Digital Commons Network^™

Platform Realism, Informational Inequality, And Section 230 Reform, Olivier Sylvain

Faculty Scholarship

Online companies bear few duties under law to tend to the discrimination that they facilitate or the disinformation that they deliver. Consumers and members of historically marginalized groups are accordingly the likeliest to be harmed. These companies should bear the same, if not more, responsibility to guard against such inequalities.

“Cancel Culture” And Criminal Justice, Steven Arrigg Koh

Faculty Scholarship

This Article explores the relationship between two normative systems in modern society: “cancel culture” and criminal justice. It argues that cancel culture—a ubiquitous phenomenon in contemporary life—may rectify deficiencies of over- and under-enforcement in the U.S. criminal justice system. However, the downsides of cancel culture’s structure—imprecise factfinding, potentially disproportionate sanctions leading to collateral consequences, a “thin” conception of the wrongdoer as beyond rehabilitation, and a broader cultural anxiety that “chills” certain human conduct—reflect problematic U.S. punitive impulses that characterize our era of mass incarceration. This Article thus argues that social media reform proposals obscure a deeper necessity: transcendence of blame …

Using Internet-Derived Data To Measure Religion: Understanding How Google Can Provide Insight Into Cross-National Religious Differences, Amy Adamczyk, Jacqueline Scott, Steven Hitlin

Publications and Research

Internet and social media data provide new sources of information for examining social issues, but their potential for scholars interested in religion remains unclear. Focusing on cross-national religion data, we test the validity of measures drawn from Google and Twitter against well-known existing data. We find that Google Trend (GT) searches for the dominant religions’ major holidays, along with “Buddhism,” can be validated against traditional sources. We also find that GT and traditional measures account for similar amounts of variation, and the GT measures do not differ substantially from established ones for explaining several cross-national outcomes (e.g., fertility, circumcision, and …

Facebook, Crime Prevention, And The Scope Of The Private Search Post-Carpenter, Connor M. Correll

Georgia Law Review

The Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution protects people “against unreasonable searches and seizures.” The private search doctrine provides a notable exception to the Fourth Amendment, providing that the government may reconstruct a search previously performed by a private party without first obtaining a warrant. The U.S. Supreme Court developed the private search doctrine prior to the advent of the internet; however, modern technology has changed the way that individuals live. What was once done entirely in private is now done alongside ever-present third parties, such as cell phones and virtual assistants.

Facebook and other social media sites complicate Fourth …

Canceling Vs. #Cancel Culture: An Analysis On The Surveillance And Discipline Of Social Media Behavior Through Competing Discourses Of Power, Julia G. Bezio

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Canceling and #cancelculture have become the topic of many debates over free speech and accountability for oppressive behaviors in social media discourse. This thesis examines Twitter discourse from two recent racism-based cancel cases. Using Foss and Gill’s (1987) adapted epistemic rhetoric framework and emphasizing elements of Foucauldian surveillance and discipline in the discourse, I conduct a comparative qualitative examination of Gina Rodriguez’s and Chris Harrison’s cancel discourse. I contend that in the cancel process, Twitter users engage in surveillance to discipline one another on multiple levels: first, as cancelers use the practice to discipline oppressive behaviors on social media, and …

Earnings Virality*, Brett Campbell, Michael S. Drake, Jacob Thornock, Brady Twedt

Faculty Publications

We examine the determinants and market consequences associated with earnings announcements going viral on social media, a phenomenon we label “earnings virality.” Using a comprehensive panel of historical Twitter data, we find that the typical earnings announcement receives relatively little social media coverage, but others go viral on social media, quickly reaching the feeds of millions of people. We find that viral earnings announcements generally have Twitter content that is more extreme in tone and contains less unique content. Further, earnings virality is positively associated with revenue surprises, investor recognition, retail investor ownership, and retail investor trading around the announcement. …

Challenges And Prospects Of Reference Services In Federal University Libraries In South-West, Nigeria, Rotimi Adesina Egunjobi Dr., Samuel O. Ogunniyi Dr., Jesubukade Emmanuel Ajakaye Mr.

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

The importance of the reference section in any library cannot be overemphasised because it reflects the functionality of the library. Global trends in technology have opened doors of opportunity for the reference section to serve its users better through the use of online assistive technologies, expert systems, and other artificial intelligence techniques. To this end, this study focused on the challenges and prospects of reference services in Federal Academic Libraries in the Southwest of Nigeria. Using the descriptive survey design, questionnaire was administered through google forms for data collection on Reference section staff from the University of …

"A Change Is Gonna Come:" Developing A Liability Framework For Social Media Algorithmic Amplification, Amy B. Cyphert, Jena Martin

Faculty Articles

From the moment social media companies like Facebook were created, they have been largely immune to suits for the actions they take with respect to user content. This is thanks to Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, 47 U.S.C. § 230, which offers broad immunity to sites for content posted by users. But seemingly the only thing a deeply divided legislature can agree on is that Section 230 must be amended, and soon. Once that immunity is altered, either by Congress or the courts, these companies may be liable for the decisions and actions of their algorithmic recommendation systems, …

Role Of Celebrities In Creating Brand Advocacy: An Analysis Of Social Media Users In Pakistan, Syeda Batool Abbas, Usamah Iyyaz Billah

Business Review

The purpose of this research study is to investigate the role of celebrities in creating brand advocacy for mobile phones amongst social media users of Pakistan. The role of celebrities has been tested through the constructs of celebrity attractiveness, trustworthiness and expertise while brand trust has been added as a mediator. The study variables of the research have been empirically tested for the first time for the mobile phone industry and from social media users. The theoretical framework was developed based on relevant research on the study topic. Research design of the study is Quantitative, one-shot, cross-sectional in nature. Data …

Process Knowledge-Infused Learning For Suicidality Assessment On Social Media, Kaushik Roy, Manas Gaur, Qi Zhang, Amit Sheth

Publications

Improving the performance and natural language explanations of deep learning algorithms is a priority for adoption by humans in the real world. In several domains, such as healthcare, such technology has significant potential to reduce the burden on humans by providing quality assistance at scale. However, current methods rely on the traditional pipeline of predicting labels from data, thus completely ignoring the process and guidelines used to obtain the labels. Furthermore, post hoc explanations on the data to label prediction using explainable AI (XAI) models, while satisfactory to computer scientists, leave much to be desired to the end users due …

Addictive Technology And Its Implications For Antitrust Enforcement, James Niels Rosenquist, Fiona M. Scott Morton, Samuel N. Weinstein

Articles

The advent of mobile devices and digital media platforms in the past decade represents the biggest shock to cognition in human history. Robust medical evidence is emerging that digital media platforms are addictive and, when used in excess, harmful to users’ mental health. Other types of addictive products, like tobacco and prescription drugs, are heavily regulated to protect consumers. Currently, there is no regulatory structure protecting digital media users from these harms. Antitrust enforcement and regulation that lowers entry barriers could help consumers of social media by increasing competition. Economic theory tells us that more choice in digital media will …

Social Media, Securities Markets, And The Phenomenon Of Expressive Trading, John P. Anderson, Jeremy Kidd, George A. Mocsary

Lewis & Clark Law Review

A new category of retail stock trader has emerged: the “expressive” trader. An expressive trader is not motivated by profit alone, but trades as a form of social protest, political speech, or aesthetic expression. GameStop’s meteoric surge in price in January 2021 revealed the power expressive traders can exert on the market. This Essay explores the phenomenon of expressive trading and its implications for issuers, markets, and regulators. The Essay sets forth potential defensive measures available to issuers against the consequences of expressive trading, and cautions regulators against hasty action to address expressive trading.

Islamic Vigilantism And Women In Social Media, Md. Sayeed Al Zaman

Informasi

In Bangladesh, the number of cyber-citizens has been skyrocketing since the 2010s. Violence against women is also proliferating along with the presence of Islam in public spheres and discourses. Using thematic analysis, this study analyzes the discourse data collected from Facebook, the dominant social media of Bangladesh. The key aim of the research is to find out the bedrock of Islamic vigilantism and verbal aggressiveness against women in social media. Subsequently, three interlinked themes have been explored: women's religiosity, women's attire, and women's virtue. The findings have shown that men mainly capitalize on these three conventional and stereotyped ideas of …

Migration Memes And Social Gaze: An Analysis Of Facebook Memes On The Rohingya Community In Bangladesh, Gopashis Biswas G.Son

Social Transformations Journal of the Global South

Despite Bangladesh’s alarming population density and crippling economy, the state has homed over 1.1 million Rohingyas in recent years. The frustrations of the netizens over the worsening living conditions and rising crime rates have culminated in memes. Internet memes are effective and humorous tools to express one’s views while evading the clutches of 24/7 active surveillance and the social gaze. In Bangladesh, Facebook is the most popular social media platform where netizens have shared, reshared, and indulged in their reactions on several memes regarding the Rohingyas and their migration to Bangladesh. This paper investigates and interprets the possible reasons behind …

Use Of Social Media In Academic Activities By Lis Students: A Study In A Public University In Bangladesh, Md. Atikuzzaman

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram and other social media sites are frequently used in our day-to-day conversation, uploading photos and videos, sharing news and views and so on. Being frequent users of social media, students use it not only for communication purposes but also as a tool for supporting their education. The main aim of this study was to explore how the Library and Information Science (LIS) students of University of Dhaka are using various social networking sites in their academic activities. The study also investigated the diversified uses of social media by the students, frequency of using social media and …

Depression And Behavioral Changes Associated With Social Media Dependency During Covid-19 Pandemic Among University Students In Bangladesh: A Cross- Sectional Study, Sushmita Karmokar, Md. Ashraful Islam, Mohammad Hamid Al Muktadir, Rakibul Hasan, Abu Montakim Tareq, Mohammad Nurul Amin, Talha Bin Emran

Makara Journal of Health Research

Background: With its rapid spread, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic had a detrimental effect on students’ psychological well-being, depression, and behavioral changes due to indefinite educational leaves, lockdowns, restricted outdoor activities, and excess use of social media. This study aims to assess the relationship of social media exposure with the psychological well-being, depression, and behavioral changes of Bangladeshi university students.

Methods: A web-based cross-sectional survey was carried out on 530 students from June 17 to July 10, 2020, to evaluate psychological well-being, depression, behavioral changes, and social media exposure via self-reported measures.

Results: The prevalence of …

Parental Decisions On Sharing Their Children's Private Information On Social Media Among Families In Jakarta Area, Putri Wardhani, Laras Sekarasih

Makara Human Behavior Studies in Asia

The practice of publishing photos and videos containing children’s private information on social media—also known assharenting—is popular among parents in Jakarta. Embarking from the debate about privacy paradox in which it is believed that privacy concern does not predict someone’s behaviors in managing his/her private information online, this research tries to reveal the considerations underlying parental decisions when sharing their children’s private information through social media and their perceived risk toward their children’s online safety. Using qualitative approach, the researcher conducted interviews with 20 parents in Jakarta with at least one child younger 13 year old. The result suggests that …

Higher Education Students’ Social Media Literacy In Ethiopia: A Case Of Bahir Dar University., Atinafu Behailu

Journal of Media Literacy Education

This study investigates the status of Bahir Dar University students’ social media literacy and how associated factors affect developing core competencies. A combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods have been employed in the study. Both descriptive and inferential statistics of means core, standard deviation, one sample t-test, independent sample t-test, correlation and multiple regressions were used to analyze data gathered from the quantitative design. Data gathered from FGD were analyzed qualitatively. Accordingly, the students’ overall social media level was found to be low. Female students perform slightly lower than their counterpart male students. Among the five skills of social …

Riding The Wave Of Information: Library Professionals’ Opinion Towards Information Literacy (Il) Program In Academic Libraries Of Pakistan, Shahzadi Humbhi, Munazza Jabeen, Shabbir Tareen, Alia Humbhi

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

The present study investigated status, strategies to promote the IL programs, contribution of social media, and challenges to provide IL programs in the academic libraries of Pakistan. A concurrent mixed-method technique was used and a structured questionnaire was designed to collect the data and in-depth interviews from 12 academic librarians of the capital cities of four provinces of Pakistan. A systematic sampling technique was used to collect the data from library professionals. The results reveal that academic libraries took imitative to launch IL programs at academic libraries of Pakistan but there is a need for improvement and revamp them. The …

A Nation In Crisis... In Three Acts, William D. Senn

Proceedings from the Document Academy

A dramatic, spoken-word performance based on a detailed examination of the text of more than 1.7 million tweets concerning coronavirus and covid that were sent during the hours surrounding the president's declaration of emergency on March 13, 2020 including the transcript of the remarks made at the Rose Garden press conference. The researcher used the Twitter JSON API to retrieve all of the tweets containing the search terms "covid" and "corona" occurring during the timeframe. A text analysis was performed to identify the most frequently occurring n-grams present in the corpus of tweets. Thematic analysis and sentiment analysis were used …

Public Libraries In Norway And The Covid-19 Pandemic, Roswitha Skare

Proceedings from the Document Academy

Public libraries have played a central role in natural disasters such as the tornado in the Gulf of Mexico in 2004/2005 and the tsunami in the Tohoku region of Japan in 2011, but also in the financial crisis from 2008. While public libraries in these crises took on a very active role in providing shelter and infrastructure for their citizens, health crises seem to tell a different story. The Covid-19 pandemic that hit Europe and Norway in March 2020 caused a lock-down of public libraries’ buildings for several weeks, as was the case in almost every other European country. This …

We Hold These Distruths To Be Self-Evident: How Legal History Could Save America From Itself, William Murphy

Journal of Global Awareness

This paper explores the threat of disinformation to American society. Focusing on social and cable news media as the primary disseminators of disinformation, it examines how the very design and nature of these two mediums promote and stimulate the intentional and viral spread of wholly inaccurate information as well as the significant and tangible negative consequences experienced across American society as a result. The paper subsequently proposes a legal solution to this dilemma in the form of a repeal of Section 230 paired with a reinstatement of the Fairness Doctrine. The background, history, and effect of each are thoroughly discussed, …

When Admiration Turns To Obsession: A Case Study On Taylor Swift Fan Theories, Kendall Resnick

Departmental Honors & Graduate Capstone Projects

This research uses a qualitative content analysis of Taylor Swift fan theory TikToks to determine the personal benefits of the development of celebrity fan theories. Findings indicate three main themes – a sense of community, a knowledge of secret information, and a perceived closeness to the celebrity – that serve to explain the motivation behind this behavior. In addition, this study identifies a connection between celebrity parasocial relationships and conspiracy theories. The results of this study suggest that further research should examine how celebrity parasocial relationships might lead to the development of a new category of conspiracy theories.

Harmful “Body-Checking” Trends Have Come To Tiktok, Ibtasam Elmaliki, Breona Couloote

Capstones

The relation between social media and teen girls’ body image is nothing new. Studies have been made on platforms like Facebook, and Instagram having a negative impact on young girls.

However, with the inception of TikTok, perpetuations of unrealistic body goals are harder to detect, masked underneath comedic trends on the app. “Body checking” trends are popular on the app, trends in order for one to draw attention to the size and shape of their bodies. It’s a method of encouraging thinspo, the inspiration of being thin. Thinspo which was created on Tumblr, is now evolving on TikTok. In the …

Tiktok Has Influenced The Way We Buy Beauty, Keira R. Wingate, Angela Palumbo

Capstones

The purpose of this capstone project is to show how the popular social media platform, TikTok, is influencing and changing the way consumers buy and the companies sell beauty products.

Since the start of the pandemic, a record number of people logged into TikTok, which has become one of the top social media platforms in the world. While the app grew, so did the number of users who made videos reviewing and using makeup products. Soon, TikTok went from an entertainment platform to a marketing opportunity for large companies in the beauty industry.

Now, hundreds of influencers are paid large …

Growing Pains On Onlyfans: A Coming Of Age Story, Natalie M. Hernandez, Ivannia A. Morton

Capstones

OnlyFans, a content creation platform where creators can perform sex work, has been making headlines since its internet debut. Its relationship to youth culture is complicated as it’s still developing. “Growing Pains on OnlyFans: A Coming of Age Story” looks into the life of a young woman who went viral for criticizing the glamorization of OnlyFans, and how the platform shaped her self discovery. This story analyzes the life cycle of entering digital sex work as a teenager, and exiting as an adult.

Building Trust And Community With Sex Workers On Instagram, Madeline Faber

Capstones

This Engagement Journalism project examines how sex workers communicate on social media after the 2018 passage of SESTA/FOSTA laws (Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act and Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act). Through building a sex worker-positive Instagram profile, I learned from sex workers how they share information with each other under the radar of Instagram. This bears relevance for journalists who seek to understand the limits of content moderation machines, which imprecisely censor vulnerable groups.

(Engagement J/Will share link later)

Changes In Body Image, Eating Behaviors, And Exercise During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Megan Gressley

Honors Projects

The Covid-19 pandemic transformed many different aspects of life as many individuals were sent home from school or work and were confined within their homes. Within restricted life, individuals experienced changes in their social lives, eating habits, and day-to-day routine. Within this research study I chose to examine how individuals' lives changed directly from the year before the Covid-19 pandemic to the first year of domestic shutdown. A sample of BGSU undergraduate students responded to a survey questioning them on their behaviors, feelings, and attitudes among these time periods. Results showed that individuals experienced significantly more disordered eating within the …

No Strings Attached? Zero-Price Practices On Social Media Markets Under Eu Abuse Of Dominance Assessment, Marta Sznajder

Yearbook of Antitrust and Regulatory Studies

Do customers pay too little when they pay nothing for accessing a social media platform ‘for free’, and/or do they pay too much? These ‘free’ online services attract customers even if they come at personal information or attention costs. As competition law traditionally focuses on positive prices, ‘free’ services raise the question whether and how they could be assessed as potentially harmful to competition and consumers. Thus, the aim of this paper is to discuss the extent to which EU competition law can be applied to evaluate unilateral abusive pricing practices of social media platforms providing ‘free’ services to customers. …

Walking Into A News Desert: How Arkansas College Newspapers Are Coping With The Decline In Print Journalism, David Keith

Dissertations

News deserts is a reference to geographic areas — most commonly counties — where no newspaper is published. The number of these areas continues to grow as more newspapers shut their doors because of financial difficulties brought on by a lack of advertising, a lack of readers, and the shift to online news consumption. College students studying journalism find themselves on the cusp of entering a profession where the number of workplaces and jobs is shrinking. They know it and the advisers of their college newspapers know it. Even with this arid prospect before them, the students are reporting news …