Blogging and Other Social Media

Navigating Social Media in #Ophthalmology

Social media and on-line interaction can be as significant as the offline environment in shaping youth health behaviour, possibly explaining the association between social media and alcohol use by youth. Social media also presents opportunities for new prevention and intervention strategies. Social media are inherently social, and people are inevitably influenced by the interactions therein [5]. Ng Fat et al. propose that the association between heavier social media use and higher likelihood of more frequent drinking by youth could be due to cultural norms of drinking which are transferred through the on-line context [1, 6]. Prior research work on norms concerning addictive behaviours [7-9] provide support to this notion, suggesting that observed norms are a powerful transferer of health behaviours. The challenge of social media is that they are likely to distort the user's perception of reality due to user activity, contacts and various algorithms [10]. Perceptions of alcohol norms or the impression of how much others are drinking are often over-estimated [2, 11]. This poses a risk to young people who are particularly susceptible to social norms and can lead to many unwanted and harmful behaviour patterns, such as increased drinking. Ng Fat et al. did not investigate the effect of social norms as such, although they discussed youths' sociability both on- and off-line as a potential factor influencing greater alcohol use. However, their results highlight where the gaps exist in understanding how social media and on-line relationships could impact the behaviour of developing youths. Emerging research in the field suggests that social media and virtual interaction in general can be as powerful as the off-line environment in terms of shaping youth behaviour [12]. Ng Fat et al. defined social media use as belonging to social media sites, including Facebook, Myspace and Bebo. However, social media are much more diverse and manifold, warranting wider and more nuanced consideration. Research indicates that social media platforms differ greatly when it comes to interface and content [13]. Social media such as Facebook and Instagram are more user-orientated and on these types of platforms, users typically have a visible identity. Interaction in these services is based on people's mutual relationships and content is mainly shared among a certain set of other users (i.e. friends, followers) [13]. It is possible that, on platforms such as these, social interaction is more meaningful and social influence and behavioural diffusion occur more easily. Social media such as YouTube and Twitter are more content-orientated where networks are established around users’ shared interests. Other users or audiences are more far-reaching and often anonymous [14]. Young individuals are likely to turn towards more interactional social media platforms where communication is mutual [15, 16]. This could also partly explain the clearer pattern between social media use and higher likelihood of more frequent drinking among the 10–15 age group. It is noteworthy that Ng Fat et al. conclude that no direct evidence was found indicating that the rise of social media platforms could be contributing to the increase in non-drinking among youth [17]. While social media use has been associated with adverse health behaviours, the opportunities to employ different on-line platforms for prevention and intervention strategies are abundant. However, future longitudinal research is needed, as social media are rapidly expanding and evolving. New forms of social media may present unforeseeable risks for youth alcohol use and other off-line risk behaviours, but also opportunities for prevention. None.

Social Media: Pedagogy and Practice. Kehbuma Langmia, Tia C. M. Tyree, Pamela O'Brien, and Ingrid Sturgis, eds. Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 2014. 274 pp. $34.99 pbk.Some studies showed that youths in many countries around the world today continue to spend hours a day on one form of social media or another. These digital natives are readily adopting the technology as the center of their learning, socialization, and communication. Yet, many faculty members remain wary of the academic benefits these new technologies bring to the classroom. Social Media: Pedagogy and Practice attempts to enlighten educators, scholars, and practitioners about social media and help them find the balance of technology and pedagogy to develop the first wave of college-level social media courses.Edited by Kehbuma Langmia of Howard University, Pamela O'Brien of Bowie State University, Tia Tyree of Howard University, and Ingrid Sturgis of Howard University, this collection is a product of the discussions and research presented at the 2011 and 2012 Social Media Technology Conference and Workshops, co-hosted by Howard University and Bowie State University. The volume collects thirteen chapters-each an article on its own-covering social media as pedagogical tools, social media practices in the United States, and international social media practices.The first six chapters are dedicated to discussing how social media can be brought into the classroom and research projects. Tia Tyree, in her article about creating social media courses for college students, highlighted the need for respecting the ways utilize new technologies to enhance their comprehension of certain subject matters and to acquire new skills. In the new millennium, she wrote, students have increased opportunities to determine the time and manner in which learning occurs. She urged educators to opt for a student-centered rather than a one-size-fits-all approach to working with in the online learning environment. Echoing Tyree's call, Kehbuma Langmia and Stella-Monica Mpande recommended critical evaluations of social media in terms of intercultural thinking, learning disparities, deconstruction of meaning, and identity formation over social media.To help scholars and practitioners incorporate social media data into communication research, William Hart and Erica Taylor in chapter 5 devised a step-by-step guide to writing a quantitative research paper on social media. From writing the introduction or problem statement to writing the discussion section, Hart and Taylor gave examples from a social media case study and highlighted aspects that are specifically relevant to communication research, such as using the #socialmediaresearch hashtag on Twitter.The second section of this volume seeks to examine the use of social media in the United States. Jayne Cubbage studied how the increasing use of new media and Internet technologies among African Americans helps to mobilize the community in taking steps to improve their social and living conditions, in political and economic ways. Her research concluded that community involvement may be bolstered with more use of social media. Following that, in chapter 9, Jamila Cupid and Lenise Wallace emphasized how various social media platforms, such as Google Plus, LinkedIn, and Pinterest, can be used as social branding tools for college to seek employment. …

The aim of this study is to reveal Open Education related social media usage in Turkey through social network analyses. To this end, the most widely used social media network in Turkey, Facebook, was chosen. All the pages and groups created on Facebook related to Open Education were found. A total of 207 groups and 521 pages were accessed and entered into the social network analysis. Within the scope of this study, the density and centrality features of the network were analyzed for groups whereas the density, centrality, and degrees features of the network were analyzed for pages. The study's results revealed that while pages and groups related to programs emphasizing current job opportunities and student support services were more actively used, commercial accounts attempted to exploit students' exam anxiety instead of generating actual content. The findings also revealed that well structured institutional pages appeal to students and have the potential to reach high levels of popular in short periods of time.

The rising societal use of social media has encouraged health professionals to use social media in their professional activities; however, this can be a daunting task, particularly for those who are uncertain about the boundaries for the professional use of social media. This article summarises the guidelines provided by medical governing bodies on social media use and provides practical advice on how social media can be used, which is transferrable across the health professions. Nine guidance documents published by medical governing bodies in major international English-speaking countries were reviewed and analysed to identify their key common messages. Five key themes were identified across all of the guidance documents, as follows: maintain patient confidentiality; defamation is unacceptable; privacy cannot be guaranteed; responsibility to maintain public trust; and reasons to use social media. The guidelines predominantly focus on the risks of using social media. Although this is necessary, it is likely to inhibit the exploration of the potential uses of social media in health care education and practice. All of the guidance documents from governing bodies encourage the use of social media to engage with patients and to network with colleagues; however, there is relatively little practical guidance on how to use social media as a health professional. This article offers some practical advice for faculty members who wish to run development sessions on how to use social media for professional purposes. …there is relatively little practical guidance on how to use social media as a health professional.

Spatial Patterns of Purposeful Social Networking and Socioeconomic Influences: Towards a Mature, Inclusive Networked Society in the U.S.

Research examining associations between social media use behaviors and psychosocial well-being among older adults are limited. To explore associations between older adults' social media (social networking services and instant messaging applications) use behaviors and psychosocial well-being. This was a secondary data analysis. All data were retrieved from the Taiwan Communication Survey database, an annual survey that examines trends in Taiwanese residents' communication behaviors and social media use. The original investigation was conducted in Taiwan from September to December 2019. Data from 647 older adults aged over 60 years were extracted for the analyses. Social media use behaviors (users/non-users and time spent using), positive psychosocial outcomes (life satisfaction, self-determination, subjective well-being, and happiness), negative psychosocial outcomes (loneliness, depression, and anxiety), and demographic variables were included. Social media users had significantly higher levels of subjective well-being and lower levels of depression, anxiety, and loneliness compared with non-users. Time spent on social networking services was significantly and positively correlated with negative psychosocial outcomes (β = 0.103, p = 0.044, f2 = 0.011), and it was significantly and inversely correlated with positive psychosocial outcomes (β = -0.063, p = 0.049, f2 = 0.004). Time spent using an instant messaging application was significantly positively associated with positive psychosocial outcomes (β = 0.068, p = 0.031, f2 = 0.005). The proposed path model had an acceptable model fit. Study results indicated that older adults' social media use behaviors were associated with their psychosocial well-being. Older adults are recommended to use social media for appropriate time periods as an important way to promote social engagement for their psychosocial well-being.

E-professionalism and social media use amongst nurses and midwives: A cross-sectional study

Social commerce was established with the growing commercial use of social media platforms, centered around e-commerce features and actors (buyers, influencers, and sellers) which provide user-generated content through recommendations on products and services. Important factors are both the utilization of social media platforms as trusted sources by users and the trusted content from users posting their experiences and opinions. This study focuses on Swiss consumers (9 out of 10 Swiss residents are active online) and their usage of social media, e-commerce, and social commerce as a source of trusted product information and platforms to share their own product experiences. While social media usage in Switzerland is high (almost all online users are using some form of social media), only one-third are using social media (primarily YouTube) as a source of information that guides decision-making. Merely one in ten respondents post their experiences—satisfaction or recommendations for products and services—on social media at least once a month. Our research data show that in Switzerland, social commerce is an underdeveloped marketing concept as to available e-commerce features and the degree of trusted user-generated content about products and services on social media platforms.

The use of social media as a channel for political communication has an influence in determining a person's political behavior, so that it can form public opinion among the community. The reason X is called an information disseminator is because most of the trending topic hashtags that are trending on X become headlines. This is due to the power of X as a mouthpiece for conventional media news, so that many people use it, especially politicians. Therefore, it is not surprising that public opinion is easily formed and is often found on social media X. X is a form of social media that allows its users to express their opinions on various topics effectively. The focus of this study is how politicians influence public opinion. This study explores the intensity of conversations on the @fahrihamzah account and issues related to the #AyoMoveOn2024 action on social media. This study uses a qualitative method with the Qualitative Data Analysis (QDA) Miner approach, which helps network, content, and cloud analysis using Nvivo 12 Plus software. The results of this study indicate that being a consistent medium for spreading public opinion campaign actions through the @Fahrihamzah account network through the #AyoMoveOne2024 public opinion campaign with high conversation intensity. In addition, public opinion accompanying the #AyoMoveOn2024 action campaign shows that the Geloraid party made the most mentions with an intensity of 12.70%. Then the most prominent hashtag is #ayomoveon2024, with an intensity of 10.34%. Furthermore, there were 3013 tweets sent by the @Fahrihamzah account in the #AyoMoveOn2024 action, with seven retweets. This study can illustrate how social media X is effective as a means of disseminating information and campaigning for action by X social media users.

The social network is a big forum where people communicate with each other everywhere in a digital word based on a connection. Users may share anything with their contacts, such as profiles, images, posts, videos, etc. Data sharing makes communication easier on such platforms. Also, with increasing use of social networking sites, information exchange across social networks has also increased. The protection and rights of shared information are being threatened because more and more data is being shared. Security and privacy, is therefore posing significant questions. All the data in the online social media must be protected from unauthorized access. As users of social media are growing significantly, it is difficult to store this very large amount of information. As a remedy, Cloud offers a space to store data created by social media. So as the data is very large their maintenance is very costly, so cloud-based services are used to handle such large amounts of data as cloud provides many services like platform-based services, storage based, and many more. However, the problems of protecting users’ private information in cloud-based social media remain. Users are ignorant of such problems. They post mostly on media sites, different photographs, videos, and private details that persist even after deletion. Though some of the leaked info is supposed to be a secret, data from social media have contributed to a possibility of persons revealing sensitive information. That’s also due to the fact that they gather enormous private information and clients accept the risk of believing them. When enough personalized data is exchanged with the public, it becomes even simpler to violate the confidentiality of a target user. Therefore, one of the biggest problems of cloud-based social media is the protection of social media data stored in the cloud. In this paper, we present an overview of privacy and security issues in cloud-based online social media. We’re adding privacy and security threat taxonomy in online social media, evaluating current methods to minimize those threats, and highlighting problems that are yet to be addressed.

With the rapid growth of internet penetration in a country like India, the social media usage among the citizens has also witnessed growth over the last few years. The traditional journalism which dominated the news-making process in all these years has been facing serious challenges with the expansion of internet connectivity in recent years and the subsequent boom of journalism on social media and web portals. This expansion of new media in the form of social media is not only transforming the news-making process, but also providing audience who consume media messages to become a part of the news dissemination process. Assam, a state situated in the Northeastern part of India, boasts of a rich history of journalism over 176 years. However, with the expansion of internet connectivity and social media in recent years in Assam, it witnessed a new style of journalism practiced through “Facebook Pages” which cater to a large number of heterogeneous audiences. The present study using Erving Goffman’s “Framing Theory” looks at the functioning of the select Assamese News Pages on Facebook using a qualitative analysis of the media contents of these news pages. The study brings to light a new style of reporting in the media contents of Facebook News Pages which was not prominent in the reporting of traditional media. The researchers argue here that despite Facebook providing a democratic space for the audience, still the political economy of these pages suggest serving the agendas of a section of people like the traditional media.

BackgroundA majority of adolescents report the use of some form of social media, and many prefer to communicate via social networking sites. Social media may offer new opportunities in diabetes management, particularly in terms of how health care teams provide tailored support and treatment to adolescents with diabetes.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to explore the experiences and perspectives of adolescents with type 1 diabetes on the feasibility of social media use as a tool to collaboratively manage their diabetes with their diabetes care team.MethodsFocus groups of adolescents with type 1 diabetes were conducted in the Seattle metropolitan area in Washington State. Semistructured questions were used to elicit views around the preferred means of communication with the adolescents’ diabetes care team, how to best support diabetes self-management, and how social media could be used outside of the clinic setting by the diabetes care team to engage with adolescents with type 1 diabetes. Focus groups were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim. Qualitative content analysis was carried out, and emergent themes were subsequently mapped onto 4 domains of feasibility, which included acceptability, demand, implementation, and practicality.ResultsParticipants included 45 adolescents with type 1 diabetes (mean age 15.9, SD 1.7 years; 58% male; diabetes duration mean 6.2, SD 3.6 years; 76% on insulin pumps; 49% wore continuous glucose monitors; 93% reported use of social media; 84% used smartphones as the primary means for social media access). A total of 7 major topics were identified and mapped onto areas consistent with our focus on feasibility. For acceptability and demand, participants expressed how communication over social media could help facilitate (1) improved communication outside of clinic visits to optimize diabetes management, (2) independence in diabetes self-management, (3) connection to other youth with diabetes for additional diabetes support, and (4) delivery of more timely and personalized care. Addressing implementation and practicality, participants shared the need to (1) ensure patient privacy, (2) maintain professional nature of provider-patient relationship, and (3) recognize that social media is not currently used for medical care by youth with diabetes.ConclusionsAdolescents with type 1 diabetes expressed interest in the use of social media as a tool to support diabetes management and increase engagement with their diabetes care team. Specific implementation measures around privacy and professionalism should be considered when developing a social media intervention to facilitate communication between adolescents and care teams.

Solace in Social Media: Women Unite Under COVID-19

The use of social media, such as social networking sites and instant messaging, in everyday life continues to spread, along with social media use in the workplace. This study examined how using social media like Facebook (social networking sites) and KakaoTalk (instant messaging) at work affects individual job performance. It also analyzed whether social media use has different effects on individual job performance depending on the characteristics of the given task. The results demonstrated that both Facebook and KakaoTalk had linearly positive effects on individual job performance. Moreover, task equivocality had a positive moderating effect on the relationship between KakaoTalk use and job performance. The results may have significant implications for firms reviewing their policies on employees’ social media use. Since using social media such as Facebook and KakaoTalk in the workplace improves job performance, firms may consider encouraging employees toward this practice. In particular, they may consider supporting those employees who perform tasks with high task equivocality in making use of instant messaging platforms.