Digital Commons Network^™

Differential Effects Of Social Media On Body Esteem: An Ecological Momentary Assessment On Weight Satisfaction And Muscularity Importance, Megan Van Alfen Brown

Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated how social media use is related to body esteem (particularly weight satisfaction and muscularity importance) in adolescents. We conducted a 17-day Ecological Momentary Assessment study among 183 adolescents (12–17 years, 58% girls). Each adolescent reported on his/her social media use, weight satisfaction, and muscularity importance four times per day (68 assessments per participant; 6,863 completed in total). Using a person-specific, N=1 method of analysis (Dynamic Structural Equation Modeling), we found that at the between-person level, social media use is not associated with lower satisfaction with one’s weight and greater importance of looking masculine. At the within-person level, …

Comics About Organs: Social Support And Graphic Medicine In The Awkward Yeti, Jacob Gibb

Theses and Dissertations

Comic strips have always been a medium for more than humor. Many comic strips published on social media sites address mental health issues. Despite their popularity, the field of graphic medicine, which examines the intersection of health care and comics, has seen little to no examination of how these comics function on social media. Utilizing the popular comic The Awkward Yeti, this research examines how the rhetorical devices of comics make them an ideal medium for communicating about mental health issues and providing social support to social media users. This study conducts a content analysis of 15 Instagram posts from …

"Social" Movements: A Trend Analysis Of The Role Of Social Media In Social Movements, Courtney Nelson Stubbs

Theses and Dissertations

The gay rights movement has been very active on social media throughout the years. Using a trend analysis this study aimed to answer how social media is being used during a social movement, how a social movement evolves on social media, and how social media is being used by organizations as a public relations strategy to create change in social movements. Overall, the findings revealed 11 different ways social media is being used during a social movement, which shows how important opinion leaders are in helping a social movement gain traction and create the desired impact.

Informal Learning In An Online Book Club: A Qualitative Case Study, Toni E. Pilcher

Theses and Dissertations

This article examines the online book club called Victober, which is held every October on Youtube and other social media apps. As a qualitive case study, the research uses interviews, observations, and digital documents to explore the interactions and informal learning experiences of four women who participated in Victober 2022. The author identifies five overarching themes that emerged from the data: content creation, community identity, individual identity, rewards, and anticipation. These themes highlight the significance of content creation for YouTube and social media platforms, the sense of community fostered by Victober, the balance between individuality and belonging, the rewards of …

Ally Mediation Of Social Media Use For Adults With Autism, Spring S. Cullen

Theses and Dissertations

Previous research has highlighted the unique challenges young Autistic adults face when using social media. We extend this work by analyzing how guardians and allies, such as service providers, mediate the social media usage of young Autistic adults in order to address and mitigate online risks. Based on analysis of interview transcripts (8 young adults on the Autism spectrum, 4 parents, 10 staff members), we uncover the mediation tactics used, how they differ based on the ally's relationship with the individual, and the tactics' varying degrees of effectiveness. The findings of this research contribute to the literature by informing the …

Social Media's Impact On The Puerto Rican Diaspora After Hurricane Maria, Heidi Lynn Steidel Ii Camacho

Theses and Dissertations

Puerto Rico has belonged to the United States for more than a century. In 1898, more than two decades after the Spanish American War, Spain formally ceded the island to the United States. Just over 20 years later, islanders officially became American citizens. Since then, the 100-mile-long by 35-mile-wide island has experienced economic and political crises, the COVID-19 pandemic, and life-threatening natural disasters. These events provoked a vast fluctuation in its population. After Hurricane Maria unfolded in September 2017, more than 200,000 Puerto Ricans moved to the continental United States to start new lives (Schwartz, 2018). This qualitative study sheds …

Analyzing Online Media Platforms For Hacktivist Group Organization And Proliferation, Quincy Taylor

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The anonymity and lack of censorship online provides the perfect environment for hacker activists to pursue social change. The expansive reach and democratic access to social media has empowered groups to organize and develop messaging to specifically fit an online audience. As social media become ubiquitous, the reputation and use of messaging application have become mainstream. Due to a self-professed focus on privacy, platforms like Telegram have become the norm for hosting the hacktivist communities. The purpose of this research was to understand the features in Telegram messages that correlate with the most engagement from their audience. As expected, the …

Extra, Extra, Read All About It: An Analysis Of News Platform Preferences, Gabrielle Shiozawa

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis analyzes the correlation between age, political leaning, and the way people interact with news media by examining data from a sample survey of 254 news consumers. Results indicate that older and/or more conservative people are more likely to get their news from print newspapers, cable news, broadcast, and radio, while younger and/or more progressive individuals are more likely to get their news from social media. Younger and/or more progressive people are also more likely to trust the news than their older and/or more conservative counterparts. Subjects across the board preferred reading articles to watching the news, with no …

How Universities Use Twitter To Communicate About Mental Health, Sarah Elizabeth Polhill

Theses and Dissertations

From a sample of over three million tweets from universities in the US, we described the characteristics of universities' communication about mental health on Twitter, including common keywords, bigrams, linked resources, and hashtags, as well as the frequency of dialogic communication and mental health tweets over time, especially in the context of the COVID-19 Pandemic. This study uses data mining to collect tweets from official university Twitter accounts and selected accounts of university wellness and counseling programs. Relevant tweets were collected from a large sample using keywords and bigrams relevant to mental health from the Twitter accounts of IACS accredited …

Exploring Perceptions Of New Media Among The Lakota Nation, Isabelle C. Kramer

Theses and Dissertations

Since its inception, the worldwide web has fundamentally altered our understanding of communications. With the rapid adoption of new media around the globe, individuals are increasingly able to communicate with people on the other side of the planet in real-time--traditional boundaries like time and space are no longer relevant barriers to intercultural communication. As such, scholars are scrambling to recognize and understand the broader implications of social media, videoconferencing, blogging, etc on more traditional definitions of culture. Additionally, researchers are beginning to study the ways in which minority cultures are utilizing new media, and the way that new media impacts …

How Scholars Are Using Social Media To Support Their Scholarship, Olga Maria Belikov

Theses and Dissertations

This article-format dissertation focuses on how scholars use social media to support their scholarship. The first article is a scoping literature review that outlines current research. While overviewing an emergent field of literature, the article highlights motivations for using social media use, discusses benefits and drawbacks of this use for scholarship, explains how this discourse has evolved over time, and shares implications of what further topics can be investigated as well as implications for post-secondary institutions and scholars integrating social media use into their professional roles. In article two, I built a classifier and used it to analyze the Twitter …

How Brazilians Used Media To Cope With The Issues Brought By The Covid-19 Pandemic, Vivian De Melo Campos

Theses and Dissertations

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the world faced lockdown and quarantine restrictions that encouraged or forced people to stay home. Along with the rest of the world, Brazil faced many difficulties during this period and it became one of the countries that lost more lives due to the Coronavirus infection worldwide. This study focuses on showing how people in Brazil coped with the challenges brought by the pandemic. It also focuses on showing if and how participants used media as a coping mechanism. The research was done through qualitative methods with semi-structured interviews with 25 adults who were living in …

Efficacy Of Social Media Analysis As A Service (Smas) For Crisis Events, Rohit Kumar Khattar

Theses and Dissertations

Social media data can be collected and analyzed during and after crisis events to aid in disaster relief efforts. Setting up a system to perform this analysis is associated with various technical challenges. This thesis presents the design and implementation of a social media analysis as a service system. This system is hosted on cloud infrastructure and allows for on demand collection, processing, and delivery of social media data via an intuitive web interface. The service model and cloud infrastructure allow the system to be highly scalable and produce near real time analysis data. A cost evaluation of the system …

Examining The Perceptions Of Fake News, Verification, And Notices On Twitter, Brendan Patrick Gwynn

Theses and Dissertations

The rise of social media platforms has had a significant impact on the conventional model of gatekeeping. With increased access to information--as well as the ability to contribute to the public discourse--individuals no longer need to rely on the mass media for news. These realities have led to increased conversations surrounding credibility in the digital age. Although not a new concept, fake news has become increasingly common in recent years. The web--particularly social media outlets, like Twitter--have enhanced the spread of misinformation. To combat this, social media platforms have introduced gatekeeping features like verification marks and warning labels. However, questions …

Agenda Setting In The Digital Age: The Impact Of Mass Media And Social Media On The Topic Of Sexual Harassment, Melissa True Gibbs

Theses and Dissertations

The news media plays an important role in communication. The function of the media in a free society is to inform the public, be a watchdog of government, provide a voice for the voiceless, and help determine which issues should be discussed in the community. The power of the mass media to guide the social agenda and influence the public's perception of what issues are important has been questioned in the digital age. This study examines traditional agenda-setting in the digital era to understand how the theory functions in a computer mediated society. The #MeToo movement acts as a case …

Influence For Change: Consumer Perceptions Of Social Media Influencer Engagement In Social Responsibility, Lauren Elizabeth Silva

Theses and Dissertations

Social Media has become a place for Social Media Influencers (SMIs) and brands to interact with users. For decades, brands and companies have been engaging in Corporate Social Responsibility, which has recently become highly visible through social media. While not brands, SMIs have also started engaging in and creating social responsibility content on social media platforms, such as Instagram. An experimental design study of 421 participants was conducted to examine and compare consumer perceptions. Using self-presentation theory as a framework and experimental design, this study analyzes consumer perceptions of brand and SMI credibility and authenticity when engaging in social responsibility …

A Social Media Misinformation Label And The Postrhetorical Presidency, Ethan Mcginty

Undergraduate Honors Theses

In May 2020, presidential communication on social media was—for the first time—subject to a misinformation label applied by the social media site on which the communication originated. This development indicates a turning point in social media sites’ relationship with presidential communication and demands adaptation in the scholarly understanding of presidential rhetoric during the present era. Drawing from the theoretical framework of the postrhetorical presidency, I perform dual rhetorical analyses of this landmark artifact. The first round of analysis ignores the label and analyzes the presidential communication alone to understand its function, while the second analysis reveals the rhetorical impact of …

Linking Exposure To Political Content On Social Media With Political Polarization: The Mediating Role Of Anger, Audrey Anne Halversen

Theses and Dissertations

Previous research has detailed concerns that exposure to both pro- and counter- attitudinal content on social media can result in outcomes of ideological polarization (e.g. Bail et al., 2018; Lu & Lee, 2018). However, further research is needed in order to understand the conditions under which this polarization may take place. To investigate this issue, this study utilizes a sample of 414 social media users in the U.S. to investigate the mediating effects of a) anger toward political opposites and b) anger toward oppositional social media content on the relationships between various types of political content exposure and the outcome …

Effects Of Actual And Perceived Air Pollution On U.S. Twitter Sentiment, George R. Garcia Iii

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Objective

This study examines the associations between actual and perceived air pollution (PM_2.5, AQI, and ground visibility), weather information, and expressed sentiment via US Twitter. Heterogeneity in the associations across date and county characteristics are also explored.

Methods

A sentiment index was constructed using 27,827,828 geotagged U.S. tweets posted between May 31 and November 30, 2015. Associations between AQI category changes and the sentiment index were estimated using multi-cutoff regression discontinuity models. Associations between same-day and lagged PM_2.5, ground visibility, and the sentiment index were estimated using weighted linear regression models. Models include weather variables and …

Creating A Long-Term Relationship Between A Museum And Its Patrons: Examining Social Media As Opr Tool, Kylie M. Brooks

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative research study comprised of six case studies explores museums’ practical usage of social media as an organization public relations tool. Analyzing six different museums using both surveys and interviews, this research provides a strategic, theory-based framework for any organization to utilize social media effectively by increasing public trust and engagement. Understanding the role that social media plays within organizational public relations is crucial for both for-profit and non-profit organizations. Because nonprofit organizations are often operating under time, personnel, and financial constraints, the accessibility and zero-cost of social media are hugely advantageous tools for non-profits organizations. However, without a …

Ustube - A Grounded Theory Analysis Of The Relationship Between Youtube And Influencers, Alex Michie Sanders

Theses and Dissertations

Since YouTube's launch in 2005, it has grown into one of the most visited social media platforms in the world. It launched with the slogan "Broadcast Yourself" with the promise that the content sharing site would allow anyone to post, share, and interact with videos from anyone around the world for free. Many people took advantage of that promise and became Internet celebrities, or "influencers," in a short amount of time, amassing millions of subscribers and billions of views. The success of these YouTube stars has led them to land roles on TV and in films, launch music careers, write …

Ustube -- An Exploration Of The Relationship Between Youtube And Influencers, Alex Michie Sanders

Theses and Dissertations

Since YouTube's launch in 2005, it has grown into one of the most visited social media platforms in the world. It launched with the slogan "Broadcast Yourself"with the promise that the content sharing site would allow anyone to post, share, and interact with videos from anyone around the world for free. Many people took advantage of that promise and became Internet celebrities, or "influencers,"in a short amount of time, amassing millions of subscribers and billions of views. The success of these YouTube stars has led them to land roles on TV and in films, launch music careers, write books, and …

Brand Communication Through Social Media Influencers: How Organizations Can Advance Effective Relationships With Smis In Brazil, Andressa Ferreira Gaertner

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to shed light on how brands can build relationships with social media influencers (SMIs). By replicating Pang et al. (2016) research in different cultural settings, the present study identified internal and external influences that are important for SMIs routines in Brazil, generating additional enlightenment into the Mediating the Media model for SMIs and evaluating to what extent cultural differences may impact the proposed theoretical framework. The research was conducted in two major parts. The first replicated the method used previously by Pang et al. (2016), performing in-depth interviews with eight SMIs. In the second …

The Impact Of Breakups On Social Media Use Among Digital Natives, Hyejin Kim

Theses and Dissertations

Digital natives, who are born and raised with digital technologies, have a deep affinity with social media. Social media has a great influence over an individual's daily life, even on his/her intimate and romantic relationship. As a breakup of romantic relationships can commonly happen to digital natives, and as it is likely to cause distress and psychological symptoms afterwards, this study attempted to find out the impact of breakups on social media use among digital natives. The quantitate survey was conducted with 175 valid participants between the ages of 18-30. These participants were those who currently live in the United …

Nonprofit Public Relationships On Social Media: The Public's Perspective, Brooke Lauren Smith

Theses and Dissertations

This work explores the effect of social media on expectations held by nonprofit publics as they seek to build and maintain relationships with nonprofit organizations (NPOs) in the context of expectancy violation theory, social capital, and the situational theory of publics. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 14 individuals who follow a nonprofit on social media to understand the public perspective on nonprofit organizations' relationship building and maintaining behaviors on social media. The study found that nonprofit publics do have specific expectations for how NPOs should build and maintain relationships on social media (i.e., high-quality posts, level of interaction being limited …

Like And Shout: Brand Loyalty, Framing, And Fan Interactions On The Byu Football Facebook Page, Zachary Anderson Miller

Theses and Dissertations

This research is intended to provide the stewards of social media for Brigham Young University's football program with information that will allow them to make better decisions on what kind of content will maximize engagement and enhance brand loyalty among fans and consumers on Facebook. Using several variables, including the type or theme of content, post frequency, and sponsorship, content was compared against that from the University of Oregon's football program for the 2017 season. The results, found using quantitative data analysis, reveal that some variables have a significant impact on the quantity of engagement from viewers for both programs …

Social Media Use And Its Impact On Relationships And Emotions, Spencer Palmer Christensen

Theses and Dissertations

A large majority of the people throughout the world own a smartphone and access social media on a daily basis. Because of this digital attachment, the author sought to understand to what extent this use has impacted the users' emotional well-being and offline interpersonal relationships. A sample size of 627 participants completed a mixed-methods survey consisting of Likert scale and short answer questions regarding social media use, emotional well-being and interpersonal relationships. Results revealed that the more time an individual spent on social media the more likely they were to experience a negative impact on their overall emotional well-being and …

How Are U.S. Startups Using Instagram? An Application Of Taylor's Six-Segment Message Strategy Wheel And Analysis Of Image Features, Functions, And Appeals, Robert David Jenkins

Theses and Dissertations

Social media and their accompanying smartphone apps have opened brands to consumers in unprecedented ways. Of these sites, none, with the exception of Facebook, are more popular than Instagram, a social networking app that is image-centric and image-driven. As a free platform for potentially reaching, attracting, and engaging with millions of consumers, Instagram offers brands an unprecedented avenue for free advertising—all on a relatively level playing field. This means that brands, even startups, have the same access to potential followers as larger, more established brands. This advertising is more fluid, more frequent, and more inconspicuous than traditional advertisements; e.g., magazine …

But First, Let Me Take A Selfie: A Content Analysis Of Female And Male Celebrity Selfies On Instagram, Maureen Grace Elinzano

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research is to analyze the differences between women and men and their selfies on the popular social media application Instagram. Past research and notions in popular culture show that women take more selfies than men do, and that they place more time and effort into their selfies than men do. The goal is to show that women may not solely do the action of taking and posting selfies and that the stereotype of taking and posting selfies being a feminine action should not be prevalent. We conducted a thorough visual content analysis of selfies on Instagram …

The Rise Of The Listicle: Using Eye-Tracking And Signal Detection Theory To Measure This Growing Phenomenon, Jason Robert Freeman

Theses and Dissertations

As online technology continues to progress, the modes of communication through which content can be shared have exponentially grown. These include advances in navigational options for presenting information and news online. Though the listicle has been around for centuries, the internet has proliferated its growth, as content producers rely on its structure as a vehicle for sharing information. This research shows that in the case of listicles, format had no direct effect on recall, however, participants who had a greater interest in the content showed significantly higher levels of memory sensitivity. This critical finding suggests that news outlets and content …