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- All Subjects: Social Media
Description
Long before “fake news” dominated the conversation within and about the media, media literacy advocates have championed the need for media literacy education that provides the tools for people to understand, analyze, and evaluate media messages. That the majority of U.S. adults now consume news on social media underscores the importance for students of all ages to be critical users of media. Furthermore, the affordances of social media to like, comment, and share news items within one’s network increases an individual’s responsibility to ascertain the veracity of news before using a social media megaphone to spread false information. Social media’s shareability can dictate how information spreads, increasing news consumers’ role as a gatekeeper of information and making media literacy education more important than ever.
This research examines the media literacy practices that news consumers use to inform their gatekeeping decisions. Using a constant comparative coding method, the author conducted a qualitative analysis of hundreds of discussion board posts from adult participants in a digital media literacy Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) to identify major themes and examine growth in participants’ sense of responsibility related to sharing news information, their feeling of empowerment to make informed decisions about the media messages they receive, and how the media literacy tools and techniques garnered from the MOOC have affected their daily media interactions. Findings emphasize the personal and contextual nature of media literacy, and that those factors must be addressed to ensure the success of a media literacy education program.
This research examines the media literacy practices that news consumers use to inform their gatekeeping decisions. Using a constant comparative coding method, the author conducted a qualitative analysis of hundreds of discussion board posts from adult participants in a digital media literacy Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) to identify major themes and examine growth in participants’ sense of responsibility related to sharing news information, their feeling of empowerment to make informed decisions about the media messages they receive, and how the media literacy tools and techniques garnered from the MOOC have affected their daily media interactions. Findings emphasize the personal and contextual nature of media literacy, and that those factors must be addressed to ensure the success of a media literacy education program.
ContributorsRoschke, Kristy (Author) / Thornton, Leslie-Jean (Thesis advisor) / Chadha, Monica (Committee member) / Halavais, Alexander (Committee member) / Silcock, Bill (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
Description
My thesis is an experiment in the power of social media and networking. The compelling question is: How can we as journalists motivate people to connect with Facebook/blog postings enough to share them with their own networks? This is a huge issue with journalism because it is a challenge to move people and to get them to share information.
My thesis project took the form of a networking blog for adoptable animals at the local pound. I created unique photos of the dogs and wrote up bios for them so that they became more accessible to people who could not physically visit the shelter very often. I brought the dogs to life by sharing a part of their story and encouraging people to care about what happened to them. This issue is especially close to my heart because I have loved animals all my life and started fostering dogs a few years ago.
The project was a huge success. I profiled 37 dogs and they amassed hundreds of thousands of views both on my Wordpress site and on the project Facebook page. Five of my dogs were euthanized, about a 13% euthanasia rate. Compared to the owner surrender euthanasia rate of previous years, this rate is remarkably low. In 2012, about 43.86% of owner surrenders were euthanized. In 2013, about 39.19% of owner surrenders were euthanized. In 2014, about 33.27% of owner surrenders were euthanized. My euthanasia rate was essentially less than half of the last year’s owner surrender euthanasia rate.
I think I absolutely proved my point. The power of networking in unique ways and leveraging the influence of social media cannot be underestimated. Less dogs were killed because of my project. If that’s not success, then I don’t know what is.
My thesis project took the form of a networking blog for adoptable animals at the local pound. I created unique photos of the dogs and wrote up bios for them so that they became more accessible to people who could not physically visit the shelter very often. I brought the dogs to life by sharing a part of their story and encouraging people to care about what happened to them. This issue is especially close to my heart because I have loved animals all my life and started fostering dogs a few years ago.
The project was a huge success. I profiled 37 dogs and they amassed hundreds of thousands of views both on my Wordpress site and on the project Facebook page. Five of my dogs were euthanized, about a 13% euthanasia rate. Compared to the owner surrender euthanasia rate of previous years, this rate is remarkably low. In 2012, about 43.86% of owner surrenders were euthanized. In 2013, about 39.19% of owner surrenders were euthanized. In 2014, about 33.27% of owner surrenders were euthanized. My euthanasia rate was essentially less than half of the last year’s owner surrender euthanasia rate.
I think I absolutely proved my point. The power of networking in unique ways and leveraging the influence of social media cannot be underestimated. Less dogs were killed because of my project. If that’s not success, then I don’t know what is.
ContributorsTotten, Emma Kathleen (Author) / Jean-Thornton, Leslie (Thesis director) / Roschke, Kristy (Committee member) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
This project is a strategic online media proposal for aBloom Salon. In order to provide the salon with a successful social media proposal, there must be an analysis of the current situation informed by secondary and primary research. aBloom in Latin means transformation; this salon specializes in holistic beauty. At this salon all the products are organic, natural and raw. They use a non-toxic ammonia-free color line and have a Raw Beauty Bar where clients can create all-natural custom products. This proposal aims to increase aBloom Salon's brand awareness in the most effective way possible. The project started by analyzing the salon's website, Facebook page and Instagram content and following-up with recommendations for improvement. In addition to that analysis, research was conducted on current clients to gage their social media habits and purpose for using social media. Salon owner, Alejandra Martinez, currently averages 20 to 30 clients a week and said she would like to increase to 25 to 35 clients a week. Martinez was promoting her salon through her website, word-of-mouth, Facebook, Yelp, Instagram and cross-promoting efforts with likeminded businesses.
ContributorsHashemian, Sepeedeh (Author) / Wu, Xu (Thesis director) / Roschke, Kristy (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Community Resources and Development (Contributor) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
The purpose of this project was to establish a digital and social media presence to support a personal fitness trainer and d�TERRA essential oils wellness advocate in growing her health and wellness businesses. The first portion explores the role of digital and social media tools for health and wellness professionals. It incorporates use of both secondary and primary research methods including focus groups and in-depth interviews. The second portion is a campaign proposal that serves as a creative response to the research and findings of the first portion. The proposal includes recommendations for strategic use of new brand building and social networking tools such as a personal website, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and About.Me pages. It also offers collateral material for brand outreach, social media calendars and a 10-page social media guidebook offering suggestions on how to strategically implement the campaign elements.
ContributorsNichols, Emily Jaye (Author) / Wu, Xu (Thesis director) / Roschke, Kristy (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
This is an exploratory study that describes the activities of the Chive community as a popular religion. Using utilize Shan Suttons' framework from The Deadhead Community (2000) and Howard Beckers Jazz Places, I use categories of Community, Cultus, Creed, and Code as ways to explore describe the Chive community's activities and how they are similar to the popular religion, the Deadheads. Chive people maintain a sense of community that operates online with social media sites like Facebook and Twitter where they began to connect with one another, offline in the form of Meet-ups, and charity drives, and in the fabric between these events of the shared consciousness that takes place among Chivers and Chivettes. Through participant observations, interviews with Chive chapter administrators, and survey responses, I set out to answer, or get closer to, what it is that leads someone to Chive On.
ContributorsHarrick, Travis Christopher (Author) / Renshaw, Scott (Thesis director) / Keahey, Jennifer (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Social and Behavioral Sciences (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
Although previous research has explored the relationship between social media use and well-being, many studies are contradictory of each other and conclude varying findings relating to social media use and outspokenness. This study explores the relationship between active and passive social media use, perceived social media expertise, and outspokenness using the potentially mediating variable of perceived social acceptance. 162 participants, recruited through Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) and ASU’s SONA systems, completed a survey relating to their own use of social media, perceived social acceptance, and outspokenness. Contradictory to my first hypotheses, no significant correlations were found between social media use and social media expertise. However, correlation analyses revealed that active social media use is related to an increased amount of perceived social media expertise (r = 0.23, p < .004). Perceived social media expertise was significantly positively correlated with outspokenness (r = 0.19, p < 0.015); however, it was not correlated with perceived social acceptance. When examining these relationships separately by gender, a strong association was found for males between active social media use and outspokenness, whereas passive social media use and outspokenness were negatively correlated for females. The results of this study add to previous research in the field of social media and outspokenness and lend new ideas for future research on these topics, such as exploring the gender differences that are associated with these variables. Further research in the area is needed for a more complete understanding of how one’s social media use affects his/her outspokenness and how gender modifies these effects.
ContributorsRubino, Kelli Erika (Co-author) / Rubino, Kelli (Co-author) / Mickelson, Kristin (Thesis director) / Halavais, Alexander (Committee member) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
This research explores how to best communicate positive body images to women. This project was intended to improve a blog I created my freshmen year in college called You're Not A Potato where I used original illustrations to tell a narrative about body image issues. The thesis begins with an historical overview of body image issues and finds that women have been dealing with high levels of body dissatisfaction since the Victorian era. The thesis then recaps the role of traditional media as well as contemporary social media and the role they play in imposing rigid beauty ideals on women's bodies. After an analysis of social media culture, it becomes evident women still communicate about their bodies in a negative manner, not only towards themselves, but towards others. To address this issue, I define the Body Positive movement and explore how public figures are using social media to implement Body Positivity. To conclude this project, I utilize my new-found knowledge in body positive communication by impacting my university campus community. I started a "You're Not a Potato" Campaign for Body Pride week with the help of the ASU Wellness Team and designed and facilitated several engaging programs that reflected the values of the Body Positive movement to our students. Through this research, I discovered how our appearance-based culture has stolen self-confidence from young women today, but by the end of this project, I explain how we can attempt to rebuild our culture by effectively communicating self-love and body acceptance in our online and physical communities.
ContributorsMouton, Brianna Anais (Author) / Gruber, Diane (Thesis director) / Taylor, Jameien (Committee member) / Manninen, Bertha (Committee member) / School of Social and Behavioral Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
This study derives from a developmental psychology viewpoint. The main research question is, "What are the effects of social media on children?" Aspects such as bullying, personality changes, and academic performances are considered. This topic is important because it has yet to be explored extensively. Given the ever changing nature of social media, it is a challenge to keep up with research on how this technology is changing the direction of society. Studying children involved with social media allows a direct glimpse into what one aspect of the future of child social development holds. The main problem explored in this thesis is whether or not social media is currently affecting children negatively. Correlations will be examined to determine who is most likely to utilize social media, as well as who is most likely to be affected positively or negatively by networking sites. Motivations behind social media usage and time spent online will also be studied. This research is important in understanding today's youth, and once understood, parents and teachers can learn to guide children in using social media for beneficial reasons rather than potentially detrimental ones. I have conducted my research by means of a survey, one in which the entire fifth-grade class at Copper Creek Elementary School partook. Results showed that nearly all surveyed students used social media. Differences in social media usage between classmates based on gender and presence of older siblings were found. It was concluded that social media is affecting fifth-grade females more negatively than fifth-grade males. Also, it was found that children with older siblings may be at risk for using mature social media sites too soon. The long term effects of these findings were not explored, and further research on this subject is encouraged.
ContributorsWilkey, Brooke Nicole (Author) / Lewis, Stephen (Thesis director) / Gaffney, Cynthia (Committee member) / School of Social and Behavioral Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12
Description
Young voters are the future of the country, yet are disengaged and disinterested in politics, leading to low turnout rates. This paper focuses on the Millennial generation, which consists of adults ages 18 to 33, and at times, narrowly focuses on the subset of college students. Since individuals should learn about the presidential candidates and the election before casting a vote, I analyze the similarities and differences between receiving election content through television news, a traditional source, compared to social media. Next, I examine the importance of political expression and political discussion, along with how millennials engaging in such activity on social media allows for a deeper level of engagement in elections than what was possible before the birth of social media. Thus, as opposed to focusing on the reasons milllennials shy away from politics, the purpose of the first three chapters is to highlight the potential benefits for using social media during presidential elections. Lastly, I analyze millennials' voting behaviors, particularly the generation's preference for liberal social values. Since we are currently in the 2016 U.S. presidential election season, the purpose of this chapter is to highlight current research regarding millennials' voting patterns, which should then be compared to the future 2016 general election studies. By analyzing consistent and divergent trends, researchers can further add to the discussion of millennials' political behavior. Although I dedicate a brief part to the 2016 presidential election in Chapters 2 through 4 to discuss how trends are similar or different from current research, the overall purpose of this paper is to inform readers about how millennials learn, engage, and participate in presidential elections.
ContributorsLarson, Dakota Alexis Ok-Ran (Author) / Ackroyd, William (Thesis director) / Cisler, Sherry (Committee member) / Department of Management (Contributor) / School of Social and Behavioral Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
Media influences the way people understand the world around them, and today's digital media environment is saturated with information. Online media consumers are experiencing an information overload, and many find it difficult to determine which messages to trust. Media consumers between the ages of 18 and 34 are increasingly turning to social media, especially Facebook, for news and information. However, the nature of information exchange on these networks makes these users prone to seeing and sharing misleading, inaccurate or unverified information. This project is an examination of how misinformation spreads on social media platforms, and how users can utilize media literacy techniques to surround themselves with trustworthy information on social media, as well as develop skills to determine whether information is credible. By examining the motivations behind sharing information on social media, and the ways in which Millennials interact with misinformation on these platforms, this study aims to help users combat the spread of misleading information. This project determines techniques and resources that media consumers can use to turn their social media networks into healthy, trustworthy information environments. View the online component of this project at http://lindsaytaylorrobin.wix.com/info-overload
ContributorsRobinson, Lindsay T (Author) / Gillmor, Dan (Thesis director) / Roschke, Kristy (Committee member) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2015-12