the expected sample of 350 participants in Brunei in order to test the effect of variables. This study provides further insight for future researchers who will benefit to study consumers’ motivation for instance, in the e-commerce and social commerce, which may assist business managers’ advance their decision-making quality in developing markets.

Theorizing Social Media Usage Behaviour

The lack of an integrative theoretical framework pushed most of the research on social media into cyclical form. This paper reviewed theories such as uses and gratifications theory, social skills hypothesis and social capital hypothesis, as these theories previously guided social media research. In addition, this paper examined theories such as IPACE model, supernormal stimuli, behavioural economics, social brain hypothesis and psychological persuasion, which can provide new perspective in understanding social media behaviour. Finally, this paper discussed the impetus for empirical research to test the validity of these theories.

Video gaming spectatorship

This article addresses the phenomenon of gameplay video watching on YouTube. The study investigates what drives people to watch gameplay videos and what gratifications they seek in performing the activity of gameplay viewing. To this end, the authors adopted the uses and gratifications theory (UGT) and a qualitative methodology involving three online discussion groups with 100 members of international gameplay communities. While the results pinpoint the attractiveness of the player as the most important motive, other reasons, such as preview and learning aspects or substitution for the real game, also appear to be important. The qualitative approach enabled to uncover unique aspects of the motives of watching YouTube gameplay videos. In this respect, five distinctive types of gameplay viewers are identified – Spectator, Performer, Selector, Viewer, and Substitutor – where each of them seems to engage in such practices with specific motives and accompanying gratifications.

USING SOCIAL MEDIA FOR POLITICAL CAMPAIGN COMMUNICATION AND ITS IMPACT ON POLITICAL POLARIZATION AMONG YOUTHS IN UGANDA

The current study is aimed at examining the use of social media for political communication and its impact on the political polarization of youths in Uganda. The study specifically focuses on determining social media platforms that are often used by youths in Uganda, find out the levels of social media usage, political campaign communication, and political polarization among youths in Uganda as a result of social media usage. Lastly, the study also focuses on determining the relationship between social media platforms, social media usage, political communication, and political polarization amongst youths in Ugandans. The study adopts the uses and gratifications theory to help in guiding the study and explaining the available relationships between the variables of the study. A quantitative research design and survey method with a questionnaire as the tool for data collection were used in this study. 192 valid responses were extracted from youths residing in Kampala and Wakiso districts in Uganda as the respondents of the study. The findings of the study reveal that youths in Uganda often use Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter, and Instagram while looking for political-related information to help them form a decision on who to give their support in the election. In addition, the study also reveals that the more the youths look for such political information, the more they become polarized because all the politicians just feed them with information that is divisive and there exists a huge amount of hatred as a result of the consumption of such information on the Ugandan internet space. The uses and gratifications theory is also supported in the study.