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This study aims to demonstrate the effect of a transtheoretical model (TTM)-based physical activity program on the exercise behavior of adolescents using WhatsApp. The study was conducted with high school students (N = 185) in a pre-/posttest, quasi-experimental design. TTM-based text messages were sent to the intervention group (n = 95) over WhatsApp every day for 8 weeks. The intervention group demonstrated more statistically significant progression in the exercising stages of change compared to the control group (n = 90) (χ2 = 20.10; p =.00). It was also found that this group had a higher exercising self-efficacy score (t = 2.647; p =.009) and a higher physical activity total metabolic equivalent of task score (Z = −3.521; p =.000). There was no significant difference in BMI and perception of pros and cons (p >.05). The program was found to be effective in terms of recording progress in the exercising stages of change, increasing exercising self-efficacy, and maintaining a physical activity program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Treatment of HIV in South Africa is informed by national guidelines, which are regularly updated. Ongoing training of healthcare workers is vital for optimal patient care, but is challenging, due to human, financial and infrastructural constraints. There is a need for innovative solutions to meet training and support needs. With 93.2% of South African adults using WhatsApp, it is an ideal platform for training, even in the most remote clinics. The primary aim of the study is to design, test and evaluate the effect of WhatsApp group-based HIV training on nurses' and community health workers' knowledge. The secondary aims are to assess uptake, acceptability, and feasibility of the intervention; and to explore and describe the changes in prescribing, comparing the intervention group to the control group. A pragmatic, mixed-methods, parallel-group cluster-randomised study design will be used. This paper details the design – and rationale behind it – of the study. A critical realist stance was chosen, with outcomes measured using questionnaires, pre- and post-intervention; WhatsApp group interaction; focus groups; and folder reviews. Inferential analysis will be conducted using Stata, descriptive analysis using Excel™ and qualitative data using template analysis with NVivo™. Rigor of the study will be ensured using relevant points from the CASP and COREQ checklists, considering the study's theoretical underpinning, design and aims. Reporting will be guided by the CONSORT and SRQR guidelines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social media use is an integral part of people's daily routine nowadays. Obviously, individuals with visual impairment are not excluded and use social media as well, even though they still face accessibility issues. The purpose of this review was to provide an overview of the existing literature on social media used by individuals with visual impairment and of the ways social media have been conceptualized throughout it. A literature search took place in the databases EBSCOhost, ERIC, Scopus and ResearchGate as well as the search engine Google Scholar. A total of 13 studies, published from 2011 to 2022 met our criteria and were included in this scoping review. According to our results, Facebook is the most used social media website by individuals with visual impairment as it was referenced in almost every single one of the studies reviewed and was recognized as the most used by individuals with visual impairment in the majority of them. Twitter is the second most popular social media website among individuals with visual impairment, followed by YouTube, WhatsApp, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Skype. Consequently, the statement that Facebook is the most popular social media website based on the number of its users is also confirmed with regard to users with visual impairment. However, the fact that an instant messaging service, such as WhatsApp, is recognized among researchers as a social medium when various social media definitions in the existing literature exclude this type of services showcases the confusion prevailing among researchers in this field. Thus, the literature would greatly benefit if researchers proposed a more thorough and robust definition for the widely, often inaccurately, used term social media. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contrary to popular narratives, it is not clear whether using social media for news increases belief in political misinformation. Several of the most methodologically sound studies find small to nonexistent effects. However, extant research is limited by focusing on few platforms (usually Facebook, Twitter or YouTube) and is heavily U.S. centered. This leaves open the possibility that other platforms, such as those that rely on visual communication (e.g., Instagram) or are tailored to strong-tie network communication (e.g., WhatsApp), are more influential. Furthermore, the few studies conducted in other countries suggest that social media use increases political misperceptions. Still, these works use cross-sectional designs, which are ill suited to dealing with omitted variable bias and temporal ordering of processes. Using a two-wave survey fielded in Mexico during the 2021 midterm elections (N = 596), we estimate the relationship between frequency of news exposure on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram and WhatsApp, and belief in political misinformation, while controlling for both time-invariant and time-dependent individual differences. In contrast to political discussion, information literacy and digital skills, none of the social platforms analyzed exhibits a significant association with misinformed beliefs. We also tested for possible indirect, moderated, and reciprocal relationships, but none of these analyses yielded a statistically significant result. We conclude that the study is consistent with the "minimal media effects" paradigm, which suggests that efforts to address misinformation need to go beyond social platforms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the shift from face-to-face participatory action research (PAR) with groups in situations of vulnerability to digital methods during COVID-19, we reflect on how we can go beyond compensating for the physical absence of the researcher from the field. We argue that instead of simply aiming to replace face-to-face research with a digital equivalent for maintaining 'participatory' and 'inclusive' research practices, remote practices have the potential of being more-than compensatory. We suggest that when producing multi-method digital approaches, we need to go beyond a concern with participant access to remote practices. By rethinking remote PAR in the light of expressive rather than participatory research practices, we critically reflect on the (sometimes experimental) process of trying out different digital research method(s) with Brazilian youth in situations of digital marginalisation, including the initial 'failures' and lessons learned in encouraging diverse forms of participant expression, and ownership using WhatsApp. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) is currently a source of angst, because of its ability to give us content that sounds uncannily like a real person, and because of concern that people will not stop at using it as a tool to generate and synthesize ideas, but instead will cede control over our words, and then our thoughts. This editorial details each article in Creative Nursing Vol. 30 Issue 2, highlighting the ways in which social media, different kinds of AI, and other tools for connectivity can be used for good: finding our purpose, uniting people over long distances, expediting knowledge implementation, managing large volumes of literature, advancing health equity, and enriching nursing education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fact-checks and corrections of falsehoods have emerged as effective ways to counter misinformation online. But in contexts with encrypted messaging applications (EMAs), corrections must necessarily emanate from peers. Are such social corrections effective? If so, how substantiated do corrective messages need to be? To answer these questions, we evaluate the effect of different types of social corrections on the persistence of misinformation in India (N ≈ 5,100). Using an online experiment, we show that social corrections substantially reduce beliefs in misinformation, including in beliefs deeply anchored in salient group identities. Importantly, these positive effects are not systematically attenuated by partisan motivated reasoning, highlighting a striking difference from Western contexts. We also find that the presence of a correction matters more relative to how sophisticated this correction is: substantiating a correction with a source only improves its effect in a minority of cases; besides, when social corrections are effective, citing a source does not drastically improve the size of their effect. These results have implications for both users and platforms and speak to countering misinformation in developing countries that rely on private messaging apps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study employed a mixed-methods design to investigate the experiences of ESL students during their English language learning interactions through the WhatsApp platform. The primary objective was to examine the presence of social, cognitive, and teaching presences in the WhatsApp interactions using the Community of Inquiry (CoI) model. A survey was administered to 349 undergraduate students in Malaysia to collect the quantitative data, which was then triangulated through interviews with 20 students. The interviews were categorized based on Braun and Clarke's reflective thematic analysis. The survey related to social presence indicates a strong interaction among students and a notable decrease in students' inclination for informal and humorous social interactions with their teachers. The findings related to teaching presence view instructors as actively engaging students in their learning process. However, they also pointed out that out less sharing of critical knowledge is taking place. On the other hand, the cognitive presence category was associated with the development of meaningful interaction The educational implications seek to provide guidance to educators and institutions on maximizing the utilization of WhatsApp, for the learning of English as a Second Language (ESL). This involves considering the social, cognitive, and teaching presences highlighted in the study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phone surveys have increasingly become important data collection tools in developing countries, particularly in the context of sudden contact restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. So far, there is limited evidence regarding the potential of the messenger service WhatsApp for remote data collection despite its large global coverage and expanding membership. WhatsApp may offer advantages in terms of reducing panel attrition and cutting survey costs. WhatsApp may offer additional benefits to migration scholars interested in cross-border migration behavior which is notoriously difficult to measure using conventional face-to-face surveys. In this field experiment, we compared the response rates between WhatsApp and interactive voice response (IVR) modes using a sample of 8446 contacts in Senegal and Guinea. At 12%, WhatsApp survey response rates were nearly eight percentage points lower than IVR survey response rates. However, WhatsApp offers higher survey completion rates, substantially lower costs and does not introduce more sample selection bias compared to IVR. We discuss the potential of WhatsApp surveys in low-income contexts and provide practical recommendations for field implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we analyse WhatsApp interactions in a youth care setting. In family-style group care, young people temporarily live in the family of professional foster parents (PFP), while they regularly visit their birth parents (BPs). Our data consist of instant messaging of 11 pairs of PFPs and BPs during 2 months. Using Conversation Analysis (CA), we focused on the social interaction between BPs and PFPs, achieved in and through multi-modally constructed sequences of updates—responses. First, updates are used by BPs in the context of the transfer from the child from/to the PFP marking the transfer of responsibility for the child. Second, PFPs use images as updates to provide BPs quasi-primary access to the experiences of the child. Third, updates are given or elicited in the context of prior problems. Across these functions, we observe that while BPs work to display responsibility, PFPs subtly empower BPs as parents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Combining online and offline data collection during six months of ethnographic fieldwork in Southern Mozambique in early 2021, this paper explores how media and its everyday use in the Global South are impacting on, and are in turn being transformed by China. It specifically looks into the creative and personalised ways in which Chinese-made garments are sold and promoted in Mozambique via the messenger service WhatsApp. Examining how Mozambican and West African traders use WhatsApp groups and status updates to mediate the fashionability of these Chinese goods, this paper shows that the consequences of Chinese interactions with the Global South on the global media landscape transcend the mere spread of Chinese hardware and software. Going beyond dominant, state-centred narratives of Chinese influence abroad, this paper demonstrates the key role of individuals and their agency in shaping the digital impact of Global China. By doing so, it also highlights the importance of analysing media practices in their specific local contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The majority of adolescents communicate via text-based messaging, particularly through WhatsApp, a widely used free communication application. Written content on WhatsApp has the methodological potential to provide rich qualitative interview data. This study compares data collected using text-based WhatsApp versus face-to-face interview techniques. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a sample of early school leavers in South Africa, using WhatsApp (n = 9) and face-to-face (n = 27) followed by a focus group discussion with interviewers. Mann–Whitney U and chi-squared were used to assess associations. WhatsApp text-based interviews took significantly longer to complete but were comparable to face-to-face on the number of themes generated. Rapport, measured as the number of statements from the interviewer aimed at creating a sense of affinity, comfort, and distress reduction, differed between interview conditions. It may be methodologically appropriate for researchers to offer participants a choice of a preferred method of interviewing or consider pragmatic blended approaches of face-to-face and WhatsApp. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the outcomes of virtual nutritional counseling (VNC) for oncology patients during the Covid-19 pandemic. Our study evaluated the nutritional status data of cancer patients at the baseline and after VNC. An oncology dietitian evaluated the patients by video calling each patient via WhatsApp and sent an individual nutrition diet plan and recommendations via e-mail. Patient-Generated Subjective Global Assessment (PG-SGA) was used as a screening and evaluation tool to assess nutritional status. A total of 157 patients with a mean age of 55.8 ± 14.7 (r = 19–89) were included in the study. Researchers detected at least one nutrition-related sign in 77.7% of patients. After the VNC and based on the final PG-SGA assessments, 62.2% of the patients whose baseline PG-SGA Score-B improved to Score-A, 12.5% with a baseline PG-SGA Score-C improved to Score-A and 54.2% with a baseline Score-C improved to a Score - B (χ 2 = 55,000, P < 0.001). Based on the number of VNCs, the improvement in malnutrition status following two sessions and three or more sessions was found to be 17.6% and 35.7%, respectively (P < 0.001). Our results confirm that VNC can improve the nutritional status of cancer patients. Hence, nutritional counseling should be an integral part of oncological treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the COVID 19 pandemic, Online Asynchronous Focus Groups (OAFG) through WhatsApp were conducted to explore women's experiences in the context of Congenital Syphilis prevention in Colombia. This paper discusses issues raised by the OAFGs (not least in relation to face-to-face focus groups). After a review of the literature on online and offline focus groups, there is a consideration of some key features of our OAFGs. In particular, we note how silence, presence, attention, continuity and multiplicity manifested in our OAFGs. We suggest that rather than regarding OAFGs as inferior to the 'gold standard' of face-to-face focus groups, our OAFGs raise important questions about our assumptions about focus group methodology. For instance, what counts as participant engagement, what comprises 'useful' social data, and what constitute the boundaries of a focus group all emerge as critical issues. We go on to reflect on some of the implications of these issues for the fruitfulness of OAFG methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Health misinformation, a major public health challenge, is increasingly spread through social networking sites such as WhatsApp which is popular among culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities including the African migrant and refugee community, a relatively disadvantaged minority in Australia. Knowledge remains limited about how health misinformation spread occurs through WhatsApp in this community. The present study explored the mechanism of health misinformation circulation on WhatsApp, and the ways members of the African community in Southeast Queensland (SEQ) respond to it. Findings include a technological aspect of WhatsApp, especially technological affordances that facilitate health misinformation spread with features such as sharing and forwarding buttons. Also, at a user or an individual level, trust in significant others favour the reception and sharing of unverified health information to WhatsApp contacts and group members. Although WhatsApp group members, especially leaders usually set up rules to moderate content including health misinformation to primarily preserve harmony in groups, lack of or suboptimal content moderation on WhatsApp exacerbates its spread among community members whose responses vary. Responses include fear and mistrust which could confuse them and hinder acceptance and compliance to public health measures from credible sources such as governments. Therefore, it is essential that public health stakeholders acknowledge and foster information-sharing culture on WhatsApp in the African community. They should also raise awareness among community members and train them on how to deal with health misinformation. The training could focus on reducing negative individual and social influences by improving literacy and self-efficacy in detecting health misinformation and decreasing echo chamber effects. Additionally, the training could emphasise health misinformation management on WhatsApp by leveraging African community leaders' gatekeeping role and involving them in content moderation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This study aims to investigate the role of virtual society in generating social capital, taking into account the challenges associated with new technologies and social arrangements. The study utilizes descriptive analysis and partial least squares path modeling to analyze participant data. The technology acceptance model is employed to assess perceptions of virtual society platforms, specifically Facebook and WhatsApp, in terms of ease of use and value. he study reveals a significant positive relationship between virtual society and the development of social capital. Positive attitudes toward virtual society platforms are associated with increased social capital, particularly in terms of bridging and bonding. The relationship is moderated by the amount of time spent on social networking sites. Limitations of the study include its focus on specific platforms and reliance on self-reported data. Future research can explore additional platforms and employ diverse data collection methods to enhance the understanding of virtual society and social capital formation. This study emphasizes the importance of online attachment and connection for the formation of social capital. The findings inform policy-making and decision-making in organizations by highlighting the role of virtual society platforms in fostering social capital. This research contributes to the understanding of the relationship between virtual society and social capital, shedding light on collaboration patterns and technology reliance in virtual environments. The study's originality lies in its examination of Facebook and WhatsApp as platforms and the exploration of the moderation effect of time spent on social networking sites. The findings offer valuable insights for academia and practical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

WhatsApp is one the world's most popular social media apps, as well as one of the most popular chat-based, closed platforms. Utilizing the insights from 19 in-depth interviews, we approach WhatsApp from a cultural perspective of ritual communication, seeking to understand how people make sense of WhatsApp use in their daily lives. We found WhatsApp is largely used to maintain community and fellowship with friends, coworkers, family, and even acquaintances or strangers. However, WhatsApp use is not wholly cohesive or harmonious. Social life on WhatsApp can become highly fragmented given numerous groups, and more groups mean more messages that individuals struggle to keep up with. We define the central nature of WhatsApp in Indian social life as India's WhatsApp imaginary, in which ritualized mobile media practices intertwine with cultural contexts to transcend borders, connect people via mobile affordances, and sustain daily social and business lives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional and legacy Spanish-language news outlets are shrinking, leaving many communities in the U.S. without news that satisfies their critical information needs. At the same time, news media entrepreneurs are adopting and adapting to technological changes that offer new venues for news delivery. We use a mixed-methods research approach to analyze Latinx digital-native news media organizations that distribute news in Spanish via mobile instant messaging (MIM) apps. Results show that journalists took a bottom-up approach to meeting the information needs of their audiences, choosing MIMs because their readers were already established on those platforms. Our work also reveals that news delivered via MIMs focuses mostly on health, emergencies and public safety, civic information, and economic development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Growth mindset interventions delivered to mathematics students have resulted in improved mathematics performance in numerous countries in the global north. South African high school students consistently underperform on international measures of mathematics achievement. This study investigates whether a culturally adapted growth mindset intervention delivered on WhatsApp can make a significant difference to mathematics performance in South Africa. In addition, it investigates whether WhatsApp delivery is feasible and acceptable to high school participants. The intervention employed a combination of YouTube videos, text information and facilitated WhatsApp conversations and combined simplified information on neural plasticity, learning strategies, and growth mindset messaging. The intervention utilised a field-based, quasi-experimental design with 301 students, 160 in the experimental condition. Mixed-methods data were collected, including mathematics performance and mathematics mindsets tracked over 18 months and user engagement and feedback in the intervention. In mixed-effects linear regression, students receiving the intervention showed a significant change in their mathematics performance over time, controlling for baseline differences between the schools. WhatsApp was a well-accepted medium for delivering this intervention. This study adds to the understanding of behaviour change and the use of WhatsApp to deliver behaviour change interventions. The results underscore the importance of teaching study strategies alongside growth mindset content to equip students with the appropriate skills to act on their changed beliefs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Misinformation has been existed for centuries, though emerge as a severe concern in the age of social media, and particularly during COVID-19 global pandemic. As the pandemic approached, a massive influx of mixed quality data appeared on social media, which had adverse effects on society. This study highlights the possible factors contributing to the sharing and spreading misinformation through social media during the crisis. Preferred Reporting Items and Meta-Analysis guidelines were used for systematic review. Anxiety or risk perception associated with COVID-19 was one of the significant motivators for misinformation sharing, followed by entertainment, information seeking, sociability, social tie strength, self-promotion, trust in science, self-efficacy, and altruism. WhatsApp and Facebook were the most used platforms for spreading rumors and misinformation. The results indicated five significant factors associated with COVID-19 misinformation sharing on social media, including socio-demographic characteristics, financial considerations, political affiliation or interest, conspiracy ideation, and religious factors. Misinformation sharing could have profound consequences for individual and society and impeding the efforts of government and health institutions to manage the crisis. This SLR focuses solely on quantitative studies, hence, studies are overlooked from a qualitative standpoint. Furthermore, this study only looked at the predictors of misinformation sharing behavior during COVID-19. It did not look into the factors that could curb the sharing of misinformation on social media platforms as a whole. The study's findings will help the public, in general, to be cautious about sharing misinformation, and the health care workers, and institutions, in particular, for devising strategies and measures to reduce the flow of misinformation by releasing credible information through concerned official social media accounts. The findings will be valuable for health professionals and government agencies to devise strategies for handling misinformation during public health emergencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The popular encrypted messaging and chat app WhatsApp played a key role in the election of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro in 2018. The present study builds on this knowledge and showcases how the app continued to be used in a governmental operation spreading false and misleading information popularly known in Brazil as the Office of Hatred (OOH). By harnessing in-depth expert interviews with documentarians of the office's daily operations—researchers, journalists, and fact-checkers (N = 10)—this study draws up a chronology of the OOH. Via this methodological approach, we trace and chronologize events, actions, and actors associated with the OOH. Specifically, findings (a) document the rise of antipetismo and disinformation campaigns associated with attacks on the Brazilian Worker's party from 2012 until the election of Bolsonaro in 2018, (b) describe the emergence of the OOH at the heels of the election and subsequent radicalization in WhatsApp groups, (c) provide an overview of the types of disinformation that are spread on the app by the OOH, and (d) illustrate how the OOH operates by mapping key actors and places, communicative strategies, and audiences. These findings are discussed in light of ramifications that government-sponsored forms of disinformation might have in other antidemocratic polities marked by strongman populist leadership. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the effects of WhatsApp as a mode of dissemination of political posters. It found that platform affordances that control the crafting and dissemination of political messages open up the possibility of vague political messaging by conforming to the social media's visual culture and limit the spread of these messages, restricting the ability to organically gather support for a political cause. Despite the growing appeal of social media in political campaigns, social media messages when used by individuals and small, independent social media groups, who are not a part of a larger, organized political party or movement, have little influence on electoral decisions of voters about a political cause that faces weak public support. This was discussed in the context of electoral results of the Leftist political party in India in 2019 national elections. The paper then contributes to our understanding of the extent of the influence of social media platforms on political media messages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

WhatsApp Neighbourhood Crime Prevention (WNCP) groups are popular in the Netherlands. As a basic assumption, this kind of digital neighbourhood watch could prevent crime, but what is the evidence? Drawing on a mixture of qualitative research and a review of additional publications, we conclude that WNCP groups stimulate social cohesion rather than prevent crime. We reach our conclusion by applying the evaluation EMMIE framework – an acronym for Effect, Mechanisms, Moderators, Implementation and Economics – to the available data. A point for further discussion is the limited scope of the economic dimension. Moral costs must be calculated, too, as WNCP groups tend to deepen divisions between groups of citizens and fuel exclusionary practices in the name of community safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The incorporation of mobile phones is persistent in the development of language learning, particularly in the EFL context. The present investigation aims to determine the impact of mobile-assisted language learning (MALL) applications on developing "learners" grammar proficiency. The current study employed a quantitative research method to explore MALL-assisted feedback in a WhatsApp group during the group chat. 60 Saudi male EFL learners, randomly assigned to the control and experimental group. Participants in the Experimental group practiced grammar in WhatsApp chat, whereas the same material was sent to the control group on Blackboard. The data was gathered by administering pre and post-test of grammar proficiency. Descriptive statistics and ANCOVA were used to analyze the data. The study's findings exhibited that WhatsApp group practice and feedback positively impacted learners' performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deprived communities in India experience a range of health challenges as the result of a mixture of lack of access to information technologies, and difficulties in accessing health information and provision. This article reports on an intervention centred on the use of the social media platform, WhatsApp, in order to promote eye health communication. The case study based research was conducted in the village of Chowbaga, close to Kolkata, in West Bengal, with women participants who had low levels of education and high levels of unemployment. The women were invited to participate in a WhatsApp intervention that comprised five educational sessions. Participants were recruited through the local school that their children attended. Shortly after the conclusion of the intervention, focus groups were conducted with the participants in order to develop an understanding of participants views of the beneficial characteristics of such a social media based intervention, and, more specifically, the benefits of WhatsApp in increasing awareness of eye problems within their community. This research demonstrates and summarises the benefits of WhatsApp as a communications medium for deprived communities, as well as its potential for increasing awareness of eye problems. In particular, participants were of the view that future access to WhatsApp and other mobile-based platforms empowered them to take better care of their own and their family's health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In times of crisis, the spread of conspiracy myths increases since people seek answers to complex questions. Besides societal aspects, social media platforms, especially messenger services, have been identified as a positive driver for spreading conspiracy myths. Much research focused on whether right-wing populist attitudes correlate with belief in conspiracy myths resulting in inconsistent findings. We show that different anti-system attitudes and corresponding digital media usage can promote the affinity towards conspiracy myths apart from right-wing attitudes. With this paper, we first want to sharpen the terminology on 'conspiracy myths' and develop a scale to measure affinity towards conspiracy myths in different dimensions. We second use this scale to investigate different mindsets of conspiracy in the Swiss population. Third, we want to find out how the dimensions correlate with messenger usage. Based on data from a representative population survey in Switzerland from November to December 2020, we investigated different affinities towards conspiracy myths, represented by far-left, far-right, populist, anti-elitism, general anti-system attitudes and science skepticism. We then used the six dimensions in a cluster analysis and identified five typological mindsets. About 30% of the population accordingly have higher affinities towards conspiracy myths than the rest. Our study also highlights the potential role of messenger services in spreading conspiracy myths. To a certain extent, Facebook Messenger and Telegram usage show a robust correlation with the different dimensions of the affinity towards conspiracy myths. In contrast, WhatsApp usage does not show a robust correlation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The proliferation of conspiracy theories surrounding George Soros and the 'Globalist invasion' had been concentrated primarily in Eastern Europe, Russia and the United States. However, since Jair Bolsonaro's presidential victory in Brazil, Soros has become a target of the far-right in the country. On Soros' 90th Birthday in August 2020, the right-wing group 'Movement for Conservative Brazil' (Movimento Brasil Conservador – MBC) launched a campaign called 'International Day Against George Soros', aiming to attack the billionaire's reputation. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how this campaign worked across online platforms as a strategy to popularize the Globalism conspiracy theory in the biggest Latin American country. We aim (1) to map the dynamics of disinformation dissemination across chat apps using hyperlink analysis; and (2) to interpret conspiratorial narratives about George Soros shared on chat apps during the month of his 90th birthday. We collected messages mentioning the anti-Soros campaign in WhatsApp and Telegram public groups and channels to extract hyperlinks and domains. These websites were manually categorized in an effort to analyze which conspiracy theories about George Soros are being disseminated on chat apps in Brazil. Our results suggest an increasing cross-platform dissemination of narratives attacking Soros. This case study illustrates how the rise of a transnationally networked political right has been accompanied by an emerging alternative digital communication infrastructure through which conspiracy theories circulate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents WhatsApp as a means of data collection among vulnerable populations, reporting on a study conducted in South Africa and Zimbabwe, to determine the terminology used for and among different genders and sexually diverse individuals. 19 LGBTIQ+ individuals, recruited through a modified snowballing technique, participated in the study. Using WhatsApp text-based information, the interview questions and information regarding the study and ethics-related information were forwarded from one participant to another. The same approach was used for data-collection purposes, where responses (either voice notes or written texts) were forwarded until they reached the initial two participants and/or the principal investigator. Data were analysed using Collazi's steps for data analysis. As the study focus was on the data collection technique, the paper highlights the ethical implications related to using WhatsApp as a data collecting tool. The study also indicates the advantages and disadvantages of using this platform and further emphasises that voice note WhatsApp messages yielded higher-quality and more in-depth responses than text messages. The limitations of using WhatsApp, and ways of enhancing its use as a means of data collection among vulnerable populations, are also addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

WhatsApp's ubiquity in many people's everyday lives points at new possibilities for conducting online and mobile focus groups. Yet, research on the benefits and potential pitfalls of this is negligible. This paper offers new empirical insights from using the method as part of a digital ethnography with young activists in Western Kenya. The presence of WhatsApp in participants' everyday lives offers a context with high ecological validity. The paper suggests that this opens up new options for designing online focus groups, transcending the traditional categorisation between synchronous and asynchronous interactions and some limitations of both approaches. WhatsApp also offers opportunities for creating more inclusive group discussions. Using discourse analysis of the WhatsApp focus group, the paper also finds that this familiarity and inclusivity affords the potential for group deliberation, which can be particularly valuable in participatory research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the curation of a month-long public exhibition titled #AanaJaana [#ComingGoing] in one of New Delhi's busiest metro stations, as a form of self-authorship by young women from its digital and urban margins. #AanaJaana [#ComingGoing] is a metaphor for journeys, communications, connections, associations, interceptions, social networks and individual/collective behaviours, that is curated as women 'see' and 'speak' with/through their mobile phones. Using Marie Louise Pratt's notion of 'contact zone', we examine #AanaJaana as a space of encounters that emerges by visually 'composing-with' as well as 'learning-with' the realities and constraints of space, technology and power. Based on self-authorship over a period of 6 months within a 'safe space' of a WhatsApp group of young women living in the urban margins, we draw attention to #AanaJaana as a set of crosscutting networks of power dynamics over women's bodies across the home, mobile phone and the city. #AanaJaana refers to how young women in the margins negotiate the 'freedoms' of moving (aana) in online space with the 'dangers' of going out (jaana) into the city, or the restrictions of entering (aana) online space with the freedom of leaving (jaana) home. We argue first, that #AanaJaana is a space of confinement because of the infrastructural paralysis in the peripheries. Second that it is also at the same time translocally produced by referencing several textual, digital and material spaces of self-realisation. Finally, we argue that #AanaJaana is a space of intertextuality through encounters between emojis, shorthand, voice notes on the mobile phone, with parody and dark humour of their gendered experiences that can transform shame, humiliation and fear into reflection, resistance and agency. The paper concludes that as a polycentric practice, #AanaJaana offers an appropriate metaphor to expand the 'contact zone' in order to decolonise gendered knowledge and power across digital-analogue margins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Brazilians have adopted WhatsApp as a national media and communication infrastructure over the past several years, although it is controlled by its private US-based owner, Facebook. This article explores the diverse, contentious and influential roles the app played in the country during disruptions to its use from 2015 to 2018. Using content analysis, we critically engage with user-generated memes and news media coverage responding to these disruptions. In these cases, Brazilians self-reflexively questioned the app's role in their everyday lives and country, reassessing what it means to rely on a national infrastructure owned by an unaccountable global media conglomerate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article revisits the theory of hybrid space and looks more closely at the process of integration of physical and virtual spaces. It argues that the formation of hybrid space is not unidirectional but cross-directional. It also aims to address some of the concerns raised by Humphreys about how studies on mobile social networks have mainly been location-based, while increasingly, the use of socializing apps is non-locative. This concern is addressed primarily by offering a non-location-based approach to study mobile spatiality and sociality. This approach involves studying spatial integration afforded by smartphone chat apps with their "ubiquitous connectivity, portability, and fluidity." While content analysis showed that cross-directional hybrid space exists and that the elements from the physical space migrate to the virtual space, the use of space-event text matrix further helped in unraveling the nature of cross-directionality more closely. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With an increasing number of people, especially adolescents, using more private online platforms, such as WhatsApp, for news, an important question for democracy is whether such platforms can facilitate learning about politics and current events. In this study, we examine adolescents' affective (emotions, feelings), behavioral (actions and behavioral intentions), and cognitive (political knowledge) responses to interpersonal political discussion on WhatsApp. We conducted a preregistered field experiment at six secondary schools in the Netherlands (N = 230). We assigned respondents with strong ties to a WhatsApp group. For seven days, respondents received a link to an online political news item on a daily basis; and (1) either had to read or (2) read and discuss it. The results indicate that interpersonal discussion evokes stronger positive emotions and feelings, as well as issue-specific knowledge. In addition, elaboration on the content of political discussion was positively related to issue-specific knowledge. In this way, instant messaging apps may serve as a resource for engaging adolescents with politics and current events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Mobile technologies represent a scalable platform for delivering knowledge and interventions targeting adolescents living with HIV (ALWH) in low and middle income countries. Data from mobile interventions can be used to assess the contextual understanding and experiences of ALWH.Methods: We examined HIV-related knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, behaviors, and experiences of Kenyan ALWH revealed in the contextual data from enrollment in a WhatsApp® group chat intervention.Results: Thirty ALWH (17 female, mean age 15.4) on ART, engaged in HIV care and aware of their status, were enrolled. Qualitative analysis of WhatsApp® chat discussions identified a gap in HIV knowledge, high medication-taking literacy, need for mental health support and significant barriers to adherence. Participants discussed challenges with HIV stigma and medication-taking in the school setting.Conclusion: These discussions demonstrate a need for education on HIV topics, mental health support for ALWH, and interventions for stigma mitigation in the school setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The aim of this work is threefold: first, to show how, in the context of the gentrification process in the city of Banaras (now Varanasi) in India, social networking, and in particular WhatsApp video calls, make up an attempt by young sex workers in the red-light district (i.e., Shivdaspur) to overcome the spatial entrapment, physical and identity displacement issues resulting from the policies of "beautification," and urban development of the city. For young sex workers, information and communication technology represents an opportunity toward an unprecedented self-reflexive drive which, beyond a misrecognition of their profession and the symbolic violence it represents, could reinforce their understanding of the outside world to position themselves better within their surrounding society; second, to describe the testimony of older sex workers, according to whom, the Internet "normalizes" sexual violence on a national scale where it is strictly connected to the spread of pornography on the web; finally, to analyze, through an emic approach based on informal interviews, the complexities and potentiality of the information and communication technology for development in this context to shed more light on the design of research and intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At a multinational company, daily written communication between staff, supervisors, customers, and suppliers is frequently conducted using digital tools (e.g., emails, smartphones, and texting applications) often across multiple nationally, linguistically, and conceptually defined borders. Determining digital tools' impact on intercultural encounters in professional environments like these is difficult but important given the sheer volume of digital contact in technical and professional environments and the ongoing global struggle to broker peace and productivity amid communities' many perceived differences. Using examples drawn from a case study of binational manufacturing sister companies, I build on recent work in professional, networked written communication to analyze two WhatsApp exchanges, one between a central study participant and his customer, another between the participant and an employee. This study shows how asynchronous digital communication tools created complex "silences" in writing between participants. In these silences (e.g., a lack of or delayed response to a text) individuals try to explain others' actions for themselves. Drawing on a combination of third-generation activity theory and Latourian actor-network theory, I show that while explaining others' actions in writing with whatever cultural shorthand is available may remain a common part of everyday life and research, it can be a poor guide for explaining others' actions, especially in digital writing. My study shows how research of, and instruction in, digital tool use in intercultural writing contexts requires attention to the material conditions and objectives potentially shaping one's own as well as others' composition choices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, changes have taken place in television viewing patterns during live broadcasts of major events. One of the most striking changes is the introduction of "second screens" that accompany viewing. The current study adds to the existing research literature by examining viewing patterns and socialization during the live broadcast of major sports games. Specifically, it examines the use of smartphones and WhatsApp among Israeli viewers of the 2018 World Cup games' televised broadcasts, from the quarterfinals onward. In total, 454 respondents were filtered through a screening question, in a representative panel of Israeli population. Findings show that most viewers prefer to watch the broadcast of a major soccer game together, though co-viewing is not necessarily done in the physical presence of others. Findings also reveal a connection between the viewer's engagement with the game and the enjoyment of watching the broadcast. Further, this relationship is mediated through the use of a smartphone as a second screen, especially the use of WhatsApp. This study contributes to existing research literature by showing the extent to which game-related communication using WhatsApp contributes to a meaningful collaborative viewing experience, the degree of engagement with the game, and the extent to which it is enjoyed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In contemporary political discourse, the concern of affective polarization, often fueled by uncivil and sexist discourse, is notably evident in digital communication contexts like WhatsApp. In this study, we examined the potential effects of uncivil and sexist messages as well as moderator interventions against these messages coming from political in- and out-group members in such political groups through a survey experiment (N = 1,464) fielded during the 2022 Uttar Pradesh (India) Legislative Assembly Elections. We investigate these questions and extend the prior work on affective polarization by introducing a new measure of Average Inter-party Affective Distance, which provides a single metric to index overall polarization in a multi-party election context. Our results showed that exposure to sexist uncivil messages had no discernible effect on affective polarization, political participation, and voting intention. Additionally, moderator warnings against incivility had no significant effects. However, we observed a variation in how respondents processed these messages based on their preexisting attitudes; notably, individuals with less sexist views were more inclined to vote after being exposed to sexist uncivil messages. These findings suggest that the influence of incivility and sexism in messaging platforms like WhatsApp on the wider electorate’s political behavior and attitudes is relatively limited. This research contributes to our understanding of the role of digital political communication, highlighting the importance of message content and preexisting individual differences in shaping affective polarization and mobilization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The widespread use of computer-mediated communication (CMC) among adolescents has favored the creation of a newly written code called digitalk. This new code includes, among other characteristics, the use of foreign words as textisms, mainly anglicisms. These textisms also serve as a mark of identity among young speakers. The aim of this paper is twofold: first, to describe which are the more frequent anglicisms used by Spanish adolescents in their CMC and the code-mixing pathways of inclusion; second, to examine the possible influence between the use of anglicisms in the CMC of Spanish adolescents and their orthographic competence.Based on an exploratory methodology, a corpus of interactions through WhatsApp of a group of adolescents attending Compulsory Secondary Education in a region of southern Spain has been analyzed.Sketch Engine software was used for corpus analysis, presenting the normalized frequency (1/1,000) of textisms, misspellings, and multimodal elements. Finally, for the descriptive statistical analysis of the data and for the bivariate correlation analysis applying Pearson’s coefficient, IBM SPSS v.26 software was used.The results indicate that young people use English Code-Mixings (ECM) as discursive framers with an expressive aim and as a sign of belonging to a specific community of speakers. Moreover, no positive correlation is observed between the use of these ECMs and a lower orthographic competence.ECMs show an important pragmatic function in CMC among Spanish adolescents. Furthermore, they are one of the elements that have been incorporated into the digital norm of Spanish and can be used in Compulsory Education as a resource for the acquisition of communicative competence in adolescents along with other textisms.This is the first research that analyzes the frequency and function of anglicisms in Spanish CMC and their impact on the orthographic competence of Spanish adolescents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Visual impairments (VIs) impose many barriers to people when it comes to information access, and educational processes may offer tools for people to overcome these barriers and, consequently, develop autonomy and an active sense of citizenship. In these processes, information and communication technologies (ICTs) improve accessibility. Our aim was to use ICT, especially social media, in pedagogical activities developed for students with VI (blindness and low vision). Focus group interviews about technology use showed us that these students are heavy users of WhatsApp, an instant messenger app. We then established an online discussion group, as a community of practice, using WhatsApp as a discussion environment. This online group helped Brazilian students with VI develop social skills and discuss health issues they considered important to them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Instant messaging (IM) is pervasive in modern society, including healthcare. WhatsApp, the most cited IM application in healthcare, is used to share sensitive patient information between clinicians. Its use raises legal, regulatory and ethical concerns. Are there guidelines for the clinical use of WhatsApp? Can generic guidelines be developed for the use of IM, for one-to-one and one-to-many healthcare professional communication using WhatsApp as an example?Aim: We aimed to investigate if there are guidelines for using WhatsApp in clinical practice.Method: Nine electronic databases were searched in January 2019 for articles on WhatsApp in clinical service. Inclusion criteria: paper was in English, reported on WhatsApp use or potential use in clinical practice, addressed legal, regulatory or ethical issues and presented some form of guideline or guidance for WhatsApp use.Results: In total, 590 unique articles were found and 167 titles and abstracts met the inclusion criteria. Twenty-one articles identified the need for general guidelines. Twelve articles provided some form of guidance for using WhatsApp. Issues addressed were confidentiality, identification and privacy (eight articles), security (seven), record keeping (four) and storage (three). Mandatory national guidelines for the use of IM for patient-sensitive information do not appear to exist, only advisories that counsel against its use.Conclusion: The literature showed clinicians use IM because of its simplicity, timeliness and cost effectiveness. No suitable guidelines exist. Generic guidelines are required for the use of IM for healthcare delivery which can be adapted to local circumstance and messaging service used. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The unlimited freedom made social media platforms are susceptible to misuse, misinformation, and thus, fake news. In the last few years, social media has turned out to be a massive player in shaping public discourse in a democratic space (Marda & Milan, 2018). Though there have been pressures from policymakers on service/platform providers, nothing concrete has built up towards accountability of the user or platform proprietors. In India, there has been a consistent increase of social media users and instances of the misuse of this medium. This paper seeks to examine how the propagation of fake news has disrupted the public sphere and possible policies that can be implemented to curb the plague of fake news. The relationship between various events of violence reported in India media and the role of fake news in instigating chaos are discussed in this paper. It also tries to review policies initiatives taken by various countries, especially in Europe and possible measures which India could take to restrict the flow of fake news. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mobile neighbourhood crime prevention has become increasingly popular in the Netherlands. Since 2015, 7,250 WhatsApp neighbourhood crime prevention (WNCP) groups have been registered online, most of which are initiated and moderated by citizens. This entails a form of participatory policing aimed at neighbourhood crime prevention, which may provoke increased feelings of anxiety and interpersonal surveillance. Community police officers and citizens need to adapt to changed interactions and trust relations in the neighbourhood. This mixed-methods research examines both the mediation of messaging applications and its implementation by both citizens and police, indicating the tensions and negotiations around formal and informal 'policing'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the use of interactive media (WhatsApp) by Bahraini women to understand their decisions on how, why and when they use it. It supports the use of mobile technology applications to expand efficient communication and information among Arab women. Mobile technologies are very accessible to Arab women these days. A sample of 1,137 responses was collected, using a snowball sampling approach. Based on TAM literature, the study found that interactive media (e.g., WhatsApp) has enabled Bahraini women to communicate and share information with others. WhatsApp was used daily (2-3 hours) and also for sending comics and entertainment clips, important and rare news stories. Social interaction, communication, and escapism were found to be the most popular reasons for using WhatsApp. Overall, WhatsApp served as a platform used by Bahraini women to participate in social and communication activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study seeks to shed light on the usage habits of the WhatsApp application among teenagers, exploring the effect of mobile instant messaging distractions on pupils' working memory performance. Research was conducted in Israel during 2016 school year. The study sample was divided into two groups randomly—a control group and an experimental group. Researchers used six questionnaires to gather personal details, execution assessment questionnaire, and Working Memory Index from the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-IV. The main findings show that WhatsApp's distractions, transmitted via smartphones, decrease pupils' performance of working memory. In addition, students are aware of the difficulty WhatsApp causes while performing a learning task and of the decrease in learning effectiveness. The present study displays a unique experiment that explored the direct effect of the distractions stemming from a new technological platform—WhatsApp—on young pupils' working memory. Further, it suggests that instructors and teachers should be aware of the potential damage of multitasking caused by smartphone use during learning tasks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background This study aimed to explore the potential of using instant messaging to enhance patient-care and physician-education in obstetric medicine and maternal–fetal medicine. Methods This retrospective study examined real-time correspondence between a closed group of maternal–fetal medicine physicians and fellows-in-training. Correspondence was grouped into four domains. Time to obtain a response and their utility was analysed. Results Over the two-year period, 41 international members contributed 534 clinically relevant messages (291 stems and 243 responses). Of these, 33% were advice seeking, 23.4% case-sharing, 35% educational content and 8.2% miscellaneous content. The median response time was 52 min, and 53% responded in less than 60 min. At least one response in each case influenced clinical management. Conclusion Instant messaging is effective for real-time clinical collaboration and could serve as an important platform for enhancing management and continuing education for obstetric medicine and maternal–fetal medicine physicians. International societies should consider exploring this avenue further. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Online communication platforms have enabled millions of users to easily communicate with one another. WhatsApp is one of the most popular communication platforms in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), especially among university students. To better understand the effectiveness of WhatsApp, this research examines the trends and impact of WhatsApp usage among undergraduate university students in Abu Dhabi. The study also investigates the use of emoji and text messages as a replacement to the interpersonal communication that conventionally occurs in the process of face-to-face interaction. By means of a survey, this study found that Abu Dhabi University students consider WhatsApp to be an effective interpersonal communication medium. Although miscommunications often occur while using WhatsApp, the perceptions of the respondents varied greatly due to their own experiences and feelings regarding its use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Online committee of friends meeting is a new trend in Nigeria. There is a continuous online interaction that goes on among the group members. The qualitative research design was used to carry out the study. The unstructured interview method was used to get information from the study participants. It was found among other things that the bereaved read, digest and accept the online condolence messages which serve as a coping tool to the loss of the loved one. Online COF is also a veritable tool in soliciting for and raising funds from online to facilitate the burial of loved ones owing to rising cost of conducting burials in Nigeria. It was concluded that coping with death is achieved in online COF through formation of whatsapp group, condolence messaging, friends digestion of information and acceptance of the pieces of advice raised and as divine will which comes when it will. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]