Social Media Commons^™

Columnas: The Honors Program Newsletter At Bentley University, Debayan Sen, Hailey Jennato, Gabe Holmes, Daniel Furze

Honors Program

Page 1: SOCIAL MEDIA—A VEHICLE FOR SOCIAL CHANGE OR VIRTUE SIGNALING? ~ By Debayan Sen ’23

Page 2: WILL ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND ROBOTICS REPLACE THE HUMAN WORKER? ~ By Hailey Jennato ’24

Page 3: HOW TO HEALTHILY COMMUNICATE IN A RELATIONSHIP: NO, NOT JUST A ROMANTIC ONE ~ By Gabe Holmes ’26

Page 4: THE W SLANT ~ By Daniel Furze ’26

Examining Social Media Views On Post-Pandemic Tourism Rebuilding: The Case Of Twitter, Muharrem Tuna, Nilgun Demirel Ili, Onur Celen

University of South Florida (USF) M3 Publishing

The world is trying to keep up with the COVID-19 pandemic's new normal conditions. The ongoing pandemic has adversely affected global tourism sectors and their activities like all sectors. Institutions and organizations in various countries, especially UNWTO, are taking initiatives to ensure the recovery of the tourism sector, which has been seriously affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, the case study design, one of the qualitative analysis methods, was used to examine the views on social media activity (motivation) that occurred for the resumption of tourism. In the study, the effects of the pandemic on tourism were determined and a …

Geriatric-Tourism, Pmr, And Thermal Treatments In The Third Age, Ozge Buyuk, Gulsah Akkus

University of South Florida (USF) M3 Publishing

This study aims to reveal the situation of geriatric-tourism (gerontourism) in Turkey with longitudinal data obtained from digital and social media. As a result of the study i) geriatric-tourists visiting Turkey mostly benefit from thermal treatments in complementary medicine and PMR in traditional medicine, and also resort to hair transplantation among aesthetic interventions, ii) they come mostly from Iraq and Libya (Middle East), Germany (Europe), Azerbaijan (the Turkic Republics), and Ukraine and Russia (CIS), iii) they mostly prefer big cities such as Izmir, Ankara, Istanbul, Antalya, Bursa, iv) motivation factors are cost, thermal resource richness, medical service quality and additional …

A Study On Tourist Guides’ Use Of Social Media Platforms, Ozge Gudu Demirbulat

University of South Florida (USF) M3 Publishing

In this research, which was carried out to determine how and for what purposes tourist guides use social media platforms; the Facebook and Instagram accounts of 42 active tourist guides registered with the Trabzon Regional Chamber of Tourist Guides, which was established in accordance with the Profession Law of Tourist Guide numbered 6326, were examined. In the research, it was determined what kind of posts the tourist guides make on their Facebook and Instagram accounts, to what extent they use the relevant platforms as a personal promotional element, and to promote the relevant platforms in the tourism sector. In order …

Impression Management Strategies On Instagram: The Case Of Masterchef And Sef Akademi, Nihan Yarmaci Guvenc, Ela N. Koz, Beybala Timur

University of South Florida (USF) M3 Publishing

The impressions that individuals form on people they interact with both in daily life and in business life have important outcomes. For this reason, individuals apply certain impression management strategies by using various tools. One of them is social media tools that have a huge impact on public opinion. In this context, this study aimed to determine the impression management strategies of six individuals who are jury members in MasterChef and Şef Akademi TV shows. Therefore, the study utilized a content analysis method based on the data collected from their Instagram posts. The results indicate that the study subjects use …

Examining The Websites Of Fine Dining Restaurants Within The Framework Of Web-Based Marketing: Sample Of The World’S 50 Best Restaurants, Duran Cankul, Batuhan Aktepe

University of South Florida (USF) M3 Publishing

In this research, it is aimed to examine the websites of the world's best 50 restaurants within the scope of web-based marketing. In the research conducted for this purpose, the document analysis technique, which is one of the qualitative research methods, was used. According to the list of The World's 50 Best Restaurants, one of the most important restaurant rating systems in the world, the first 50 restaurants were included in the research. Content analysis was applied to the data obtained in the research. In the research, it was concluded that the websites were created under the headings of communication, …

The Rinpoche Sent Me A Friend Request: The Roles And Perceptions Of Social Media In Buddhist Religious Life, Solveigh Barney

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

When I first heard about His Eminence the 8th Chokyong Palga Rinpoche, I didn’t expect to find an Instagram page consisting of gym pics and sunglass selfies. As I kept scrolling through Instagram, I soon found out that Palga Rinpoche is not alone in this influencer-like social media façade; he is a part of a younger generation of Buddhist monastics who are trying to be what some call monkfluencers. These monastics are growing up in the digital world of social media, making it more accessible to share with the outside world the #monklife. My goal is to investigate the relationship …

Social Access And Representation For Autistic Adult Livestreamers, Terrance Mok, Anthony Tang, Adam Mccrimmon, Lora Oehlberg

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

We interviewed 10 autistic livestreamers to understand their motivations for livestreaming on Twitch. Our participants explained that streaming helped them fulfill social desires by: supporting them in making meaningful social connections with others; giving them a safe space to practice social skills like “small talk”; and empowering them to be autistic role models and to share their true selves. This work offers an early report on how autistic individuals leverage livestreaming as a beneficial social platform while struggling with audience expectations.

International Migrants And Coronavirus Disease 2019 Vaccinations: Social Media, Motivated Information Management, And Vaccination Willingness, Hyunjin Seo, Yuchen Liu, Muhammad Ittefaq, Fatemeh Shayesteh, Ursula Kamanga, Annalise Baines

School of Communication Studies - Faculty Scholarship

Objective

This study examines how those who were born outside the United States and migrated to the country in the past decade used social media and other online sites to deal with uncertainties around the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. In particular, we examine how they used digital communication technologies to tap into online resources and social connections both in the United States and their origin country and how various aspects of online information management were associated with their willingness to get vaccinated against the virus.

Method

We conducted an online survey and in-depth interviews with international migrants aged 18–64 years …

Social Media Impact Of Articles Published By Dermatology Residents During Medical School: Cross-Sectional Study, Austin Huang, Harrison Zhu, Kelvin Zhou, R Parker Kirby, Nina Dasari, Gianmarco A Calderara, Kathryn Cordova, Ryan Sorensen, Anshul Bhatnagar, Soo Jung Kim

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: The Altmetric score (AS) is a novel measure of publication impact that is calculated by the number of mentions across various social media websites. This method may have advantages over traditional bibliometrics in the context of research by medical students.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to determine whether dermatology matriculants who graduated from higher-ranked medical schools published more articles with greater impact (ie, a higher AS) than those from lower-ranked institutions.

METHODS: A PubMed search for articles published by dermatology residents who started medical school in 2020 was conducted. Demographic information and Altmetric data were collected, and medical schools were …

Positive Digital Communication Among Youth: The Development And Validation Of The Digital Flourishing Scale For Adolescents, Jasmina Rosič, Sophie H. Janicke-Bowles, Luca Carbone, Bojana Lobe, Laura Vandenbosch

Communication Faculty Articles and Research

Research has extensively studied the negative effects of digital communication on adolescents’ well-being. However, positive digital experiences and behavior in adolescence are still poorly understood. The recently developed Digital Flourishing Scale addresses this gap and focuses on the positive perceptions of a user’s experiences and behaviors in digital communication among adults. In this paper, we developed an adolescent version of this scale. Study 1 demonstrated the internal consistency of the scale and the same factor structure for adolescence as for adulthood: connectedness, civil participation, positive social comparison, authentic self-presentation, and self-control. Study 2 confirmed the identified factor structure with a …

Use Of Twitter Among College Students For Academics: A Mixed-Methods Approach, Stefanie Amiruzzaman, Md Amiruzzaman

Languages & Cultures Faculty Publications

For almost a decade, Twitter use and its impact on students' academic performance have been explored by many researchers. Despite growing scholarly interest, studies have been mostly quantitative in nature. The findings of previous studies are conflicting; thus, an in-depth study is needed to determine how and what impacts college students' academic performance (i.e., GPA) when they spend time on Twitter. The purpose of this study was to understand the effects of Twitter use on college students' academic performance. The present study shows that individual analysis techniques, such as quantitative or qualitative tools, are not enough to understand the underlying …

Problematic Social Media Use, Social Comparison, And Defeat: An Intensive Longitudinal Investigation, Natalia Macrynikola

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Self-injurious thoughts and behaviors (SITBs) have steadily risen over the past two decades. The simultaneous dramatic increase in social media use has fueled concerns that using social media may be contributing to suicide risk. Although an emerging body of evidence reveals associations between certain patterns of social media use and SITBs, most research studies have not been designed to assess the temporal order of these variables and have neglected to investigate mechanisms underlying such associations. As a result, whether and how social media use may be conferring suicide risk remains unclear. To address this gap, the present study examined a …

Twilytics: A Social Perception Analysis Of Public Transit Systems During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Egbe-Etu Etu, Imokhai Tenebe, Ankur Parma, Likhitha Yelamanchili, Dang Minh Nhu Nguyen, Louis Tran, Ihor Markevych

Mineta Transportation Institute

In the United States, public transit ridership in 2020 declined by 79% compared to 2019 levels. With lockdowns implemented during the early days of the pandemic, direct human-to-human interactions migrated to virtual platforms (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, and Reddit). Social media platforms have aided researchers in answering numerous questions about current societal dilemmas, including COVID-19. This study investigates the public’s perception of transit systems via a social media analysis given the emergence of vaccines and other COVID-19 preventive measures. Findings revealed themes of fear and confusion concerning the use of public transportation during the pandemic. The public had doubts regarding the …

Does Social Media Accelerate Product Recalls? Evidence From The Pharmaceutical Industry, Yang Gao, Wenjing Duan, Huaxia Rui

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Social media has become a vital platform for voicing product-related experiences that may not only reveal product defects but also impose pressure on firms to act more promptly than before. This study scrutinizes the rarely-studied relationship between these voices and the speed of product recalls in the context of the pharmaceutical industry where social media pharmacovigilance is becoming increasingly important for the detection of drug safety signals. Using Federal Drug Administration (FDA) drug enforcement reports and social media data crawled from online forums and Twitter, we investigate whether social media can accelerate the product recall process in the context of …

Analyzing Fluctuation Of Topics And Public Sentiment Through Social Media Data, Haoyue Liu

Dissertations

Over the past decade years, Internet users were expending rapidly in the world. They form various online social networks through such Internet platforms as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. These platforms provide a fast way that helps their users receive and disseminate information and express personal opinions in virtual space. When dealing with massive and chaotic social media data, how to accurately determine what events or concepts users are discussing is an interesting and important problem.

This dissertation work mainly consists of two parts. First, this research pays attention to mining the hidden topics and user interest trend by analyzing real-world …

More Than A Fashion Faux Pas? Facebook's Ai And Adaptive Clothing Advertisements, Meghan Shaye Barrasso, Kat Williams, Lisa Perks

Communication and Media Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Mitigating Covid-19 Infection Rates And Increasing Vaccination Rates For Children Ages 5-11: A Content Analysis Of How Two Hospitals’ Use Of Effective Social Media Engagement Helped To Influence A Healthier Public, Jacqueline Delorey

Honors Program Theses and Projects

The Covid-19 outbreak initiated an international public health crisis, altering our publics dependency on health organizations communication strategies and tactics. Immediate crisis communication and public health efforts were needed to mitigate panic and infectious disease across the globe. The digital marketing strategies utilized for social media began to reflect the value of accurate and timely information spread in correlation to a healthier targeted public for large health organizations. The significance of this thesis in the field of communications directly correlates to the health belief model, which is used to observe the motivation and decision-making processes that influence an individual’s choice …

Higher Education Social Media: Student Perceptions Of University’S Covid-19 Crisis Communication, Bailey Cormier

Honors Program Theses and Projects

This study, as stated, is aimed to explore the perceptions and experiences of full-time undergraduate students of the university’s social media crisis communication. These students, the stakeholders of BSU, have followed Instagram accounts and have both accessed and been the audience of during the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the COVID-19 pandemic is a novel health crisis, the findings of this study have significance and can provide insights into effective crisis communication strategies that organizations and crisis communicators can implement in the current pandemic and future health crises. Experiences with different aspects during the pandemic such as participating in education online during …

From Fitspiration Posts To Food Shaming: Social Media’S Impact On Adolescent Girls’ Body Image, Madison Jones

Honors Program Theses and Projects

Social media is marketed as a way to connect and share with others all over the world—a fast way to connect to grandma down in Florida, do research from a university on the other side of the world, or even spark environmental change across the globe. So how, at the same time, can this be a harmful tool, one that has been identified as a cause of depression and even, in some cases, suicide in young girls? Social media sites like Instagram, FaceBook, and TikTok encourage users to post pictures and videos that show your “best self” alongside a rating …