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Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons™
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Articles 1 - 3 of 3
Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
The Influencer Sent Me! Examining How Social Media Influencers Affect Social Media Engagement, Social Self-Efficacy, Knowledge Acquisition, And Social Interaction, Ben Wasike
Communication Faculty Publications and Presentations
This study examined how exposure to social media influencer (SMI) content affects social media engagement (SME), knowledge acquisition, social self-efficacy (SSE), and social interaction. Structural equation analysis indicated that exposure to SMI content improves SME, perceptions of knowledge acquisition, and SSE. In turn, perceptions of knowledge acquisition improved SSE and improved both online and offline social interaction. Perceptions of knowledge acquisition positively mediated between exposure to SMI content and online social interaction, between SME and online social interaction, and between SME and SSE. The study concludes that following an SMI empowers users regarding perceptions of knowledge and SSE, and that …
I Am An Influencer And I Approve This Message! Examining How Political Social Media Influencers Affect Political Interest, Political Trust, Political Efficacy, And Political Participation, Ben Wasike
Communication Faculty Publications and Presentations
This study surveyed a random sample of social media users (N = 813) to examine how following political social media influencers (PSMIs) affects political interest and political trust. The study also examined whether political interest and political trust affect internal and external online political efficacy (OPE) and political participation. Structural equation analysis indicated that following a PSMI increased political interest and political trust, with a pronounced effect on political interest. Additionally, political interest boosted both internal and external OPE, while political trust boosted external OPE only. Mediated effects analysis indicated that political interest improved the relationship between following a PSMI …
When The Influencer Says Jump! How Influencer Signaling Affects Engagement With Covid-19 Misinformation, Ben Wasike
When The Influencer Says Jump! How Influencer Signaling Affects Engagement With Covid-19 Misinformation, Ben Wasike
Communication Faculty Publications and Presentations
With signaling theory, credibility, and social media engagement (SME) as guiding frameworks, this study used an experiment to examine how social media influencers (SMIs) affect how people engage with COVID-19 misinformation. SMI-promoted information elicited more SME, credibility, and purchase likelihood than non-SMI promoted information. The most effective message was a post promoted by an SMI that contained detailed information about an authentic product. However, data indicated nuance regarding the effect of SMIs. The authenticity of the information as well as the amount of detail in the post played a role. Additionally, mediated effects analysis showed that the impact of SME …