Suchergebnisse

Social media platforms archive the content and flow of social exchange across communication networks. This may present challenges for individuals because using these platforms increases the probability of observing exchanges among their friends in which they were unintentionally excluded. This study randomly assigned 194 participants to conditions where they were presented with written scenarios describing hypothetical online conversations between their close friends in which they were excluded or included. Results suggest that participants in the excluded condition experienced the most negative and least positive emotional responses. Further, participants with the tendency to devote cognitive resources to understanding their social networks—a construct we call network attention—were particularly sensitive to the stimuli. Network attention predicted negative emotional responses in the excluded condition and positive emotional responses in the included condition. Results are discussed in the context of communication and cognition via social media.

Mobile and location-based media refer to technologies that can openly and dynamically portray the characteristics of the users and their mundane life. Facebook check-ins highlights physical and informational mobility of the users relating individual activities into spaces. This study explored how personality traits like extraversion and narcissism function to influence self-disclosure that, in turn, impacts the intensity of check-ins on Facebook. Using survey data collected through Facebook check-in users in Taiwan ( N = 523), the results demonstrated that although extraversion and narcissism might not directly impact check-in intensity on Facebook, the indirect effects of self-disclosure and exhibitionism were particularly salient. Moreover, a complete path from extraversion to Facebook check-in through self-disclosure and exhibitionism was discovered. Theoretical implications on human mobility and selective self-presentation are also discussed.

Mass media systems play increasingly prevalent roles in our lives. However, the relationship between traditional mass media exposure and behavior on social media is unclear, particularly in the context of selfie-related behavior, which includes capturing, editing, and sharing images of oneself. In the tradition of social cognitive theory, we argue that reality television (RTV) models a value system focused on the self and competition with others, and hypothesize a model where self-worth based on competition mediates the relationship between RTV viewing and selfie-related behavior. Path analysis results from survey data ( N = 334) support the mediation model. Selfie-related behavior was explicated and measured via novel instruments. Audience variables including online network size and diversity also played roles in selfie editing and sharing, as did specific social media platforms. Results are discussed in the context of evolving media systems.

In this study, we analyze the personal networks of 379 college students in Singapore to explore the social affordances of traditional and new channels in communicating with different types of social relationships and their associations with personal well-being. Results suggest communication channels play a complex role in how strong and weak ties are related to personal well-being. On one hand, face-to-face communication, landlines, mobile phones, text messaging, and social network sites are associated with the strong ties that boost personal well-being. On the other hand, mobile phones, text messaging, social network sites, and video chat (but not face-to-face or landline communication) are associated with weak ties and personal well-being. This study contributes to the literature in two ways. First, we show that strong and weak ties are both important to the personal well-being of college students in Singapore; second, we show how different communication channels are associated with different kinds of social ties. Mobile and social media play a critical role in these social ties.

Social media communication is characterized by reduced anonymity and off-to-online social interactions. These characteristics require scholars to revisit social influence mechanisms online. The current study builds on social influence literature to explore social network and gender effects on online behavior. Findings from a quasi-experiment suggest that both network-related variables and gender are significantly associated with online behavior. Perceived social environment, measured by personal network exposure rate, is more significant than objective reality, measured by frequency of received social messages, in determining behavior. We discuss the implications of social contagion effects on web-based strategic communication—including advertising, political campaigns, and social mobilization. Data limitations and the difficulty of measuring social network influence via social media are also discussed.

This study explores the mechanisms by which online social information seeking (i.e., monitoring Facebook friends) relates to social capital. Based on the extant literature, we propose a theoretical framework that includes communication activities across different channels operationalized as offline participation, network structure on social network site operationalized as the number of actual online friends and network diversity, and self-esteem. Results from an online survey ( N = 223) found a moderated mediation model in which participation in offline social activities mediated the relationship between social information seeking and self-reported bonding social capital, and self-esteem moderated this mediation. In addition, participation in offline social activities provided an additional channel to accessing bridging social capital. These results provide a theoretical framework for and suggest an approach of communication multiplexity to future research.