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This study examined the effects of time pressure, reward, and information involvement on individual fact-checking behavior within a social media platform. We used a four-factor mixed-design experiment to examine fact-checking performances of 144 participants for 36 ambiguous social platform statements, all of which were news statements of social events or of common-sense knowledge collected from the internet and selected through pre-test screening. We measured the participants' total number of fact-checked statements and their judgment accuracy of those statements. We also measured participants' decision time for making judgments, and their judgment confidence levels. Participants' social presence, time pressure, and information involvement were significantly related to the number of statements they fact-checked. Their perceived social presence on a social media platform reduced their fact-checking. Time pressure increased the frequency of fact-checking and weakened the impact of social presence. Participants were less likely to fact-check statements when they had high involvement with the information, due to overconfidence. Statements with high information involvement had longer decision-making times. These findings provide a basis for designing ways to display and push information to increase an individual's awareness of a need to fact-check ambiguous information in a new social media environment.

Users' personality traits reveal different social media behavior characteristics. In order to explore the intrinsic relationships between personality traits and social media behavior, this study analyzes the influence of users' personality traits on social media content creation and information dissemination behavior, as well as the moderating effect of social presence. We collect users' personality data via questionnaires, crawl social media behavior data of samples from social media sites, and then establish regression models to test the research hypotheses. The results show that extraversion has a positive impact on content creation and information dissemination behavior, conscientiousness has a negative impact on content creation behavior, openness and agreeableness have no significant impact on social media behavior, and social presence has significant moderating effects on the relationships between personality traits and social media behavior., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest None., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: Twitter has gained increasing popularity and attention as a professional learning environment to share knowledge, exchange information, make connections, and build networks. To evaluate the effectiveness of Twitter-facilitated online discussions, a community of inquiry framework could be used with the three key elements of online environments: cognitive presence, social presence, and teaching presence. This study aims to explore how medical educators participate in synchronous online discussions on Twitter using #MedEdChat, and how participants' perceptions toward the three presences, sense of connectedness and interactions influenced their online satisfaction., Methods: A survey invitation was emailed using the medical education email list DR-ED and was posted during the weekly Twitter conversations in December 2020, to solicit participants who have been involved in any kind of #MedEdChat activities (i.e., read transcripts or directly participate in discussions)., Results: A total of 68 people responded. Through descriptive analysis and path analysis, we found that almost half of the survey respondents were lurkers on #MedEdChat who read others' tweets or transcripts. In addition, participants mainly used Twitter for resource sharing, collaborating with others, and networking. Participants rated teaching (i.e., moderator) presence the highest, followed by overall satisfaction, cognitive presence, sense of connectedness, social presence, and interactions. Among them, sense of connectedness and cognitive presence were significantly associated with participants' overall satisfaction., Conclusions: This study provided significant implications for using Twitter as a professional learning community to conduct online discussion activities. Facilitators could think of ways to improve participation by providing tutorials on how to participate on Twitter discussions, introduce or ask new participants to introduce themselves, facilitate discussion with intriguing questions, and invite medical educators of different roles as well as medical students and residents to join to bring in diverse perspectives., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

This study investigates how different interface modality features of online dating sites, such as location awareness cues and modality of profiles, affect the sense of social presence of a prospective date. We also examined how various user behaviors aimed at reducing uncertainty about online interactions affect social presence perceptions and are affected by the user interface features. Male users felt a greater sense of social presence when exposed to both location and accessibility cues (geographical proximity) and a richer medium (video profiles). Viewing a richer medium significantly increased the sense of social presence among female participants whereas location-based information sharing features did not directly affect their social presence perception. Augmented social presence, as a mediator, contributed to users' greater intention to meet potential dating partners in a face-to-face setting and to buy paid memberships on online dating sites.

Objective: We aimed to explore and examine how and in what ways the use of social network sites (SNSs) can improve health outcomes, specifically better psychological well-being, for cancer-affected people., Methods: Qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted with users of the Ovarian Cancer Australia Facebook page (OCA Facebook), the exemplar SNS used in this study. Twenty-five women affected by ovarian cancer who were users of OCA Facebook were interviewed. A multi-theory perspective was employed to interpret the data., Results: Most of the study participants used OCA Facebook daily. Some users were passive and only observed created content, while other users actively posted content and communicated with other members. Analysis showed that the use of this SNS enhanced social support for users, improved the users' experiences of social connectedness, and helped users learn and develop social presence, which ultimately improved their psychological well-being., Discussion: The strong theoretical underpinning of our research and empirically derived results led to a new understanding of the capacity of SNSs to improve psychological well-being. Our study provides evidence showing how the integration of these tools into existing health services can enhance patients' psychological well-being. This study also contributes to the body of knowledge on the implications of SNS use for improving the psychological well-being of cancer-affected people., Conclusion: This research assessed the relationship between the use of SNSs, specifically OCA Facebook, and the psychological well-being of cancer-affected people. The study confirmed that using OCA Facebook can improve psychological well-being by demonstrating the potential value of SNSs as a support service in the healthcare industry., (© The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Medical Informatics Association. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Background: Online synchronous learning in higher education frequently struggles to overcome the social presence gap, resulting in dissatisfaction and poor learning outcomes. Objectives: This study examined the effectiveness of desktop‐based virtual reality (VR) social platforms compared to video conferencing (VC) platforms in enhancing students' learning gains and experiences in online synchronous learning. Methods: The study used a within‐subject design, involving 34 college students in two online lecture modules, one via a VR social platform and another through a VC platform. Knowledge assessments occurred pre‐ and post‐modules and after 1 week. Students also completed post‐module questionnaires to evaluate their learning experience, in terms of social presence, easiness of use and perceived emotions. In‐depth interviews provided further insights into their experiences with both platforms. Results: The study showed that using VR social platforms for online synchronous learning enhanced immediate knowledge, especially in students less interested in the content, yet it did not notably impact long‐term knowledge retention. Despite no significant findings in social presence from questionnaires, interviews indicated that the VR's heightened interactivity might be offset by the effect of not seeing others' real appearances in promoting social presence. Furthermore, the VC platform was found to be easier to use, attributed to its familiarity and user‐friendliness. Finally, students experienced increased fun, awe and interest, along with reduced boredom, when using the VR social platform. Conclusion: The findings highlight the potential of VR to enrich online learning while underscoring the need for effective strategies facilitating a smooth integration into educational settings. Lay Description: What is currently known about this topic: Social presence is crucial in online learning.VC platforms may fail to efficiently bridge the social presence gap.VR social platforms can enhance students' experience in online education. What does this paper add: Compares VR and VC effects on learning gains and experiences.Highlights VR's potential to boost immediate knowledge gains.Reveals VR's benefits for emotional engagement. Implications for practice or policy: Suggests integrating VR for more engaging online education.Underlines the need for user‐friendly VR technology.Advocates for training to maximize VR's educational benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social media platforms like Twitter offer scientists the opportunity to share professional, personal, and scientific information with the public. This study explores the effects of these self-disclosure types. In an online between-subjects experiment (N = 1458), participants rated scientists who disclosed personal information as more likable but less competent, and scientists who disclosed professional information as more competent and engaging. Subsequently, these perceptions influenced tweet engagement and certain scientific attitudes. Social presence served as a mediator between self-disclosure and perceptions. These findings broaden our understanding of science communication on Twitter as situated within a social media platform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Text-based customer service is emerging as an important channel through which companies can assist customers. However, the use of few identity cues may cause customers to feel limited social presence and even suspect the human identity of agents, especially in the current age of advanced algorithms. Does such a lack of social presence affect service interactions? We studied this timely question by evaluating the impact of customers' perceived social presence on service outcomes and customers' attitudes toward agents. Our identification strategy hinged on Southwest Airlines' sudden requirement to include a first name in response to service requests on Twitter, which enhanced customers' perceived level of social presence. This change led customers to become more willing to engage and more likely to reach a resolution upon engagement. We further conducted a randomized experiment to understand the underlying mechanisms. We found that the effects were mainly driven by customers who were ex ante uncertain or suspicious about the human identity of agents, and the presence of identity cues improved service outcomes by enhancing customers' perceived levels of trust and empathy. Additionally, we found no evidence of elevated verbal aggression from customers toward agents with identity cues, although a mechanism test revealed the moderating role of customers' emotional states. Our study highlights the importance of social presence in text-based customer service and suggests a readily available and almost costless strategy for firms: signal humanization through identity cues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to find out the social presence, teaching presence, and cognitive presence of higher education students in social media environments in developing countries such as Turkey and Pakistan during the pandemic crisis. We adopted a survey approach to collect data from higher education students in Turkey (n = 350) and Pakistan (n = 350). Consistent multiple group analysis (cMGA) analyzed that there was no difference between Turkish and Pakistani students' presence in the social media-based community of inquiry during the COVID-19 crisis. While a consistent partial least square structural equation modelling found that social presence mediates between teaching presence and cognitive presence. It shows that teaching presence is an important factor to maintain a social presence and ultimately brings a cognitive involvement of the students in social media environments during the crisis to continue higher education. This study has implications for higher education instructional designers to continue education during the crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This scoping review aimed to clarify and redefine the concepts of social and physical presence in the context of online livestreaming environments. Physical presence involves technical elements and nonhuman-to-human interaction, factors that inevitably influence social presence, which has human-to-human interactions at its core. Considering one type of presence to the exclusion of the other may not provide sufficiently informed decisions for user consumption. However, most previous studies have only studied either physical or social presence factors; few have systematically examined both to explain their influence. This review examined how the factors under these two presence influenced users' consumption decision-making process in TikTok live-stream retail purchases by synthesizing 60 studies conducted from 2019 to 2023 using Arksey and O'Malley's 5-step framework. Evidence of the specific attributes by which presence affects users' consumption decisions was elicited and reorganized. Using the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) framework for scoping review and guided by the joanna briggs institute (JBI) methodological guidelines, the results reveal that out of the 60 studies, 36 were influenced by social presence and 24 by physical presence. When livestreaming online, social presence tends to include the user and anchor perspectives, which prompts users to make consumption decisions. However, online physical presence includes products, technology, and scenes as its main dimensions, and users make consumption decisions through perceptual control. This review clarifies new media livestreaming communication and the key factors influencing users' consumption decision-making systems. It also suggests that integrating online social and physical presence in future research will yield a better understanding of livestreaming purchase decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amid the expanding podcast market, a myriad of podcasters and advertisers have ventured into hosting and endorsements. The paramount objective of this research was to ascertain the moderating roles of satisfaction (SAT) and Compatibility (COM) in the relationship between podcast characteristics and the Continued Use Intention (CUI) of users. To assess the ramifications of podcast attributes—technology affinity (TA), perceived playfulness (PP), multitasking (MT), social presence (SP), SAT, and COM—on Word of Mouth Intention (WOMI) and CUI, a questionnaire was disseminated among seasoned podcast users. From an aggregate of 250 returned questionnaires, 227 were adjudged as valid post invalidation scrutiny, yielding a 90% retention quotient. Employing the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) approach for data analysis, the findings revealed the following: TA positively influenced both SAT and COM; PP favorably influenced SAT; MT cast a positive impact on COM; SP constructively affected both SAT and COM; COM positively influenced SAT; and WOMI constructively impacted CUI. This research propounds that podcast platforms might metamorphose into voice-anchored social platforms by curating compelling content, interweaving interactive constituents such as inducements or contests, and galvanizing listener engagement. We advocate for listeners' indulgence in classical or ambient music during engagements, without requiring excessive focus on the host's content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Artificial intelligence (AI) driven matchmaking algorithms are at the core of modern-day dating. Millions of users rely on these algorithms used by online dating platforms for successful matchmaking. However, a scholarly understanding of user perceptions of AI-driven matchmaking algorithms is limited. We explore the factors affecting users' perceived effectiveness of matchmaking algorithms and analyze how users' perception of AI's fairness, social presence, and the threat posed by AI are associated with their perceived effectiveness of matchmaking algorithms. We also investigate if their previous relationship initiation experience through online dating platforms further moderates the studied relationships. An analysis of survey data from Singapore suggests that those who perceive AI to be fair and have higher levels of social presence are more likely to showcase a higher degree of perceived effectiveness of matchmaking algorithms. Moreover, those who have previously been successful in online dating relationship initiation are also more likely to believe in the perceived effectiveness of these algorithms. Further, previous experience of relationship initiation conditionally impacts the relationship between users' general AI perceptions and perceived effectiveness. We also find that males and younger respondents are more likely to believe in the efficacy of matchmaking algorithms. Practical implications are offered. Highlights Perceived fairness of AI is positively associated with the perceived effectiveness of matchmaking algorithms. Perceived social presence of AI is positively associated with the perceived effectiveness of matchmaking algorithms. Successful relationship initiation through online dating platforms is positively related to the perceived effectiveness of matchmaking algorithms. Relationship initiation conditionally impacts the association between perceptions of AI and the perceived effectiveness of matchmaking algorithms. Contextual transference of AI perceptions and impact of users' experience on the perceived effectiveness of matchmaking algorithms are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Virtual influencer marketing is a global emerging phenomenon in social media research. Research on traditional influencer marketing and practices has been the locus of attention for years, but fairly scarce research deals with the rise and influence of virtual influencers, also known as artificial intelligence influencers (AIIs) or computer-generated influencers (CGIs). In this article, an explorative, qualitative single case analysis of the Japanese CGI influencer Imma is presented to identify how the CGI is visually constructed on Instagram in a marketing campaign. Two supplementary semiotic lenses are applied, i.e. a visual compositional analysis and a semiotic image analysis. The results indicate that the CGI influencer Imma is visually presented by and large with the same characteristics and attributes as found in similar studies of human influencers. Moreover, the findings indicate subtle yet essential differences in the visual framing of the CGI character to enhance a human-like appearance. Concludingly, this study has preliminary implications for research, practitioners, prospective marketers, and future innovation leaders in the virtual marketing industry, and it is proposed to consider reconceptualizing our understanding of virtual influencers and acknowledging the rise of Virtual Influencer Marketing as a field in its own right.

The research investigates the effects of chatbot-delivered verbal (inspirational appeals) and non-verbal (ingratiation) cues on customers' purchase intentions on social commerce pages (study one). The research using a multi-method approach also investigates the role of social presence and ulterior motives in explaining the effects of the chatbot-delivered human-like cues on customers' purchase intentions (study two). Study one employs an experiment, followed by a structural equation model in study two. The results of study two enable the researchers to triangulate the results of study one and to understand the underlying causes of those results. The data was collected through an online experiment and an online survey for the two studies. The research reports that: (1) inspirational appeals delivered by chatbots positively influence purchase intentions; (2) ingratiation delivered using double-tap by chatbots does not significantly affect purchase intentions. The current research represents one of the first attempts to explore the influence of inspirational appeal and ingratiation delivered through chatbots on s-commerce purchase intentions. The findings of the study provide managerial insights to social commerce pages that could help engage customers and circumvent the attribution of ulterior motives while making a sale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social media has transformed the digital landscape from connecting people to connecting supply and demand. Many individuals as well as enterprises engage their customers using social media platforms. Transaction through social media could bring influence to digital economic transformation. Producers from various counties could optimize customers participation using their social media accounts. This research aims to explain about the connection among social presence, trust, customer experience and intention to purchase toward social commerce. This study applied quantitative method using partial least squares (PLS-SEM). The data was obtained from 312 respondents, who had conducted online transactions through social media platforms during the last three years. This study showed that social presence and customer experience obtained from selling services had a significant effect on consumer purchase intention. Whereas trust indicators had no effect on consumers’ intention to buy. In maintaining sustainable digital economic development, stakeholders should consider that digital engagement with the public could increase product acceptance and ensure that constructive feedback could be followed up rapidly [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid development of mobile Internet technology has brought about the flourishing growth of social media live streaming. This study employs social presence theory as the primary framework to investigate the impact of Facebook Live's features of sociality, immediacy, and entertainment on users' sense of presence. These features were then considered within the dimensions of awareness, emotion, and cognition. The influence of social presence on user engagement behaviors was divided into browsing behavior, interactive behavior, and creative behavior. Using snowball sampling, an online survey was administered to Facebook Live users, and 416 valid responses were collected. The research team used software to analyze the data, primarily encompassing descriptive statistics, reliability and validity analyses, structural equation modeling, and mediation effects testing. The research findings are as follows. First, the media characteristics of Facebook Live significantly influence the sense of presence. Specifically, sociality, immediacy, and entertainment on Facebook Live have a notable impact on users' awareness, emotion, and cognition. Second, different dimensions of social presence have distinct effects on various user engagement behaviors. Notably, the dimensions of awareness, emotion, and cognition of social presence positively affect users' browsing and interactive behaviors, while emotion influences users' creative behavior. The third finding was that awareness, emotion, and cognition act as intermediates between Facebook Live's media characteristics and user engagement behaviors. Implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social connectedness, an indicator of psychological well-being, requires social interaction and communication among individuals. Prior research usually examined the relationship between the use of online communication channels and the sense of social connectedness under the circumstances where face-to-face communication was readily available. Pandemic provided an excellent setting to study the sole effect of the use of online communication on social connectedness as online communication was not accompanied by in-person communication due to restrictions such as lockdowns. Seizing the opportunity, this study aims at investigating the relationship between the use of online communication platforms and social connectedness at a time when face-to-face communication was not an option and individuals employed online communication channels heavily. To this end, a survey was conducted online on 406 college students in Turkey in November- December 2022 to present retrospective analyses. The findings indicate while face-to-face communication is the prime component to build social connectedness, the use of online communication channels, particularly WhatsApp, social networking sites, video call helped to maintain social bonds among individuals when in-person communication was virtually absent. The research provides insights on how different communication channels can promote social connectedness with varying degrees depending on their social presence.

This study examines startups' social media communication practice in China through the theoretical lens of dialogic communication. Drawing interdisciplinary insights from public relations and computer-mediated communication, this study explored conversational human voice and social presence as antecedents of startups' dialogic communication with publics on social media and explored publics' trust and positive word-of-mouth as potential outcomes of this process. Results from an online survey with 1061 social media users in China who had followed at least one startup organization revealed that startups' conversational human voice and social presence on social media helped drive organization–public dialogic communication, which in turn fostered publics' trust and positive word-of-mouth toward startups. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Owing to the limitations of computer-mediated communication (CMC), distributed CSCL (Computersupported collaborative learning) has not always been as effective as desired. Despite recognizing the significance of group composition, the exploration of the function of teammate familiarity in distributed educational settings is restricted. This study explored the influence of teammate familiarity and social presence in a distributed CSCL setting by conducting an online survey of 288 Korean university students with experience in distributed CSCL. The results indicate that teammate familiarity increased the social presence experienced by students among their peers. Social presence subsequently enhanced teamwork satisfaction and, ultimately, increased self-assessed knowledge gain. More importantly, the relationship between teammate familiarity and teamwork satisfaction was mediated by social presence. Social media platforms and class webpages were the most widely used channels for students to get to know their teammates. Our study provided insights for improving the effectiveness of distributed CSCL and a framework for investigating social presence in satisfaction building in various contexts, including online education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to investigate how uses and gratifications motivations increase social media stickiness, with a special focus on media engagement as a key mediator. Data were gathered via a survey questionnaire from Bangladeshi Z Generation social media users, which was quantitative in nature. For the analysis of 258 survey samples, structural equation modeling methodology was used. The results show that social media engagement and social media stickiness are positively impacted by uses and gratifications motivations such as social interaction, information, convenience, and entertainment. The study also found evidence of a relationship between uses and gratification motivations and social media stickiness, which is also mediated by emotional attachment. Understanding the motivations and gratifications sought by Z Generation users on social media platforms can help design strategies to enhance engagement and loyalty, ultimately leading to improved user retention and platform success. By identifying and addressing the specific needs and desires of the Z Generation, social media platforms can tailor their features, content, and user experiences to foster a stronger sense of connection and satisfaction, resulting in increased user engagement and prolonged usage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the COVID-19 quarantine, we conducted a field-setting pre/post-test randomized experiment (n = 115), creating a community using the social media application Instagram to enhance students’ interactions with their peers and immediate physical environments in a large, introductory online course in environmental psychology. We used the framework of the community of inquiry (CoI) to explain the ecological effects of this project. After posting photos and interacting with others on Instagram weekly for 8 weeks, student participants reported a significantly greater social presence and cognitive presence. Furthermore, participants reported higher levels of course satisfaction and performed better on the preliminary exams than non-participants, but this does not seem attributable to the intervention itself. We discuss the issues of self-selection bias, attrition bias, and compliance bias in this study arguing that greater social presence increased the cognitive presence, as mediated by meaningful peer interactions. Our findings provide additional evidence on the value of using social media in educational settings on learning experiences and for building communities to connect students with their peers and physical environments. We also explore the implementation of a pedagogical approach to context-based learning via mobile technologies, and how the CoI framework can be used in evaluating online learning environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Social Sciences Institute / Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi is the property of Bingol University / Rectorate and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Journal of Selcuk University Social Sciences Institute / Selçuk Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi is the property of Journal of Selcuk University Social Sciences Institute and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Organizational leaders are increasingly expected to be visible and communicative on social media with organizations' public. Drawing theory and literature from dialogic communication and leadership communication, this study analyzed and compared how corporate and nonprofit executive leaders capitalized on various dialogic principles and social presence strategies for engagement purposes. We content‐analyzed Twitter posts from leaders in corporate and nonprofit sectors. Findings revealed notable differences in how corporate and nonprofit executives communicated with publics on Twitter. While leaders from both sectors posted information valuable to their stakeholders and used affective strategies to project a personable image and nurture relationships, nonprofit leaders focused on social influence, whereas corporate executives emphasized information dissemination. This study also showed mixed findings regarding the relationships between leaders' communication strategies and publics' social media engagement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China has long been suffering from the problem of having health care that is expensive and difficult to access. Online patient–provider communication (OPPC) can offer a viable channel to increase access to care. However, through what underlying mechanisms OPPC can be associated with better health outcome is under-researched. To fill this research gap, this study investigated OPPC usage in China and identified psychological processes linking OPPC to emotional well-being. With two-wave panel surveys conducted in China, we found that mobile health app, social media, and health information service website were three common platforms for OPPC, followed by patient portal, whereas e-mail was used least frequently. Overall, OPPC did not have any direct effect on emotional well-being. Instead, OPPC first increased users' perceived social presence of providers in OPPC, which in turn triggered sense of patient empowerment, which finally enhanced emotional well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid development of mobile Internet technology has brought about the flourishing growth of social media live streaming. This study employs social presence theory as the primary framework to investigate the impact of Facebook Live’s features of sociality, immediacy, and entertainment on users’ sense of presence. These features were then considered within the dimensions of awareness, emotion, and cognition. The influence of social presence on user engagement behaviors was divided into browsing behavior, interactive behavior, and creative behavior. Using snowball sampling, an online survey was administered to Facebook Live users, and 416 valid responses were collected. The research team used software to analyze the data, primarily encompassing descriptive statistics, reliability and validity analyses, structural equation modeling, and mediation effects testing. The research findings are as follows. First, the media characteristics of Facebook Live significantly influence the sense of presence. Specifically, sociality, immediacy, and entertainment on Facebook Live have a notable impact on users’ awareness, emotion, and cognition. Second, different dimensions of social presence have distinct effects on various user engagement behaviors. Notably, the dimensions of awareness, emotion, and cognition of social presence positively affect users’ browsing and interactive behaviors, while emotion influences users’ creative behavior. The third finding was that awareness, emotion, and cognition act as intermediates between Facebook Live’s media characteristics and user engagement behaviors. Implications are discussed.

An online survey examined if and how aspects of mediated communication were associated with less loneliness while in isolation and quarantine for COVID-19. A national sample of 490 US participants who were either in isolation, quarantine, or in neither, answered questions regarding their use of mediated communication, the people with whom they communicated, perceived social presence, active and passive social media use, and perceived loneliness. SPSS software was used to run a multivariate regression model to test these potential moderators using a Hochberg (1988) correction for familywise error. For people in isolation and quarantine, relative to neither, the more they used mediated communication with a high degree of social presence, such as voice calls and video calls, the more loneliness they reported. The data also indicate that for those who are not in quarantine or isolation in a pandemic, using mediated communication with a high degree of social presence is related to less loneliness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Storytelling constitutes a promising tool in destination brand communication. Yet, although it also emerged as an important research field, studies on how individual story elements impact story persuasiveness are scant. This study investigates the impact of the storyteller as a narrative element (third person vs. first person) on tourist response. Findings show that first-person compared to third-person storytellers significantly increase engagement on social media, destination brand image, and tourist visit intentions. They further foster narrativity and social tone of text as well as tourist perceptions of narrative transportation and social presence. Processes of narrative transportation and social presence explain the effects of the storyteller on destination brand image and tourist visit intentions. Overall, the study expands our theoretical knowledge about organizational storytelling and supports destination managers in the design of effective destination brand stories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the computers are social actors theory and social presence theory, the current study investigates the psychological mechanism by which the use of friendly language by a personalized product recommendation chatbot influences product attitudes. Results indicated that the effect of the friendly chatbot on more positive product attitudes was sequentially mediated by social presence and user satisfaction. Previous experience with product recommendation chatbots was found to moderate the serial mediation effects. Furthermore, the current study found that a friendly chatbot led to higher rates of contact information disclosure by consumers. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This descriptive study offers lessons learned from students' experiences with a gamified, social media-like instructional approach in eighteen courses from spring 2021 through spring 2022. Researchers at a mid-sized university in the southeastern United States leveraged Christensen's (2011) disruptive innovation theory as a guiding framework to explore student satisfaction with this instructional method. This first phase of the study measures learner satisfaction with this approach using the Ritzhaupt (2019) Electronic Learning Satisfaction Survey (eLSS). Preliminary results suggest that learners (n=145) rated their experience with this disruptive technology above average on all Likert scale questions on the eLSS. Identified best practices for instructional design using similar approaches include repeating the game rules, reframing the purpose beyond the game, helping students appreciate their community, guiding students to lead their own posts and gain reactions, and thwarting those trying to game the system. Initial findings across multiple courses suggest that instructors can leverage the gameful experience and social media-like engagement to foster critical connections and increase course satisfaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This qualitative case study explores the use of teacher-generated videos uploaded on YouTube and their influences on teacher-middle school students' relationships in social science classes in Istanbul, Turkey. The teacher has prepared twelve videos for eighty students in four different classrooms for three months. The videos' content and language were analysed using inductive thematic analysis. Interviews were held with the teacher and ten randomly chosen students. The data generated through the interviews were analysed using inductive thematic analysis by two Turkish-English speaking researchers. The video content analysis revealed that media richness, manipulation of self, and informality had played a central role in student engagement and their attitude towards the teacher and the lessons. The language used in the videos had a conversational tone, including humour and prompts, which attracted the students' attention and created a sense of community. The nature of teacher-generated videos achieved parental engagement and a sense of pride and positively impacted the classroom climate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we examined a mathematics teacher's communicative acts on an instant messaging tool, WhatsApp, and its role in creating a sustained learning environment between secondary-school students and a teacher in Turkey. The interactions of a mathematics teacher and his students (n = 38) over two years were explored. The WhatsApp group increased interaction in out-of-school hours. Analysis of the teacher's communicative acts was the leading force that encouraged the group to continue to interact. The teacher portrayed an informal and sincere presentation of himself on social media. A constructive communication style between teacher and students was fostered by connecting through WhatsApp in out-of-school hours, when the teacher's informal communicative acts have facilitated their learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This descriptive study offers lessons learned from students’ experiences with a gamified, social media-like instructional approach in eighteen courses from spring 2021 through spring 2022. Researchers at a mid-sized university in the southeastern United States leveraged Christensen’s (2011) disruptive innovation theory as a guiding framework to explore student satisfaction with this instructional method. This first phase of the study measures learner satisfaction with this approach using the Ritzhaupt (2019) Electronic Learning Satisfaction Survey (eLSS). Preliminary results suggest that learners (n=145) rated their experience with this disruptive technology above average on all Likert scale questions on the eLSS. Identified best practices for instructional design using similar approaches include repeating the game rules, reframing the purpose beyond the game, helping students appreciate their community, guiding students to lead their own posts and gain reactions, and thwarting those trying to game the system. Initial findings across multiple courses suggest that instructors can leverage the gameful experience and social media-like engagement to foster critical connections and increase course satisfaction.

While intergroup contact in online contexts has been acknowledged as effective in reducing stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination, i.e. intergroup bias, the underlying processes remain unclear. This study focuses on intersubjective processes and tests perceived social presence and closeness, as a means for strengthening the effects of online intergroup contact on attitudes towards the outgroup member and intergroup bias. We conducted a pre-post multigroup (White and Black) study on 267 participants (females n = 162, 60.7%; M age = 22.19, SD = 4.90) who chatted online with a fictitious outgroup member (online bot). Multigroup path analysis results showed that, regardless of the participant's membership in the majority group (White people) or minority group (Black people), social presence and closeness, i.e. intersubjective processes occurring during online intergroup contact, are positively related to attitude toward the outgroup member, but not to intergroup bias, which is positively related to attitude toward the outgroup member. Theoretical implications for the literature on online intergroup contact will be discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The commodification of mobile devices and penetration of high-speed Internet continue to make social media an ideal platform for businesses to reach consumers. Despite ample studies have been conducted to understand the factors that affect social media marketing effectiveness, the specific nature of tourism and hospitality products (i.e., highly experiential) has rarely been considered. Based on computer-mediated communication (CMC) theories and relevant work in the communication literature, this study investigates what affect the effectiveness of hotel social media branded contents. Self-reported data were collected from 318 respondents and were tested using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling. The findings demonstrate the positive impact of telepresence and social presence on customer purchase intention through trust and perceived usefulness. This work integrates CMC theories and technology acceptance model to provide a comprehensive explanation of social media branded content effectiveness. Practical implications are provided for hoteliers to design more effective social media branded contents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social presence is the sense of being with others in a social networking platform. Purchase behaviour is the decision processes and acts of people involved in purchasing, repurchasing and using products. The purpose of this paper is to develop a scale to measure social presence influence on purchase behaviour. The scale developed has shown a strong internal consistency, reliability, and has remained consistent across different sample. The main contribution of the study is validating a divergent scale measuring social presence influence on purchase behaviour through Exploratory Factor Analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the effect of social media affordances (SMAs) on tourist destination image formation from the technology affordances lens, and measures the mediating role of social presence and parasocial interaction (PSI). Through both qualitative and quantitative approaches to the empirical examination of 1751 pieces of tourist data collected from a two-wave survey approach, this study finds that SMAs has a significant direct relationship with cognitive image and affective image. The results also suggest that PSI partially mediate the effect of SMAs on cognitive image and affective image, and cognitive image and affective image under the influence of SMAs lead to conative image formation. These substantial findings could offer valuable insights for destination marketers into the development and adoption of SMA strategies, with the objective of cultivating and promoting a positive image of their destination in the tourism market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is true that social media has a significant presence in today's world and has become an integral part of our lives. Researchers have been trying to find ways to integrate social media to language classes to take advantage of the possibilities social media can offer such as fostering students' engagement with the language, increasing their motivation and making them socially and collaboratively connected. The underlying idea behind this is to take advantage of the possibilities social media can offer to achieve a better learning environment resulting with more effective learning outcomes. Thus, this study seeks to understand and reveal the effects of integrating social media on students' social presence and their attitudes to it when social media is integrated in foreign language classes. Facebook was used as part of high school students' curriculum in English lessons. Explanatory mixed design was used. Data were analysed by using paired samples t-test and content analysis. The results of the study showed that there was no significant difference in students' attitude to social media but there was a significant difference in their social presence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

These days, Social Media which is includes (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Linkedin) is an extremely well known social correspondence media. Indi-viduals use Social Media to express their musings, thoughts, sonnets, and distresses on them. In the period of data superhighway, greater part of the young people are not sharing their challenges, issues, irregularity, power-lessness and disappointment with their folks in Kurdistan of Iraq. Be that as it may, they share with their companions on Social Media. Hence, their companions are making remarks, giving havens and affections to them. Because of absence of instruction and encounters on innovation, gatekeepers in Kurdistan don't know about the correspondences and addictions on social Medias. In this manner, there are producing holes in social relationships in the community. In this paper, a review has based and finding the effect of social media on personal and community relationships. Calculation dissects the practices of youngsters' by gathering data from a survey. Guardians and educators conclusions are additionally viewed as about the exercises of understudies on home and foundations. Here, age cutoff points of focused adolescents are somewhere in the range of 16 and 60. From this investigation, powerless connection amongst guardians and their adolescent youngsters have been taken note. The significant issue was that teenagers are investing more energy on social media and guardians need them to the table amid contemplate time and educational time.

Although social presence is, in concept, the individual subjective experience that users feel in the mediabased, virtual communication environment, a discussion of the relationship between the social factors, the psychological factors, and the social presence of users of individual internet broadcasting is insufficient. Therefore, looking at users of sports broadcasting of AfreecaTV, which is an internet broadcasting platform, this study has empirically analysed the influence of media use motivation and social media engagement on the social presence of the user. For this study, a survey was conducted using a convenience sampling method with a sample of 300 users in Seoul, South Korea, who watched individual internet sports broadcasting through AfreecaTV. The main results obtained through multiple regression analysis are as follows. First, the motivation to pursue social relations, which is a subfactor of media use motivation, was found to have a significant, positive influence on functional engagement, while the motivation to pursue social relations and a broadcasting jockey's attractiveness were found to have a significant positive influence on emotional and communal engagement. Second, information acquisition and broadcasting a jockey's attractiveness (i.e., contents among the subfactors of media use motivation) were found to have a significant positive influence on social presence. Third, among the subfactors of users' engagement with individual internet sports broadcasting, only communal engagement was found to have a significant, positive influence on social presence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines how young Chinese adults living in urban areas experience cunzaigan (a Chinese word that translates to 'sense of existence') through sharing mundane life moments on the social media platform—WeChat. We draw on the theories of social acceleration and social presence to interpret this practice and, in so doing, find that for our participants, cunzaigan signifies a subjective experience, testifying that they are here, providing a counterpoint to their mobile and fast-paced urban lives. Drawing on their experience of temporal social presence on WeChat, we contend that technological developments, which have been identified as a key motor of social acceleration, can also be harnessed as a resource to serve ontological and social purposes in an accelerated social context. In so doing, we address the role that everyday engagements with social media play in shaping the temporal nature of young people's lives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although current communication media facilitate interactions among individuals, researchers have warned that human relationships built through these media tend to lack the level of intimacy acquired through face-to-face communications. In this study, we investigate how the long-term use of humanlike communication media affects the development of intimate relationships between human users. We examine changes in the relationship between individuals while they converse with each other through humanlike communication media or mobile phones for approximately a month. The intimacy of their relationship was evaluated using the amount of self-disclosed personal information. The result shows that a significantly greater amount of self-disclosure is made through a communication medium with humanlike appearance and soft material compared with the use of a typical mobile phone. The amount of self-disclosure showed cyclic variation in the experiment through humanlike communication media. Furthermore, we discuss a possible underlying mechanism of this effect from the misattribution of a feeling caused by intimate distance with the medium to a conversation partner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]