Social Media Commons^™

Digital Technology Usage In Tajikistan, Siyovush Bobokhonov Dr., Pedro Quelhas Brito Dr., Umesh Ramchandra Raut Dr., Prafulla Arjun Pawar Dr.

The Qualitative Report

The rapid development of digital technologies is significantly changing how people live, and these changes have a particular impact on the younger generation in Tajikistan. Our study therefore aims to analyze the factors influencing young Tajiks' opinions as users of digital technology and to examine digital technology usage in Tajikistan. We conducted a qualitative analysis of the opinions of young Tajik individuals aged 18 to 30 and found that they generally consider digital technology to be an integral part of their daily lives. Data collection was carried out through focus group discussions (FGDs) and the data analysis was performed using …

Cyber Offending Among Adolescents: The Role Of Thoughtfully Reflective Decision-Making And Victimization, Revital Sela-Shayovitz, Tamar Berenblum, Sharon Toys

International Journal of Cybersecurity Intelligence & Cybercrime

There has been growing attention to the role of the decision-making process in crime involvement in recent years. However, less is known about the association between the decision-making process and adolescents’ online offending. The present study examined whether thoughtfully reflective decision-making (TRDM) and cyber victimization are related to adolescents’ cybercrime. Data were obtained from self-report questionnaires administered to 510 Israeli adolescents aged 13-20. The results indicate that TRDM is negatively associated with engagement in online offending. Furthermore, cyber victimization is significantly associated with online offending. In addition, a significant predictor of online offending is intense activity on social media. We …

Gendered Images In Online Political Advertising Videostyles: A Case Study Of 2024 Taiwan Presidential And Parliamentary Elections, Chia-Heng Chang

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

Despite the increasing visibility of female politicians in Taiwan, the resurgence of the #MeToo movement ahead of the 2024 presidential and parliamentary elections underscores the enduring influence of patriarchal norms and gender stereotypes within Taiwanese society. Prior research in political communication has documented how gendered expectations shape voters’ perceptions of politicians’ appearances, behaviors, and perceived competence in addressing political issues. These expectations, in turn, inform how candidates strategically construct their public personas during electoral campaigns. This dissertation contributes to this body of scholarship by analyzing how Taiwanese political candidates perform gender through political advertising. Integrating the videostyle framework, gender schema …

No Ela Without Ella: Understanding The Naming And Crafting Of Gendered Subjectivities In Puerto Rico, Carmín Quijano Seda

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

At the beginning of the 20th century, the official metadiscourses about gendered job titles sedimented the idea that names or indexes pointing to women should be interpreted as unskilled, cheap, or even free labor in Puerto Rico (Azize, 1985; Muñiz Mas, 1998; Baerga-Santini, 1999). For this reason, Puerto Rican women organized and fought for equality in work settings. Furthermore, they became more active in politics and the government. Nevertheless, the Estado Libre Asociado (ELA) and local media discourses and interpretations about women’s labor discouraged them from participating in more senior positions (Acevedo Gaud, 2012).

However, this interpretation seemed to have …

From The Outside Looking In: Transmasculine Narrative Identity, Experiences, And Larger Narratives On Social Media, Micah Roldan

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Narrative identity development is an essential process in how individuals perceive themselves and the world around them. Often, narrative identity is studied in cisgender heterosexual individuals and applied to others without the acknowledgment of individuals that fall outside of these categories. Drawing upon existing literature and autoethnography, this thesis aims to meaningfully bridge this gap by studying the narrative identity development of transmasculine individuals through the lens of social media. This thesis proposes that the use of social media to share gender transition journeys has created a new digital trans and queer narrative for users and viewers. This narrative is …

Digital Waves: Communicating Feminist Movements, Shauna M. Macdonald

Feminist Pedagogy

Online learning provides opportunities for pedagogical growth and innovation. When tasked with teaching an undergraduate Gender and Communication class during a virtual semester (amid the COVID-19 pandemic), I sought ways to engage students through online technologies rather than working against or despite them. The Digital Waves (DW) assignment, one that asks students to research and then create digital representations of a particular “wave” of feminism, was one of several strategies I adopted; it quickly evolved into a favorite.

Effect Of Gender And Attachment Styles On The Formation Of Parasocial Rleationships, Breanna Carlson, Frank Lien

Concordia Journal of Communication Research

New streaming services, social media platforms, and advances in talk and text are constantly developing in society today. The constant addition to new technological outlets creates a larger platform for viewers to watch and follow their favorite celebrity, television character, or influencers whenever they want. The researchers chose to investigate how a person’s attachment style affects both the likelihood and severity of forming a parasocial relationship with their favorite celebrity or T.V. personality. Specifically, the researchers explored the effect both gender and experiences affect this connection. Participants of the study attend a Lutheran, faith-based institution of college education in an …

“Envisioning Digital Sanctuaries”: An Exploration Of Virtual Collectives For Nurturing Professional Development Of Women In Technical Domains, Subhasree Sengupta

Dissertations - ALL

Work and learning are essential facets of our existence, yet sociocultural barriers have historically limited access and opportunity for women in multiple contexts, including their professional pursuits. Such sociocultural barriers are particularly pronounced in technical domains and have relegated minoritized voices to the margins. As a result of these barriers, those affected have suffered strife, turmoil, and subjugation. Hence, it is important to investigate how women can subvert such structural limitations and find channels through which they can seek support and guidance to navigate their careers. With the proliferation of modern communication infrastructure, virtual forums of conversation such as Reddit …

Improving Networking Supports For Women In The Workplace, Karen E. Pennesi, Javier Alvarez Vandeputte, Zsofia Agoston, Rawand Amsdr

Anthropology Publications

This report describes findings from research on networking activities and strategies among women in executive and leadership positions in Canadian organizations. The project was carried out by graduate student researchers in collaboration with the Women's Executive Network. Networking is defined as the creation and maintenance of a community of diverse interests, through in-person and online engagements, that can be mobilized for the benefit of oneself or other members of one’s network. We found that the shift to primarily online networking activities due to COVID-19 removed some existing barriers related to age, gender and location, while introducing others related to family …

Kiss Of Love Campaign: Contesting Public Morality To Counter Collective Violence, Sonia Krishna Kurup Miss

Peace and Conflict Studies

The paper studies the immense opposition to a nonviolent campaign against the practice of moral policing in Kerala to understand the dominant spaces, collective identities, and discourses that give shape to the outrage of public morality in India. The campaign through its politics specifically targeted rightwing and political groups as well as socially embedded familial and institutional structures that exercise control over individuals through patriarchal regimes. The adverse reaction to the campaign revealed that collective aggression or violence can be used to impose majoritarian values and exert social control through the authority of public morality and everyday acts of moral …

“I’M Real I Thought I Told Ya”: Developing Critical Media Literacy Through U.S. Latinx Digital Media Representations, Solange T. Castellar

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This thesis explores how audiences engage with U.S. Latinx media representations through the practice of critical media literacy. I interrogate how media consumers construct critical media literacy through interacting with U.S. Latinx figures on digital media platforms, particularly on the social-media app, Twitter, and the user-generated video content platform, YouTube. Throughout this thesis, I argue that users on these platforms who engage with U.S. Latinx pop culture figures, like Jennifer Lopez and Belcalis Almanzar (Cardi B), read, digest, and comprehend a variety of multimedia images, texts, or videos, and that this engagement becomes an accessible form of critical media literacy, …

Through The Lens Of Koreans: The Influence Of Media On Perceptions Of Feminism, Neha Cariappa

Master's Projects and Capstones

Regardless of country and culture, the media has the power to influence the opinions and perceptions of its viewers. This project evaluates specific Korean movies—and the reactions of South Koreans to gender representations in films that are considered “feminist”—along with the variety show genre, which also tends to reinforce gender stereotypes and imbalances. With these media representations as a framework, this research explores the impact of the internet in forwarding feminist views along with unearthing the reactions of Koreans. Given the anonymity of the internet and social media, these platforms allow for honest expression and counterpoints to sexist views and …

Social Justice Through Social Media: The Use Of Twitter As A Tool For Activism In The #Metoo #Blacklivesmatter Era, Laura L. Coleman

LSU Master's Theses

This study focuses on social justice and how people on Twitter chose to talk about it. The rise of social media has allowed Twitter users to speak more freely in more spaces than one. The study compared two different sexual assault cases between Judge Brett Kavanaugh and Professor Christine Blasey; and Virginia’s Lt. Governor Justin Fairfax and Vanessa Tyson. Applying the social responsibility theory, which allows free press without any censorship, I then can see the tone of which Black Twitter users have when talking about two separate sexual assault cases. This study compares the use of the #BlackTwitter hashtag …

"Mystery Meat" And "Bulldyke": Disciplining Gender And Silencing Women Sports Reporters On Reddit, Kayla J. Peterson

Masters Theses

Most of the sports industry is a male dominated space where women are very rarely accepted. We see men in the field, whether they work or play, defend the space and tell women reporters to “stay in their lane.” This study focuses on an online news-sharing site, reddit, and examines how sports fans take it upon themselves to defend sports as a male space. Reporters, such as Sarah Spain, Jemele Hill, and Doris Burke, are subjected to hundreds of comments that silence them and discipline them based on their gender. This study emphasizes the need for gender equality in what …

Social Media And Self-Esteem: The Relationship Between Social Media And Self-Esteem, Jody Don Barker

Student Theses and Dissertations

With social media being a prominent platform in the days of sharing information over the internet, it can affect one’s self-esteem if not careful. The current study examines the relationship of social media usage and self-esteem. From the 218 participants surveyed, results show that social media does have some influence on a person’s self-esteem. A person with a high self-esteem is more likely to use social media for finding entertaining content, promote products/services, and talk about their accomplishments, while a person with a low self-esteem will use it to not feel alone, but they do not post selfies. There was …

Diversity In Online Advertising: A Case Study Of 69 Brands On Social Media, Jisun An, Ingmar Weber

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Lack of diversity in advertising is a long-standing problem. Despite growing cultural awareness and missed business opportunities, many minorities remain under- or inappropriately represented in advertising. Previous research has studied how people react to culturally embedded ads, but such work focused mostly on print media or television using lab experiments. In this work, we look at diversity in content posted by 69 U.S. brands on two social media platforms, Instagram and Facebook. Using face detection technology, we infer the gender, race, and age of both the faces in the ads and of the users engaging with ads. Using this dataset, …

The Reification Of Hegemonic Masculinity Via Heteronormativity, Sexual Objectification, And Masculine Performances In Tau Kappa Epsilon Recruitment Videos, Viki Tomanov

Butler Journal of Undergraduate Research

Fraternity members constitute a large percentage of men who hold highly influential jobs in politics, large corporations, and the like. Since fraternities are limited to men-only, it is important to examine how masculinity is both rhetorically constructed and subsequently performed. Tau Kappa Epsilon (TKE), the fraternity with the largest amount of chapters nationwide, is the focus of my analysis. Its popularity among college campuses signifies that its recruitment is successful and that, regardless of initiation into the fraternity, many men (and women) view TKE as an example of masculinity. In my analysis, I examine TKE recruitment videos from various universities …

Teacher Twitter Chats: Gender Differences In Participants’ Contributions, Stacey L. Kerr, Mardi J. Schmeichel

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

Gender differences in participation were examined across four Twitter chats for social studies teachers. Analyses drawing on mixed methods revealed that while there was parity across most kinds of tweets, participants identified as men were more likely to use the examined Twitter chats to share resources, give advice, boast, promote their own blog/resource/website, and offer critique to another participants’ tweet. Participants identified as women were more likely to write tweets that included positive affirmations for other chat participants. These findings suggest that there are differences in the way that women and men tend to participate in teacher Twitter chat spaces.

Perceptions Of Facebook Privacy Among Arkansas State University Students, Emmanuel Omotayo Ogundijo

Student Theses and Dissertations

Since its inception in 2004, Facebook has been one of the leading social networking sites among college students. Despite its numerous advantages, the issue of privacy on Facebook has been a major concern. In order to know how college students perceive privacy on Facebook, in-depth interviews were conducted among 20 college students (10 males, 10 females) at Arkansas State University. The study found that a majority of the participants have not read the Facebook privacy policies noted when one signs in to use Facebook. College students employ different protection strategies in restricting their profiles. The result indicated that intrusion is …

Snapshots Of The Self: Exploring The Role Of Online Mobile Photo Sharing In Identity Development Among Adolescent Girls, Jenna M. Drenten

School of Business: Faculty Publications and Other Works

A chapter written by Jenna Drenten for Online Consumer Behavior: Theory and Research in Social Media, Advertising and E-tail (2017).

Gender Differences In Participation In And Motivations For Sexting: The Effects Of Gender Role Attitudes, Masculinity, And Femininity, Katie M. Springston

Butler Journal of Undergraduate Research

Sexting, the exchange of sexually explicit messages, images, and videos through mobile phones, has in recent years become an increasingly publicized and common occurrence in our technologically advanced society (Strassberg, Rullo, & Mackaronis, 2014). The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of gender, gender role attitudes, and self-perceptions of masculinity and femininity on participation in and motivations for sexting. Using a cross-sectional design, a self-administered questionnaire was given to 222 Butler students during the early part of the spring 2016 academic semester. This questionnaire included items regarding demographics, the activity of sexting, personal participation in sexting, self-perceptions …

Commercial Content Moderation: Digital Laborers' Dirty Work, Sarah T. Roberts

Media Studies Publications

In this chapter from the forthcoming Intersectional Internet: Race, Sex, Class and Culture Online (Noble and Tynes, Eds., 2016), I introduce both the concept of commercial content moderation (CCM) work and workers, as well as the ways in which this unseen work affects how users experience the Internet of social media and user-generated content (UGC). I tie it to issues of race and gender by describing specific cases of viral videos that transgressed norms and by providing examples from my interviews with CCM workers. The interventions of CCM workers on behalf of the platforms for which they labor directly contradict …

Gender, Personality, And Self Esteem As Predictors Of Social Media Presentation, Heng Zhang

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In an age when people make and maintain relationships in online environments, creating and sustaining impressions online becomes equally important. For a better understanding of social networking sites usage, the present study examines the influence of gender, personality, and selfesteem on social media presentation. The goal of this study is to investigate individuals‘ expressions through social media in order to determine if they reflect the author‘s gender, personality, and levels of self-esteem. Quantitative analysis was used in this study through survey and SPSS content analysis. The researcher found that neuroticism was related to selfpresentation, and agreeableness is related to Facebook …

The Digital Gap: An Investigation Into The Access And Use Of Internet In Matagalpa, Nicaragua, Kayla Steinberg

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Although still less than 20 percent of the Nicaraguan population has access to the internet, in the years preceding 2012, internet in Nicaragua grew by 113 percent. This rapid development of internet in the country generates several questions, including: “Who has access to the internet in Nicaragua?,” Where are they using the internet?,” and “How are they using it?” This paper answers these three questions and investigates how the answers differ between different demographic groups, especially between young and older people and women and men, through the results of a survey distributed primarily in a public park with free wifi …

Moving Foward?: Problematic Ideologies In Twenty-First Century Fairy Tale Films, Alyson Kilmer

All Master's Theses

Fairy tales, as a reflection of our values and belief systems, are crucial in shaping and maintaining cultural ideologies. In the twenty-first century, cinematic fairy tales have the unique position of representing such values in an expansive and expeditious manner. Audiences must therefore be critically conscious of the messages promoted by these tales. An analysis of the five most popular contemporary fairy tale films, Disney’s Princess and the Frog (2009), Tangled (2010), Universal’s Snow White and the Huntsman (2012), and Disney’s Frozen (2013) and Maleficent (2014), revealed minimal attempts to propitiate critical audiences in regard to changing cultural values, but …