Online dating apps are prevalent within dating culture, but they are also forms of social media. Although the way in which people use these apps might be more targeted than other forms of social media, it seems likely that the problems associated with social media could very well apply to dating apps too. However, this is an empirical question that begs a scientific and systematic investigation. Dating apps have a number of unique dynamics, such as being centered around romantic relationships with the users on the service and judging & being judged by others. Self-objectification, a form of extreme public self-awareness, has been tied to both social media usage and more recently to dating app usage. Prior research examining self-objectification within and between dating app users has been inconclusive; it is not clear whether more frequent dating app usage predicts self-objectification or not. The current study aimed to clarify the relationship between dating app usage and self-objectification. Data were collected from 174 college students who were active dating app users. They were polled on their frequency of dating app usage and given a self-administered self-objectification inventory online. Findings show that self-objectification differs significantly across dating app usage groups. Additionally, a moderation effect of race was found. For white participants, the more frequently they used data app, the more self-objectification they reported. For non-white participants, there was a nonlinear relationship between data app usage and self-objectification. Among non-white dating app users, low and high dating app usage groups reported higher self-objectification than the moderate dating app usage group. Limitations and implications of the study are discussed to hopefully offer insights into the relationships between dating app usage and self-objectification.

This paper analyzes the r/fakedisordercringe subreddit to better understand the purpose of the server as it relates to socially gatekeeping disability, or determining who is legitimately disabled. A mixed-methods analysis is employed using communications, sociology, and psychology theoretical frameworks. Implications discuss disability visibility and other conditions affecting treatment of people with disabilities.

Influencer marketing is when individuals with dedicated social media followings are sought out by brands to utilize their position on certain platforms to endorse a brand’s products and be compensated through payment or merchandise. I will be looking at the concept of trust when it comes to influencer marketing alongside the Fogg Behavior Model. Used to evaluate an individual’s behavior in the decisions making process, The Fogg Behavior Model bases itself in a persuasive environment by focusing on three key elements: motivation, ability, and trigger. When utilized in collaboration with influencer marketing, these elements together could have a strong effect on driving consumer behaviors. I utilized one of the most recent and popular social media platforms, TikTok, known for its short-form mobile videos, to explore these behavioral elements in action. Like any other media platform, TikTok influencer marketing requires a high amount of trust between the consumer and influencer to be successful and efficiently persuade the target market. I collected primary research by surveying opinions on trust and buying behaviors based on three different videos. One video had a hidden partnership disclosure in the caption, the second had a plainly visible partnership disclosure, and the third had a plainly visible partnership disclosure and verbally disclosed the relationship between the brand and the influencer. The analysis showed that participants felt a higher degree of trust towards the video which contained a verbal disclosure of the influencer’s partnership with the brand. The results lacked specificity on whether this perception of trust would successfully lead to a purchase, which could be adjusted for in future research; however, it did show there was motivation through the Fogg Model to look further into the product presented. I recommend influencers be as transparent and genuine as possible to earn the trust or their followers, as well as ensure all three factors of Fogg are present to increase their persuasive abilities over consumers completing a purchase.

Influencer marketing is when individuals with dedicated social media followings are sought out by brands to utilize their position on certain platforms to endorse a brand’s products and be compensated through payment or merchandise. I will be looking at the concept of trust when it comes to influencer marketing alongside the Fogg Behavior Model. Used to evaluate an individual’s behavior in the decisions making process, The Fogg Behavior Model bases itself in a persuasive environment by focusing on three key elements: motivation, ability, and trigger. When utilized in collaboration with influencer marketing, these elements together could have a strong effect on driving consumer behaviors. I utilized one of the most recent and popular social media platforms, TikTok, known for its short-form mobile videos, to explore these behavioral elements in action. Like any other media platform, TikTok influencer marketing requires a high amount of trust between the consumer and influencer to be successful and efficiently persuade the target market. I collected primary research by surveying opinions on trust and buying behaviors based on three different videos. One video had a hidden partnership disclosure in the caption, the second had a plainly visible partnership disclosure, and the third had a plainly visible partnership disclosure and verbally disclosed the relationship between the brand and the influencer. The analysis showed that participants felt a higher degree of trust towards the video which contained a verbal disclosure of the influencer’s partnership with the brand. The results lacked specificity on whether this perception of trust would successfully lead to a purchase, which could be adjusted for in future research; however, it did show there was motivation through the Fogg Model to look further into the product presented. I recommend influencers be as transparent and genuine as possible to earn the trust or their followers, as well as ensure all three factors of Fogg are present to increase their persuasive abilities over consumers completing a purchase.

For my Barrett Honors Creative Project, I created a guide titled, Digital Marketing and Social Media Branding Guide for Newly Established and Growing Pediatric Therapy Companies in 2022. I created this guide as I have noticed a lack of knowledge regarding social media and digital marketing within pediatric therapy companies due to a lack of resources. As a Social Media Specialist for a small pediatric therapy company, I know that pediatric therapy companies that are new or rather small can benefit from a visual, research, and example-based guide so they can succeed on various digital marketing platforms. The purpose of my guide is to assist owners and marketing professionals within the pediatric therapy industry who are starting their journey or need a little extra help with marketing by helping them set and attain their marketing goals and develop strategies, tips, and tools that can support them in their marketing efforts. My guide will have everything they need to know - right at their fingertips. In order to create this guide, I obtained secondary research from various online sources and guides to identify the industry background and supporting information for the guide, analyzed it, and derived common facts, themes, tips, and advice. Second, I conducted primary research by surveying 365 marketing students at Arizona State University through Qualtrics and analyzed that research. The purpose of this survey was to discover how familiar respondents are with pediatric therapy, services, companies, as well as their social media usage, types of content they would interact with, and to see if they would follow a pediatric therapy company. Third, I created my 57-page digital guide via Canva.com using the information I found through my secondary and primary research. The guide has a total of six sections: Section 1) Starting Steps, Section 2) Social Media, Section 3) Digital Marketing, Section 4) Management Tools, Section 5) Advertising, and Section 6) Final Tips. This paper component explains the pediatric therapy industry, my reasoning and methodology for creating the guide, the information that is in the guide, recommendations, and next steps.

For my Barrett Honors Creative Project, I created a guide titled, Digital Marketing and Social Media Branding Guide for Newly Established and Growing Pediatric Therapy Companies in 2022. I created this guide as I have noticed a lack of knowledge regarding social media and digital marketing within pediatric therapy companies due to a lack of resources. As a Social Media Specialist for a small pediatric therapy company, I know that pediatric therapy companies that are new or rather small can benefit from a visual, research, and example-based guide so they can succeed on various digital marketing platforms. The purpose of my guide is to assist owners and marketing professionals within the pediatric therapy industry who are starting their journey or need a little extra help with marketing by helping them set and attain their marketing goals and develop strategies, tips, and tools that can support them in their marketing efforts. My guide will have everything they need to know - right at their fingertips. In order to create this guide, I obtained secondary research from various online sources and guides to identify the industry background and supporting information for the guide, analyzed it, and derived common facts, themes, tips, and advice. Second, I conducted primary research by surveying 365 marketing students at Arizona State University through Qualtrics and analyzed that research. The purpose of this survey was to discover how familiar respondents are with pediatric therapy, services, companies, as well as their social media usage, types of content they would interact with, and to see if they would follow a pediatric therapy company. Third, I created my 57-page digital guide via Canva.com using the information I found through my secondary and primary research. The guide has a total of six sections: Section 1) Starting Steps, Section 2) Social Media, Section 3) Digital Marketing, Section 4) Management Tools, Section 5) Advertising, and Section 6) Final Tips. This paper component explains the pediatric therapy industry, my reasoning and methodology for creating the guide, the information that is in the guide, recommendations, and next steps.