Self-expression and addiction: Instagram use by Czech and Spanish university students
Article
Instagram is an image-based social network that has become very popular amongst young people. This social network has become one of the channels for self-expression of its users. This behavior can also lead to the intensive use of this social network, which in turn is beginning to be linked to technological addiction. The objective of this paper was to analyze Instagram use habits in a sample of Czech and Spanish college students (n = 362) and its influence on personal variables (self-esteem, self-expression). Another objective was to find out whether the increased use of Instagram fosters addictive behavior. The study was approached from a quantitative perspective, using the questionnaire as a data collection tool. Amongst the findings were the confirmation of a positive correlation between Instagram use and self-expression, as well as between Instagram use and addiction. Finally, differences were found between Instagram use between Czech and Spanish college students and the connection of Instagram use with self-esteem, self-expression and addiction, together with the concept of relapse.
Exploring the Impact of Social and Source Cues on News Selection
Article
The current reality in Nigeria is that media houses choose news and the way events are covered based on their ideological or political leanings. At the same time, audience members appear to also choose news contents that reinforce their pre-existing perceptions or views while avoiding those that go against these views. Based on Sears and Freedman’s (1967) review of selective exposure or information utility, this experimental study set out to examine the possible influence of online news social endorsements on news selectivity in Nigeria. Findings reveal that the selective choices news consumers make with regard to consuming and disseminating news on the Internet are significantly influenced by online social endorsements such as Likes and recommendations. Findings also show that the effect of social endorsement is stronger among partisan respondents selecting articles from an ideologically misaligned source and that the presence of social endorsements significantly reduce partisan selectivity.
The Climate of Incivility in Philippine Daily Inquirer’s Social Media Environment
Article
My study describes the atmosphere of incivility in a specific local online setting by looking at the incidence of incivility in the reader comments field of Philippine Daily Inquirer’s (PDI) news website and official Facebook page. Even though studies about online incivility in deliberative intercourse are not new, there is a dearth in scholarly research examining incivility in the context of local online discourse. A total of 5,255 reader comments were gathered from PDI’s top trending news article of the day over a seven-day constructed week sampling, which covered a total of seven top trending news articles selected during September and October 2017. Findings reveal that 76.6% of the total comments contained at least one form of incivility and it was found to be more present during the first 12 hours after an article’s online posting. The most popular forms of incivility across comment levels were character assassination, stand assassination, mockery, and name-calling and were typically directed at others outside the discussion thread. While there was no significant difference between PDI’s website and Facebook page in terms of forms and timeline of incivility, a higher density of incivility was found in its website. Moderation of comments is thus recommended as well as media and information literacy campaigns to address the incidence of online incivility.