Social Media Commons^™

Professionalism In The Digital Age: Managing Your Online Identity, Mikki Sherwood

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

No abstract provided.

§230 And Tinfoil Hats: What Conspiracy Theories Teach Us About The Marketplace Of Ideas And Online Speech, Connor B. Flannery

Catholic University Journal of Law and Technology

Famously imputed into First Amendment jurisprudence by Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, the Marketplace of Ideas is a foundational paradigm in free speech theory. However, current trends in social discourse suggest the Marketplace has crashed. Conspiracy theories illustrate this crash as a story of unintended consequences and, paradoxically, a consequence of judicial and legislative efforts to prevent it. Acknowledging the popularity and widespread use of the internet and social media, I explore solutions to rejuvenate the Marketplace of Ideas and better align its prominence in First Amendment doctrine with the reality of the current speech landscape.

Meta Social Technology And Religion: A Media Ritual Theory Critical Discourse, Maurice Emelu

2023 Faculty Bibliography

This paper explores the proposition that Meta social media and technology functions as a ritual platform and concludes affirmatively. It identifies and critically evaluates ritual elements on Meta’s platform. Employing media ritual theory in the context of religion, it analyzes the Meta for Faith homepage. Consequently, the investigation delves into Meta's role in enhancing or diminishing the sacred rituals integral to religion, one of society's oldest cultural institutions. The discussion expands by considering the implications of Meta for Faith offerings in religious rituals. Thus, this study contributes to the ongoing discourse on the increasing social technology mediatization in the rapidly …

The Nashville Predators Social Media Audit, Sam Baranek, Connor Clouthier, Toniya Johnson, Mary Kate Reid, Micaela Trimble

[Archive] Belmont University Research Symposium (BURS)

This report and presentation will deliver a comprehensive social media audit completed on the Nashville Predators, a national hockey team. In the end, it will show results of our group’s analysis of the communication strategies on the various platforms that the Nashville Predators use for their business and brand. While we already have prior knowledge and experience in social media, we plan to use the theories and principles to come to even better conclusions about the success of the Nashville Predators’ online presence.

The Nashville Predators are known for being a professional hockey team in the NHL. The Predator’s brand …

Theory-Building And Tool-Building For A Science Of Dysfunctional Political Discourse, Eric Hamilton, Marguerite Williamson, Andrew Hurford

Education Division Scholarship

This paper extends a developing analytic framework for political discourse that takes place over digital social media. Earlier presentations of the framework have furnished a rationale for applying the conceptual framework of epistemic frame theory and the tools of quantitative ethnography for political discourse analysis. They have provided early existence proofs of the viability of epistemic network analysis (ENA) for rudimentary models of social media threads that involve political content. The current theoretical paper moves significantly beyond this foundation. It summarizes and deepens the explanation of the constructs of discursive transactions, response grammars, and epistemic frames in political discourse. It …

Social Media Use And Awareness Of Privacy Concerns, Lola Baldwin, Jared Gores, Jp Kilbride

Concordia Journal of Communication Research

The usage of social media in our society is prevalent in our daily lives. Although social media usage is at an all time high, the tools and technologies that provide security and protection can be compromised. Users of social media platforms should be made aware of the risks and pitfalls of these applications. Our study identified that users of social media platforms are generally aware of insecurities within the platforms. The researchers determined that the frequency of posting does not cause risks for privacy concerns. Although the users had general awareness and concern, they were heightened after additional information was …

Mental Health In Sports Media, Samuel Ridgley

Communication & Media Studies | Senior Theses

This paper looks at the increasingly popular conversation surrounding mental health in sports. It provides a glimpse into how common the struggle of mental health can be for many high-level athletes while also examining the narrative and expectations that society and the media have created. The paper also provides examples of prominent athletes from a variety of different sports and delves into their personal mental health experiences in the eyes of the media. The goal of this paper is to show the progression and change of how the media portrays mental health amongst athletes in today’s ever-changing world.

Documenting Privacy Dark Patterns: How Social Networking Sites Influence Users’ Privacy Choices, Dominique Kelly, Jacquelyn Burkell

FIMS Publications

Dark patterns are user interface (UI) design strategies intended to influence users to make choices or perform actions that benefit online services. This study examines the dark patterns employed by social networking sites (SNSs) to influence users to make privacy-invasive choices. We documented the privacy dark patterns encountered in attempts to register an account, configure account settings, and log in and out for five SNSs popular among American teenagers (Discord, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat). Based on our observations, we present a typology consisting of three major types of privacy dark patterns (Obstruction, Obfuscation, and Pressure) and 10 subtypes. These …

Navigating With Sharks: How The Marketing Practices Help To Create Successful Phishing Emails, Erica Castilho

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

A phishing email is a crime where a scammer sends an email to get sensitive data. Everyday phishing email attacks impact billions of people worldwide. Preparing users to better identify phishing and avoid risky engagement with it is essential to combat this threat. We consider that as phishing emails and email marketing aim to target email clicks, scammers can use marketing practices in phishing emails to achieve their goals. However, the security research community doesn't explore deeply the similarities between phishing and email marketing. This study presents a distinctive framework known as the Phishing Engagement Marketing Optimization (PEMO). The primary …

Partisan Selective Exposure On Social Media During The 2020 Presidential Election, Grayce Lemon

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This study examines selective exposure and selective avoidance on social media during the 2020 presidential election. 147 voters participated in the survey conducted using Qualtrics. The purpose of this study was to understand whether selective exposure and avoidance behaviors differed based on voting outcome (Trump or Biden), and to test whether political ideological polarization was reflected in news consumption through social media. Taken together, the results indicate that although both voting bases engaged in selective exposure and avoidance, the propensity was the same between Trump and Biden voters. Additionally, results confirm existing hypotheses that the strength of political ideology positively …

Transnational Dominican Activism: Documenting Grassroots Social Movements Through Esendom, Nelson Santana, Amaury Rodriguez, Emmanuel Espinal

Publications and Research

Dominican-descended people are one of the most dynamic Caribbean and Latin American ethnic and cultural communities in the United States. Whether in the Dominican Republic or as members of a transnational community, the Dominican population has a long and rich history of challenging the powers that be, confronting unjust acts, and opposing oppressive laws within the communities they inhabit through their civic engagement. This paper addresses one question: As Dominican society and the world have evolved, what has been the role of U.S.-based online media in sustaining, disseminating, and rescuing the long tradition of civic involvement and struggle exemplified by …

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 …

"I'M Not Your Inspiration, Thank You Very Much.", Yoseph Mamo, Justin A. Haegele

Human Movement Studies & Special Education Faculty Publications

The development of interactive social media platforms has expanded how disability is communicated or shared with the public. Despite the potential of social media to challenge and educate nondisabled people's understanding of disability, little empirical research has been conducted in this area. In this study, we analyzed comments from a YouTube video from a seminal TED Talk by the late Australian disability rights activist, educator, and comedian Stella Young. The video titled "I'm not your inspiration, thank you very much | Stella Young" had accumulated 1,374,878 views, 22,000 likes, and 975 interactions (comments and responses) at the time of the …

The Need For International Ai Activities Monitoring, Parviz Partow-Navid, Ludwig Slusky

Journal of International Technology and Information Management

This paper focuses primarily on the need to monitor the risks arising from the dual-use of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Dual-use AI technology capability makes it applicable for defense systems and consequently may pose significant security risks, both intentional and unintentional, with the national and international scope of effects. While domestic use of AI remains the prerogative of individual countries, the unregulated and nonmonitored use of AI with international implications presents a specific concern. An international organization tasked with monitoring potential threats of AI activities could help defuse AI-associated risks and promote global cooperation in developing and deploying AI technology. The …

Determinants Of Continuance Intention To Use Mobile Wallets Technology In The Post Pandemic Era: Moderating Role Of Perceived Trust, Shailja Tripathi

Journal of International Technology and Information Management

The Covid-19 pandemic amplified the volume and importance of mobile payments using digital wallets and placed a basis for their continued adoption. The objective of the study is to formulate and test a comprehensive model by integration of the technology acceptance model (TAM) and expectation confirmation model (ECM) with the addition of three constructs, namely perceived trust, perceived risk, and subjective norm, to identify the determinants of continuance intention to use mobile wallets. Questionnaire-based survey method was used to gather the data from 550 users having experience using mobile wallets for more than six months. The data were analyzed using …

Identity And Perception Among Aspec Consumers Of Mass Media, Jericho Franke

Theses and Dissertations--Communication

The portrayals of sex and romance, as well as asexuality and aromanticism, in mass media can have a profound impact on the way asexual and aromantic media consumers view relationships and their own identities, and affect the perception and treatment of the aspec community as a whole. This study uses mixed qualitative methods of online discourse analysis and participant interviews to examine the how mass media has shaped the self-perception and life experiences relating to sex and romance among aspec audience members.

Not Just A Hashtag: Using Black Twitter To Engage In Critical Visual Pedagogy, Mia L. Knowles-Davis, Robert L. Moore, Susan Köseoğlu (Ed.), George Veletsianos (Ed.), Chris Rowell (Ed.)

Teaching & Learning Faculty Publications

[First Paragraph] We live in a global society in which we are constantly exposed to new technologies, people, and situations that transform our perceptions and worldviews. As we are exposed to these new experiences, it is increasingly necessary to maintain a critical eye and question what we are seeing. It is not enough for higher education merely to teach material; instructors should also teach the responsibilities and ethics that coincide with it. Encouraging criticality in higher education helps learners to develop a deeper understanding of social justice, inequality, and oppressive systems, and it teaches learners how to combat those issues …

Exploring Parents' Knowledge Of Dark Design And Its Impact On Children's Digital Well-Being, Claire Bessant, Luei Lin Ong, Laurel Aynne Cook, Mariea Grubbs Hoy, Beatriz Pereira, Alexa Fox, Emma Nottingham, Stacey Steinberg, Pingping Gan

UF Law Faculty Publications

Dark design (also known as deceptive design; Colin et al., 2018 and dark patterns; Mathur et al., 2019) is evidenced by “a user interface carefully crafted to trick users into doing things they might not otherwise do” (Brignull, 2022; page 1). Much dark design is constructed with monetization as the primary goal- even in spaces without ecommerce design (e.g., free-to-play apps representing >95% of all mobile apps; Fitton et al. 2021). Many recent dark design strategies are also oriented towards collecting user information. Concerns about children’s vulnerability to inappropriate online marketing and economic fraud, and the impact of organisational data …

My Parents Don’T 💬 Like I Do, Will Jent

Emerging Writers

Social media is no longer a platform solely for the youth. People of all age groups have found social media, and the language that these groups use can be an indicator of how they use the platforms. Through the analysis of language use pulled directly from social media posts and data collected by other researchers, I found that older generations tend to use social media to gather information, while younger groups use social media for its titular function. By interpreting others’ language use online, people can become more understanding of those they encounter, creating a friendlier space for all.

The Negative Impact Of Social Media's Algorithms On Society, Julia S. Tucker

Emerging Writers

The tools utilized by social media, including algorithms and curation of media feeds, contribute to media phenomenon such as filter bubbles and confirmation biases. These agents transfer from the digital world to the real world, negatively affecting our society, and changing our behaviors. Some examples include political polarization, imposter syndrome, and extremism. These attributes of social media also promote the spread of mis and dis- information, which can negatively impact our social and personal health.