Broadcast and Video Studies Commons^™

Qanon Affiliated Accounts Are Making 64% Fewer Social Media Posts About Human Trafficking, Bond Benton, Daniela Peterka-Benton

College of Communication and Media Scholarship and Creative Works

A joint social media study from Montclair State University faculty in the Joetta Di Bella and Fred C. Sautter III Center for Strategic Communication in the College of Communication and Media and the Global Center on Human Trafficking shows a 64% decrease in the total number of posts about human trafficking made by prominent QAnon affiliated and adjacent accounts when compared to the highpoint of such posts in 2023. Results from the study produced by the Center for Strategic Communication and the Global Center on Human Trafficking include a 64% decrease in human trafficking posts from significant QAnon affiliated accounts …

Why Gen Z Is More Anxious Than Ever? Turning To Social Chats For Answers, Yi Luo, Jin-A Choi, Bond Benton

College of Communication and Media Scholarship and Creative Works

As social media has evolved into a prominent part of Gen Z’s social interaction, this study attempted to enrich our current understanding of Gen Z’s mental health struggles through their conversations surrounding anxiety on social media. Highlights of the findings included the following. First, the overwhelming presence of fear (83%) illustrates that anxiety is an emotionally draining experience for many Gen Z users. The use of emotionally charged language to publicly share their struggles with anxiety reflect increasing self-awareness and a cultural shift toward normalizing mental health conversations. Second, the open, candid conversations on anxiety indicate that anxiety is experienced …

Negative Emotions On Social Media Dominate Gen Z'S Decisions For The 2024 Election, Yi Luo, Jin-A Choi, Bond Benton

College of Communication and Media Scholarship and Creative Works

The demographics of Gen Z have positioned it to potentially have the greatest impact of any emerging generation in the upcoming election. As this generation consumes social media at a rate higher than any other generation, evaluation of the themes and tone surrounding the election in social media is particularly important for understanding Gen Z and politics. Results show election themes and issues in social media reveal negative emotional sentiment (77%) online is more than double the amount of positive sentiment, with “sadness, disgust, fear, anger” far outpacing optimistic sentiment such as “joy.”

An Investigation Of Social Media Discussion On Valentine's Day 2024 Trends: Money Can Buy Love And Chocolates, Jin-A Choi, Bond Benton, Yi Luo

College of Communication and Media Scholarship and Creative Works

Valentine’s Day, typically defined by expression of love and affection, has been celebrated as a symbolic day to exchange gifts among lovers. The expression of love has been firmly tied with the act of giving material things, such as gifts. However, over the years, discomfort and even anger has grown around the over-commercialization of Valentine’s Day, creating a deep divide between those who gift and those who criticize and denounce the holiday as nothing but a “Hallmark card holiday” to push consumerism. Our center’s study from the previous year indicated that over-commercialization of Valentine’s Day found that love is not …

Taylor-Made Super Bowl: Taylor Swiftmania On Social Media Regarding The Big Game, Yi Luo, Jin-A Choi, Bond Benton

College of Communication and Media Scholarship and Creative Works

Celebrity couples occupy a unique space in popular culture. Similar to the royal unions of history and the present, the combination of notoriety and the voyeuristic appeal of watching a relationship play out in public spaces, celebrity couples energize popular discourse and invite public commentary and interest. The opportunity to become a spectator in ongoing celebrity coupling invites a level of perceived intimacy in what feels like a relationship with famous people.

Data collected for this study suggests Taylor Swift’s connection to Super Bowl LVIII has elevated the meaning of the game beyond the stratospheric levels of cultural significance the …

Taylor Swift-Mania On Social Media Regarding The Big Game, Jin-A Choi, Bond Benton, Yi Luo, Ines Hwang

College of Communication and Media Scholarship and Creative Works

The continuation of America’s most popular sport meeting the world’s most famous pop star seems destined to dominate the airwaves and social media next weekend. Findings from the study included the following. First, in the period when the Chiefs and 49ers advanced to Super Bowl LVIII, Taylor Swift related #superbowl posts on “X” (formerly known as Twitter) totaled more than the COMBINED number of posts about the game’s QB’s and even her beau, Travis Kelce. Second, the social mentions of Taylor Swift and Super Bowl reached two million in the seven-day period (January 28 – February 3, 2024) after Chiefs’ …

The Kelce/Swift Phenomena: Real-Time Analysis Of Social Media Activity During The October 1st Chiefs/Jets Game, Yi Luo Montclair State University, Jin-A Choi, Bond Benton

College of Communication and Media Scholarship and Creative Works

When the Kansas City Chiefs played the New York Jets in one of the world's major media centers, it presented a unique opportunity to study the phenomena of public interest in the Travis Kelce/Taylor Swift “romance.” A nationally televised game provides a specific timeframe and a moment of public visibility that invites dialogue and interaction. The space specifically built for such real time dialogue and interaction about a topic is social media. With that in mind, an investigation into the social media activity occurring in-game related to Kelce/Swift is merited

What About Love? Does The Over- Commercialization Of Valentine’S Day On Social Media Leave Us Living In A Sadder, Material World?, Jin-A Choi, Bond Benton, Yi Luo, Keith Green

College of Communication and Media Scholarship and Creative Works

No abstract provided.

Halloween 2023: It's A Barbie World!, Jin-A Choi, Yi Luo, Bond Benton, Keith Green

College of Communication and Media Scholarship and Creative Works

Move over, black and orange, and step aside for the color that is going to dominate Halloween this year, “Barbie Pink.” And yes, Ken, “it won’t matter what you do, you will always be number two,” at least when it comes to Halloween costumes in 2023. And those wildly popular Star Wars and Marvel character costumes traditionally seen during the “spookiest” time of the year? It seems they won’t match the popularity of the fictional character, Barbie, who reemerged this year on the pop culture scene after the incredible success of the Warner Bros. film “Barbie” released in July.

Based …

2023 Scotus Report: Americans Reacted With Disgust And Sadness Toward The Scotus' Recent Rulings, Yi Luo, Bond Benton, Jin-A Choi, Keith Strudler, Keith Green

College of Communication and Media Scholarship and Creative Works

On June 29, SCOTUS struck down affirmative action, ruling the race-conscious admissions programs at colleges and universities unconstitutional. Then, on June 30, SCOTUS handed down another landmark ruling which outlawed student loan forgiveness and terminated President Biden’s plan to provide student loan reliefs for tens of millions of Americans. This high court’s decision on student loans will likely affect one in eight Americans, leaving student loan borrowers feeling frustrated, defeated, and angry. As online media have increasingly played a central role in facilitating civic engagement and shaping individuals’ decisions on contested issues, this study thus examines how social media users …

Authenticity At The Right Price: The Development And Implications Of Commodified Sports Memorabilia, Stephen P. Andon

College of Communication and Media Scholarship and Creative Works

No abstract provided.