Matching Items (6)
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- All Subjects: Social Media
- Member of: Barrett, The Honors College Thesis/Creative Project Collection
- Resource Type: Text
Description
In a world where tweets, texts, posts, likes and favorites are a part of our daily lives, it's hard not to believe everything we see. Every little detail of one's personal life is easily shared with the world with the click of a button. And because of this, the beauty standards that society has created is jumping from the pages of magazines and TV shows to apps such as Instagram and Facebook. The majority of social media users are young teens and adults, but the popularity of these apps is rising among kids as young as five years old as well. These are some of the most impressionable years of one's life. So, by seeing these standards that qualify someone as "beautiful," individuals are likely to strive toward these standards. And while some may seem impossible to attain, individuals are willing to go to extreme lengths to get there. Qualities like the "thigh gap" are slowly becoming more popular, and are putting individuals at risk. In a country where the ideal woman is skinny, and most of the celebrities and models showcase these nearly impossible standards, it's hard not to fall into the trap. With the addition of editing software and filters to already existing social media applications, the ability to edit and enhance photos is in the hands of the user. Photos can be edited so dramatically different from the original that what we're seeing doesn't even exist. This project explores the false reality that social media is creating and the negative effects it has on young girls and women. It also offers a solution to the problem.
ContributorsHenry, Lauren Nicole (Author) / Sanft, Alfred (Thesis director) / Heywood, William (Committee member) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / The Design School (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
Social media is an industry that is rapidly growing and is affecting our society, our health, and our social environments. Emerging research suggests that Social Media has been linked to Poor Body Image, Cyberbullying, Depression, Internet Addiction, and Loneliness among other things. This paper looks at the research and discusses the designer's role in the matter. Is it possible that poor design is the cause of these problems? Can design solve these problems? Are there ethical standards that digital product designers in particular can abide by?
ContributorsDavis, Nicole Angela (Author) / Sanft, Alfred (Thesis director) / Heywood, William (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / The Design School (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
A visual investigation surrounding the societal problem of parasocial relationships, stemming from the advent of viewers' interactions with content creators on platforms like Youtube. My goal was to research my chosen topic in order to provide a basis for a physical exhibit embodying and explaining the dangers and potential solutions for the problem, as well as formulate a written and printed book documenting my process throughout the course of my senior year.
ContributorsVan Camp, Emily (Author) / Sanft, Al (Thesis director) / Montgomery, Eric (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor) / The Design School (Contributor)
Created2022-05
Description
As existing typologies and precedents that integrate music into architectural form don’t pay careful consideration to the composer’s intent and technique of the score into built structure and its program, the goal is propose a new architecture that integrates the site, program, and acoustics. Scenes from Childhood (Kinderszenen), composed by Robert Schumann, depict memories, dreams, hopes, candor, and games- all lost in paradise. Schumann composed the piece as an adult, reminiscing of his childhood. The rising 6th with a four-note falling figure is the main motif. The motif opens the 1st movement, reappears in the 2nd, 4th, and 11th, and is transposed in the 6th, 7th, and 9th. This motif and the implications of each movement, as well as the piece as a whole, became the organizing principle in defining form, program, and experience: a public park wedged between two elementary schools in a low-income neighborhood in Los Angeles, California. The proposal aims to integrate the lack of the two institutions’ music programs into the experience of the 13 pavilions that reflect the 13 movements in Schumann’s piece. The manifestation of the final project was just as important as the process; the program is developed through the score, and the architectural is supported by the musical curriculum as well as Schumann’s intent.
ContributorsKim, Cecile (Author) / Vekstein, Claudio (Thesis director) / Mclean, Elizabeth (Committee member) / The Design School (Contributor) / School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
Our online world has benefits such as ease of connectedness across geographical and temporal boundaries, and the sheer size of an information firehouse which lets us access effectively anything we could want to know. With increased dependence on smartphones and laptops, they steadily integrate more into daily life. But without cogent thought to each online action, however small, we fall victim to a splintering of attention. Switching from one app or task to the next becomes involuntary. In pursuit of connection, we ironically become dissociated instead.
ContributorsBelskus, Madeleine (Author) / Montgomery, Eric (Thesis director) / Sanft, Alfred C (Committee member) / Heywood, William (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / The Design School (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor)
Created2022-05
Description
The goal of this research study is to examine the nature and effects of social media marketing and the role it has played towards driving Gen Z into the luxury fashion industry. In addition, qualitative exploration focused on uncovering the reason behind why this market chooses to purchase luxury products and investigated the relationship between social media influencers, luxury brands, and their consumers.
Through 12 qualitative research interviews, five key insights were suggested from the results of the study: people buy luxury to fit in or stand out in social groups, social media marketing portrays a false reality, social media has contributed to the rise of Gen Z consumers in luxury fashion, social media has normalized owning luxury products, and social media has caused lowered self esteem and social pressure amongst Gen Z. These insights can be explained through a triangular framework, making up a marketing ecosystem involving the brand, the social media influencer, and the consumer. These three roles work together to buy and sell goods from one another. If one of the players fails to do their role, the relationships fall apart.
Given phones and apps are highly personal items often only used by one individual, understanding and comparing the ads and images one user is exposed to versus another can be very tricky. Recently, the Federal Trade Commission has increased regulations over native advertisements when viewers became unable to decipher ad from reality. Gen Z’s may inadvertently compare themselves to influencers, ultimately causing lowered self esteem when they cannot possess or achieve the lifestyle of these individuals. These insights are important to help understand how to negate the negative effects of social media marketing and propel companies to be more transparent in their marketing initiatives to reduce social pressure and poor mental health amongst Gen Z. Luxury brands could utilize more explicit differentiators on paid advertisements compared to editorial material to make audiences more knowledgeable of the type of content they are viewing. In addition, society should change the way people perceive online content and have more open discussions surrounding the ethics of native advertising and decipection social media posts may cause. The way young users interact and process social media posts is very complex. Investigating this topic is important to prevent the possible underlying repercussions of social media and help marketers best cater toward this market in an open, ethical fashion.
This study concludes with managerial applications and directions for further research. Businesses should prepare to face increasing guidelines regarding native advertising. These guidelines may include requirements to have explicit markings on branded content and binding contracts with social media influencers. To work around these restrictions, the future of luxury fashion indicates that direct to consumer strategies are on the rise. Video livestream retail and social commerce are already taking the Chinese market by storm and it's only a matter of time before American brands will be forced to adapt to keep up with changing trends in the marketplace. DTC brands benefit from having a direct channel to the consumer without interpretation or the need for intermediaries. Given this research primarily focuses on the links between the brand to influencer and influencer to consumer, future exploration could focus on the channel between the brand and consumer through direct selling. Going forward, brands may prefer to interact with their customers directly, without the use of an influencer, to help establish a close relationship with their audience through a seamless customer journey.
ContributorsElton, Eila (Author) / Ostrom, Amy (Thesis director) / Gray, Nancy (Committee member) / Bush, Leslie (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / The Design School (Contributor)
Created2022-05