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Social networking sites (SNSs) are popular platforms for people to share and exchange information, especially for the millennial generation. This research uses Hong Kong as a case to study millennials' SNS usage behavior and the impact of online key opinion leaders' (KOLs) reviews on millennials' restaurant visit intention. Using a mixed method, this study first develops a KOLs online presentation framework, then investigates the relative importance of different elements in a restaurant review on buying intention. The findings reveal that Instagram, Facebook and YouTube are the top three most popular SNSs used by millennials in Hong Kong. In restaurant reviews posted by KOLs, photos of food and ambiance, ratings and opinions on food quality, and price are found to exert a significant and positive impact on millennials' restaurant visit intention. This research not only extends the study of online opinion leadership in the context of hospitality, but also provides practical recommendations for hotel and restaurant managers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our study examined antecedents and explanations for sharing social networking site passwords with romantic partners. U.S. adults currently or recently in romantic relationships (N = 948) completed an online survey assessing relationship characteristics and reasons for password sharing. Results indicated that relationship satisfaction, relationship length, and social networking site jealousy predicted password sharing. Younger participants were also more inclined to share passwords with their romantic partners. Partner distrust/suspicion reasons were negatively related to relationship satisfaction; relationship strength/security reasons were positively related to social networking site jealousy. Our findings suggest that future digital privacy interventions should emphasize both the benefits and risks of social networking site password sharing, as well as the additional harm that could result if an individual uses passwords to access and monitor their romantic partner's accounts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays technology is an important part of our lives and the use of social media were is increasing day by day with the help of the internet and social networking sites people are connected with their family and friends, and they are aware of what they are doing at every movement of life and this leads psychological distress named as FOMO (Fear of Missing Out). "A pervasive apprehension that others might be having rewarding experiences from which one is absent" (Przybylski et al., 2013) called FOMO. FOMO is manifested by the following behaviors; 'the fear that other people (including close friends) have more rewarding life experiences than me, the apprehension that my friends are having fun without me and that I will miss out on a planned or spontaneous event, the need to continuously check the activities undertaken by friends and to be up to date with their lives, the need for regular reporting of one's activities, usually positive.' The main objective of the present study is to highlight the psychosocial factors that can be the leading cause of FOMO. Literature has disclosed many factors that is; self-esteem, Loneliness, Anxiety, use of Social Networking Sites (SNS), and Emotional Intelligence (EI) are strongly associated with FOMO. Studies revealed that FOMO is negatively correlated with self-esteem, people with low self-esteem are more prone to develop FOMO (Weaver & Swank, 2021). SNS are positively associated with FOMO, people who use more SNS disclose higher scores on FOMO and internet addiction (Yin et al., 2021). Studies revealed that Loneliness is directly correlated with FOMO (Bernard, 2020). EI and FOMO are negatively associated, person with high emotional intelligence is less prone to FOMO (Kartol & Gündoğan, 2020). Anxiety is directly associated with FOMO, a person with a high score on anxiety and depression also indicates a high score on FOMO (Kacker & Saurav, 2020). FOMO was negatively associated with future time perspective (Sun et al., 2022). Studies show that FOMO is becoming more and more common as more and more research looks into this phenomena. This study suggests that it is essential to determine the reasons behind people's overindulgence in social media and the ensuing effects on markers of well-being and functional impairments (like addiction). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background This study investigated the effectiveness of a social networking site (SNS)-based automatic mobile message providing system on glycemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Methods A 3-month, randomized, open-label, controlled, parallel-group trial was conducted. One hundred and ten participants with T2DM were randomized to a mobile message system (MMS) (n=55) or control group (n=55). The MMS group received protocol-based automated messages two times per day for 10 weeks regarding diabetes self-management through KakaoTalk SNS messenger. The primary outcome was the difference in the change in glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels (%) from baseline to week 12. Results HbA1c levels were more markedly decreased in the MMS group (8.4%±0.7% to 8.0%±1.1%) than in the control group (8.5%±0.8% to 8.4%±0.8%), resulting in a significant between-group difference (P=0.027). No differences were observed in changes in fasting glucose levels, lipid profiles, and the number of participants who experienced hypoglycemia, or in changes in lifestyle behavior between groups. However, the self-monitoring of blood glucose frequency was significantly increased in the MMS group compared to the control group (P=0.003). In addition, sleep duration was increased in the MMS group, but was not changed in the control group. Conclusion An SNS-based automatic mobile message providing system was effective in improving glycemic control in patients in T2DM. Studies which based on a more individualized protocol, and investigate longer beneficial effect and sustainability will be required in the future.

BackgroundContraceptive choice is central to reproductive autonomy. The internet, including social networking sites like Reddit, is an important resource for people seeking contraceptive information and support. A subreddit dedicated to contraception, r/birthcontrol, provides a platform for people to post about contraception.ObjectiveThis study explored the use of r/birthcontrol, from the inception of the subreddit through the end of 2020. We describe the web-based community, identify distinctive interests and themes based upon the textual content of posts, and explore the content of posts with the most user engagement (ie, "popular" posts).MethodsData were obtained from the PushShift Reddit application programming interface from the establishment of r/birthcontrol to the start date of analysis (July 21, 2011, to December 31, 2020). User interactions within the subreddit were analyzed to describe community use over time, specifically the commonality of use based on the volume of posts, the length of posts (character count), and the proportion of posts with any and each flair applied. "Popular" posts on r/birthcontrol were determined based on the number of comments and "scores," or upvotes minus downvotes; popular posts had 9 comments and a score of ≥3. Term Frequency-Inverse Document Frequency (TF-IDF) analyses were run on all posts with flairs applied, posts within each flair group, and popular posts within each flair group to characterize and compare the distinctive language used in each group.ResultsThere were 105,485 posts to r/birthcontrol during the study period, with the volume of posts increasing over time. Within the time frame for which flairs were available on r/birthcontrol (after February 4, 2016), users applied flairs to 78% (n=73,426) of posts. Most posts contained exclusively textual content (n=66,071, 96%), had comments (n=59,189, 86%), and had a score (n=66,071, 96%). Posts averaged 731 characters in length (median 555). "SideEffects!?" was the most frequently used flair overall (n=27,530, 40%), while "Experience" (n=719, 31%) and "SideEffects!?" (n=672, 29%) were most common among popular posts. TF-IDF analyses of all posts showed interest in contraceptive methods, menstrual experiences, timing, feelings, and unprotected sex. While TF-IDF results for posts with each flair varied, the contraceptive pill, menstrual experiences, and timing were discussed across flair groups. Among popular posts, intrauterine devices and contraceptive use experiences were often discussed.ConclusionsPeople commonly wrote about contraceptive side effects and experiences using methods, highlighting the value of r/birthcontrol as a space to post about aspects of contraceptive use that are not well addressed by clinical contraceptive counseling. The value of real-time, open-access data on contraceptive users' interests is especially high given the shifting landscape of and increasing constraints on reproductive health care in the United States.

This paper explores Facebook's role in shaping the political perception of youth during the 2018 general elections in Pakistan. It also gauges the ideological standpoint of youth in Pakistan that influences their voting decisions. An online campaign has become an indispensable source for politicians to influence the masses without the constraints of distance and time. It is a quantitative study based on a questionnaire survey of young Pakistani voters. Findings show that Facebook has presumed the role of an instigator in shaping the voting behavior of educated youth. Respondents perceived Facebook as biased while expressing views and assisted political entities in manipulating the data to increase their vote bank. Though the majority of them haven't experienced fake news so either they are not conscious or they trust blindly the information. Furthermore, respondents' cognitive abilities are not obstructed by politicians using Facebook, instead, friends and family network seems more persuasive in determining voters' choice. Results manifest that ideological standpoint impacts voters' decisions substantially. There is no statistical difference in the voting behavior of respondents based on gender and/or age. The individuality of this study is that it focuses on the medium of communication between politicians and youth instead of emphasizing the social cleavages and their impact on voters' decisions, which Pakistani scholars largely study. This study will prompt the field of psephology in Pakistan, which is largely ignored, and help scholars to move out of the domain of identity politics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the last decade, the amount of research on the relationship between social networking sites (SNS) use and users’ subjective well-being (SWB) has increased, leading to discrepancies regarding the results. Our review of the literature generated 73 independent samples and indicated that considerable inconsistent results may be attributed to different measurements of SNS use, moderation effects, or media response states and their effects. In this study, meta-analytic procedures were used to assess the strength of the relationships between SNS use indicators, perceived social support (PSS), self-esteem and SWB. The results showed that PSS and self-esteem had stronger effects on SWB than SNS use indicators. Furthermore, a meta-analytic structural equation model was conducted to assess the strength of the relationships between SNS use indicators, PSS, self-esteem, and SWB. The results did not support the proposition SNS use is associated with SWB. Compared with SNS use indicators, media response states such as self-esteem and PSS, had more effects on SWB.

Social media has been an increasingly utilized communication tool, and it has gained popularity among adolescent athletes. Our aim here was to investigate whether a positive and honest self-presentation on social media increased adolescent athletes' self-esteem, and we examined the moderating effect of perceived responsiveness. After receiving informed consent of participants and their parents/legal guardians, we recruited 468 adolescent athletes/participants (244 males, 224 females; M age = 15.39 years, SD = 1.61) through purposive sampling and engaged them in completing face-to-face or online self-report measures of their: (a) self-presentation on social media, (b) perceived responsiveness of others, and (c) Rosenberg self-esteem scales. Given the continuous nature of our moderating variable (i.e., perceived responsiveness), we conducted regression analysis using Hayes's PROCESS macro in SPSS software. A positive self-presentation showed no significant relationship with self-esteem, except when the level of perceived responsiveness was high. Conversely, an honest self-presentation was positively related to higher self-esteem, and the relationship between honest self-presentation and self-esteem was moderated by perceived responsiveness. Our findings extend existing psychological theory into the online environment and have practical implications. These data highlight the link between social media self-presentation and self-esteem among adolescent athletes and illustrate the crucial role of perceived responsiveness in the social media context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This systematic review aimed to synthesize current evidence of an association between problematic social networking site use (PSNSU) and social well-being and predictors of PSNSU among young adults (18–35 years). Methods: The systematic review considered cross-sectional and cohort studies that assessed the association between PSNSU and social well-being among young adults. The JBI systematic review methodology of etiology and risk was followed. Data were collected from eight electronic databases and manually from reference lists of selected studies. Two independent reviewers selected studies by screening titles, abstracts and full texts and assessed the quality of the included studies. Data were extracted and synthesized with narrative methods. Results: Twenty one (n = 21) studies were included in the final review. The results showed that there were associations between PSNSU and different social well-being factors, e.g., associations were found between PSNSU and social and parasocial relationships on social networking sites and social media anxiety. Also some predictive factors were found. Limitations: Although, the search strategies were developed in conjunction with an information specialist, some keywords might have been missed, which could have affected the search results. Social well-being and PSNS use can be defined in many ways, which may have affected which studies were excluded. Language limitations might affect to the study inclusion. Conclusions: In most cases, PSNSU was associated with lower social well-being, although some mixed results were obtained. Definitions of PSNSU and social well-being varied widely. Therefore, in the future, it would be beneficial to have clear concepts for PSNSU and social well-being. It is also important to consider social aspects in PSNSU.

Academic Social Networking Sites, such as Academia.Edu, ResearchGate, and Mendeley, have revolutionized both social interaction and scholarly communication by making it easier for researchers to collaborate and share their work. As a result of these web-based resources, individuals may now create online profiles, share published articles, and interact with other subject matter experts from across the world. A variety of keywords were used by researchers to gather data from Scopus. A 14-year period from 2007 through 2020 was used to assess the research publications. More than 700 publications were retrieved from 381 journals, including 688 original research articles and 63 review papers. Except for 2008, 2016, and 2017, it was concluded that positive growth was plainly seen from 2007 to 2020. In academic communication, the United States is the most productive country in terms of productive affiliation and country on ASNSs. In the case of institutional affiliation, Wuhan University in China is the most prolific. Using the Scopus database, this study provided a comprehensive bibliometric analysis of ASNSs in scholarly communication. In addition, it outlined the "5 Ps" for implementing ASNSs.

Eating disorders and excessive attachment to social media are a matter of great concern among youths. This study assessed the prevalence of eating disorders and their association with social media addiction among youths. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on 350 participants aged 14–25 years. Two pre-validated tools were used, i.e., the Eating Attitude Test and the Social Networking Addiction Scale. SPSS was used to analyze the data. Out of the 350 students, 42% had probable eating disorders, and 41.7% had social media addictions. The findings revealed that the chances of having eating disorders were significantly higher among youths who lived in separate places, smoked, and had a family history of eating disorders (p ≤ 0.05). Furthermore, the dieting domain displayed notably higher scores for youths living separately (p ≤ 0.05) and smokers (p ≤ 0.01). Moreover, the scores for bulimia and food preoccupation were significantly higher among participants who were married (p = 0.038), were smokers (p = 0.027), and had a family history of eating disorders (p = 0.001). Higher scores in the oral control domain were reported by females (p ≤ 0.05) and severely obese youths (p ≤ 0.01). Moreover, social media addiction was significantly higher among students aged 18–21 (p ≤ 0.01). Spearman's correlation revealed that social media addiction has a weak positive relationship with eating disorders (r = 0.133, p ≤ 0.01), particularly bulimia and food preoccupation (r = 0.173, p ≤ 0.001). This reflects the need to address the harmful consequences of social media addiction that might raise the likelihood of developing eating disorders, particularly bulimia nervosa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emotional eating has emerged as a significant disordered eating and public health concern among adolescents. Despite the widespread prevalence of social networking site (SNS) use among this population, research investigating the influence of SNS use on adolescent eating behaviors remains limited. This study is to examine the impact of SNS use on emotional eating among Chinese adolescents, with a specific focus on exploring the mediating role of negative social comparisons and the moderating effect of perspective-taking. Data were obtained through an online survey involving 778 middle school students in China. The findings indicate that SNS use exerts a positive influence on adolescents' engagement in emotional eating, with this association being mediated by the presence of negative social comparisons. Perspective-taking demonstrated a protective role in the context of adolescents' utilization of social media platforms. For individuals characterized by high levels of perspective-taking, the effects of SNS use on negative social comparisons are mitigated, subsequently reducing its impact on emotional eating. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid growth of national and international social networking sites has generated concerns and issues regarding users’ online self-presentation all around the world. Therefore, the present qualitative study seeks to examine the self-disclosure strategies used by Iranian high school students on a national educational social networking site (SNS), called SHAD. For this purpose, a sample of 425 high school students were selected using a random sampling method. The participants’ profile texts expressing themselves on SHAD were collected and analyzed through a thematic coding analysis. Results yielded four overarching themes, including “life management and goal setting”, “religious prayers and beliefs”, “love matters”, and “didactic texts and quotations”. The extracted themes were carefully discussed in line with Bourdieu’s “field”, “habitus”, and “Doxa” notions. Additionally, the findings evidenced that, due to high exposure of modern students to the world culture through the Internet, the “field” through which the students manifested their “habitus”, as situated literacy practices, may be rooted in both the national and international fields. It is evidently clear from the findings that, in order obtain a wider picture of students’ psychological states, incessant investigations into their self-presentation strategies on online spaces are of a high priority for educational psychologists and planners.

This study investigated the use of social networking site Telegram in improving students’ pronunciation of eleventh grade students in one of senior high school in Tangerang, Indonesia. A total of 24 students were taken as the sample in the current study. Non-randomized one class pretest-posttest design was used in the study. Using quasi experimental research one-class pretest-posttest design, the students in the experimental class completed the process through Telegram. The tests and questionnaires were used to collect the data. In order to test whether there was an improvement within the class, the hypothesis was tested using the t-test and obtaining the gain scores. The result showed that the pronunciation of students was improved. They were interested in learning through the media, wanted to learn new things, and active throughout the learning process. Based on the percentages, students’ posttest showed that the pronunciation of students was improved after using social networking site Telegram. Moreover, this research also found that the evaluation of learning model was good, the students’ learning motivation was very good, and made a good class atmosphere in the experimental class throughout the learning process by using social networking site Telegram.

Recently, industrial and academic communities in the operations and supply chain management (OSCM) field are paying increasing attention to social media. However, the value of social media in OSCM is quite unclear, and more investigations are still needed. To pave the way for directed future research, this paper systematically reviewed and synthesised 152 peer-review journal papers to identify research focus and gaps in this area, supported by an appropriate conceptual framework. The result reveals that the research interests in this area have increased dramatically within the last decade across various industries and regions. Different companies' OSCM activities, such as sourcing and delivery, can benefit from employment of social media. This paper also indicates that future research can explore the value of social media in sourcing, delivery, product return and reverse logistics, forecasting and inventory management, and product development and production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Acta Universitatis Lodziensis: Folia Librorum is the property of Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Lodzkiego 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.)

Rapid growth of national and international social networking sites has generated concerns and issues regarding users' online self-presentation all around the world. Therefore, the present qualitative study seeks to examine the self-disclosure strategies used by Iranian high school students on a national educational social networking site (SNS), called SHAD. For this purpose, a sample of 425 high school students were selected using a random sampling method. The participants' profile texts expressing themselves on SHAD were collected and analyzed through a thematic coding analysis. Results yielded four overarching themes, including "life management and goal setting", "religious prayers and beliefs", "love matters", and "didactic texts and quotations". The extracted themes were carefully discussed in line with Bourdieu's "field", "habitus", and "Doxa" notions. Additionally, the findings evidenced that, due to high exposure of modern students to the world culture through the Internet, the "field" through which the students manifested their "habitus", as situated literacy practices, may be rooted in both the national and international fields. It is evidently clear from the findings that, in order obtain a wider picture of students' psychological states, incessant investigations into their self-presentation strategies on online spaces are of a high priority for educational psychologists and planners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The current study aimed to investigate the effect of SNS use on graduate students' depression and further explored the effect of negative social comparison and an individual's implicit personality theory. Methods: Scales for Social Networking Site Use Intensity, the Negative Social Comparison Measure, the Implicit Personality Theory Inventory, and CES-D were used to investigate 1792 graduate students from a full-time university in Wuhan. Result: (1) Social networking site use was positively correlated with negative social comparison and depression; (2) the mediating effect of negative social comparison was significant in social networking site use's influence on depression; (3) after controlling for negative social comparison, graduate students' use of SNS could negatively predict depression; and (4) the mediation effect of negative social comparison was moderated by an individual's implicit personality theory. Specifically, the mediation effect was more pronounced among the entity theorists, while the graduate students' incremental implicit personality theory may buffer the depressive effect of negative social comparison. Conclusions: Negative social comparison mediates the relationship between SNS use and depression; in addition, individual differences in implicit personality theory (the entity theorist vs. incremental theorist) moderate the link between negative social comparison and depression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As part of this study, it was suggested that, like other social media, Reddit allows to embody models of communicative interaction in a digital environment. The comments under three creepypastas published on the subreddit NoSleep were selected as the object of the study. To prove the original thesis, the comments were analyzed from the perspective of social sharing of emotions (SSE) — a process characteristic of real interpersonal communication. The comments were studied manually using the method of intentional analysis. As a result of the study, the main intentional categories characteristic of the social sharing of emotions in the comments on NoSleep were established. It was concluded that SSE in the comments under creepypastas generally coincides with the existing models, and the differences found can be explained by the specifics of the digital environment and the concrete features of Reddit as social media. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The types and functions of social networking sites are becoming more abundant with the prevalence of self-media culture, and the number of daily active users of social networking sites represented by Weibo and Zhihu continues to expand. There are key node users in social networks. Compared with ordinary users, their influence is greater, their radiation range is wider, and their information transmission capabilities are better. The key node users playimportant roles in public opinion monitoring and hot event prediction when evaluating the criticality of nodes in social networking sites. In order to solve the problems of incomplete evaluation factors, poor recognition rate and low accuracy of key nodes of social networking sites, this paper establishes a social networking site key node recognition algorithm (SNSKNIS) based on PageRank (PR) algorithm, and evaluates the importance of social networking site nodes in combination with the influence of nodes and the structure of nodes in social networks. This article takes the Sina Weibo platform as an example, uses the key node identification algorithm system of social networking sites to discover the key nodes in the social network, analyzes its importance in the social network, and displays it visually. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social networking influencers are those who use images, videos, and other updates on social media platforms to affect consumers' impressions of a company or product. The purpose of this study is to assess the present status of social networking sites and the online purchase intentions of consumers. This research paper is an attempt to identify the effect of various attributes of social networking that influence credibility and brand image, eventually leading to the purchase intention of consumers in Delhi NCR (National Capital Region), India. The data were collected using Google Forms via an online questionnaire with a sample size of 262 respondents. A convenient sampling technique was used; structure equation modeling (SEM), convergent and discriminant validity, and model fitness were achieved through Smart PLS 3. This study's findings reveal that expertise, information quality, and trustworthiness have significant positive effects on credibility and brand image, as well as a significant positive indirect effect on online purchase intention. Other factors, such as entertainment, attractiveness, and likability, have no significant effect on credibility and brand image. The credibility of social networking and brand image mediate the positive relationship between information quality, expertise, trustworthiness, and consumer online purchase intention. On the other hand, the credibility of social networking and brand image mediate the lack of a positive relationship between likability, attractiveness, entertainment, and consumer online purchase intention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

People exhibit comparative optimism about privacy risks, believing that they are personally less vulnerable to privacy threats than their average peers, and yet comparative optimism about privacy threats can lead to reckless online behaviors. However, little is known about (a) to what degree comparative optimism about privacy is culturally robust or variable and (b) under which conditions such optimism is mitigated or intensified. We collected survey data from three countries (n = 501, 545, and 433 from Germany, Singapore, and the United States, respectively) about users' perceived privacy risks on social networking sites (SNSs). Results showed that comparative optimism about privacy is prevalent in all three countries, but its levels vary across countries. Specifically, comparative optimism was highest in the United States. Individual-level factors such as indirect experience of privacy risks, engagement with privacy-protection behaviors, and SNS usage predicted the extent of comparative optimism experienced. Culture predicted the magnitude of comparative optimism but did not moderate the relationships between those individual-level factors and comparative optimism, indicating that the theoretical relationships observed in this study are robust. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Zeszyty Naukowe Wyzsza Szkola Ekonomii i Informatyki w Krakowie is the property of Wyzsza Szkola Ekonomii i Informatyki w Krakowie 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.)

Eating disorders and excessive attachment to social media are a matter of great concern among youths. This study assessed the prevalence of eating disorders and their association with social media addiction among youths. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on 350 participants aged 14–25 years. Two pre-validated tools were used, i.e., the Eating Attitude Test and the Social Networking Addiction Scale. SPSS was used to analyze the data. Out of the 350 students, 42% had probable eating disorders, and 41.7% had social media addictions. The findings revealed that the chances of having eating disorders were significantly higher among youths who lived in separate places, smoked, and had a family history of eating disorders (p ≤ 0.05). Furthermore, the dieting domain displayed notably higher scores for youths living separately (p ≤ 0.05) and smokers (p ≤ 0.01). Moreover, the scores for bulimia and food preoccupation were significantly higher among participants who were married (p = 0.038), were smokers (p = 0.027), and had a family history of eating disorders (p = 0.001). Higher scores in the oral control domain were reported by females (p ≤ 0.05) and severely obese youths (p ≤ 0.01). Moreover, social media addiction was significantly higher among students aged 18–21 (p ≤ 0.01). Spearman’s correlation revealed that social media addiction has a weak positive relationship with eating disorders (r = 0.133, p ≤ 0.01), particularly bulimia and food preoccupation (r = 0.173, p ≤ 0.001). This reflects the need to address the harmful consequences of social media addiction that might raise the likelihood of developing eating disorders, particularly bulimia nervosa.

Emotional eating has emerged as a significant disordered eating and public health concern among adolescents. Despite the widespread prevalence of social networking site (SNS) use among this population, research investigating the influence of SNS use on adolescent eating behaviors remains limited. This study is to examine the impact of SNS use on emotional eating among Chinese adolescents, with a specific focus on exploring the mediating role of negative social comparisons and the moderating effect of perspective-taking. Data were obtained through an online survey involving 778 middle school students in China. The findings indicate that SNS use exerts a positive influence on adolescents’ engagement in emotional eating, with this association being mediated by the presence of negative social comparisons. Perspective-taking demonstrated a protective role in the context of adolescents’ utilization of social media platforms. For individuals characterized by high levels of perspective-taking, the effects of SNS use on negative social comparisons are mitigated, subsequently reducing its impact on emotional eating.

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic is an unprecedented and unique fallout worldwide and creates colossal disruption in human survival. During the pandemic, social networking sites (SNS) played a significant role in disseminating news related to the pandemic. Methods: This research is based on primary data collected from 400 successful respondents via online Google Form. Bivariate Pearson's Chi-square and multivariate binary logistic regression analysis were performed to determine the impact of the explanatory variables on the study variables. Results: This study reveals that most respondents (n = 360, 90 %) use SNS to get up-to-date news, and 72.5 % (n = 290) read health-related information. The highest number of participants (n = 386, 96.5 %) were Facebook users. Multivariate binary logistic regression reveals that “reading news on SNS” and “sharing information related to COVID-19 on social media” significantly influence the spread of awareness of COVID-19. “Unauthentic news sources” and “stop using social media to stay away from panic” also have a substantial impact on the spread of panic during the COVID-19 pandemic. Conclusion: SNS has become an inevitable medium of information carrier nowadays. Social media users are found significantly aware of the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings of this study might assist the concerned persons in taking the necessary steps to propagate authentic news and regulate appropriate policies to prevent spreading misinformation.

Although corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities appear active on social networking sites (SNS), consumers increasingly suspect their authenticity. Based on attribution theory, this study examines consumers' responses to SNS-based corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities by analyzing the impact of their perceptions of CSR attributes on their perceived authenticity of CSR (CPACSR) and participation intention (PI). We conducted a between-subjects experiment on a sample of 480 Korean undergraduate students to test all the hypotheses. Our findings suggest that the three CSR attributes positively affect CPACSR, partially moderated by the type of message source and CSR activity. These findings suggest several opportunities for future research that may further benefit marketers in CSR marketing decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) information can now be disseminated via social networking sites. An organization's image and upcoming portfolios are directly affected by electronic word of mouth (eWOM). It generates from its customers, employees, and other stakeholders. We developed a critical model to enlighten the behavior to share and comment on a negative news story about CSR displayed on Wechat and QQ to figure out what was causing this behavior. Structural equation modeling (SEM) and the partial least squares regression (PLS) approach were used to conduct a self-administered survey of hotel customers in China. Social and environmental awareness, information usefulness, corporate image, and a company's motivation to comment and share on CSR news were all considered explanatory variables in our study. We asked 300 Wechat and QQ users to rate a fake environmental news story. We found that social and environmental awareness affects the effectiveness of information and the attitude toward behavior, which may describe the eWOM intent of the particular news. On the other hand, corporate reputation could discourage people from disseminating eWOM and sharing the news with their social linkage contacts. The findings of the study suggest having a better understanding of how specific CSR activities can increase customers' commitment, which leads to positive eWOM, will benefit the hotel industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Co-use of alcohol and e-cigarettes (often called vaping) has been linked with long-term health outcomes, including increased risk for substance use disorder. Co-use may have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Social networking sites may offer insights into current perspectives on polysubstance use., Objective: The aims of this study were to investigate concurrent mentions of vaping and alcohol on Twitter (subsequently rebranded X) during a time of changing vaping regulations in the United States and the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic., Methods: Tweets including both vape- and alcohol-related terms posted between October 2019 and September 2020 were analyzed using latent Dirichlet allocation modeling. Distinct topics were identified and described., Results: Three topics were identified across 6437 tweets: (1) flavors and flavor ban (n=3334, 51.8% of tweets), (2) co-use discourse (n=1119, 17.4%), and (3) availability and access regulation (n=1984, 30.8%). Co-use discussions often portrayed co-use as positive and prosocial. Tweets focused on regulation often used alcohol regulations for comparison. Some focused on the perceived overregulation of vaping (compared to alcohol), while others supported limiting youth access but not at the expense of adult access (eg, stronger age verification over product bans). Across topics, vaping was typically portrayed as less harmful than alcohol use. The benefits of flavors for adult smoking cessation were also discussed. The distribution of topics across time varied across both pre- and post-regulatory change and pre- and post-COVID-19 pandemic declaration periods, suggesting shifts in topic focus salience across time., Conclusions: Co-use discussions on social media during this time of regulatory change and social upheaval typically portrayed both vaping and alcohol use in a positive light. It also included debates surrounding the differences in regulation of the 2 substances-particularly as it related to limiting youth access. Emergent themes from the analysis suggest that alcohol was perceived as more harmful but less regulated and more accessible to underage youth than vaping products. Frequent discussions and comparisons of the 2 substances as it relates to their regulation emphasize the still-evolving vaping policy landscape. Social media content analyses during times of change may help regulators and policy makers to better understand and respond to common concerns and potential misconceptions surrounding drug-related policies and accessibility., (©Lynsie R Ranker, David Assefa Tofu, Manyuan Lu, Jiaxi Wu, Aruni Bhatnagar, Rose Marie Robertson, Derry Wijaya, Traci Hong, Jessica L Fetterman, Ziming Xuan. Originally published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (https://www.jmir.org), 12.11.2024.)

To cope with the COVID-19 pandemic, many countries are implementing social measures. Social distancing, working from home, and non-face-to-face lectures have led to major changes in people's activities. Since face-to-face classes are restricted, students in higher education become to feel psychological and cognitive discomforts such as isolation and risk perception. The purpose of this study is to explore the effects of psychological discomforts on the social network site (SNS) usage intensity of University students. Using structural equation modeling (SEM), this study applied SmartPLS 3.3.9 to analyze 271 valid samples. The results show that the affective risk perception significantly affects social distancing attitude. Cognitive risk perception is positively related to social distancing intention. In addition, cabin fever syndrome influences SNS usage intensity, affective risk perception, and cognitive risk perception. In conclusion, psychological discomfort partially affects the intensity of SNS use. Therefore, the government should set policies by reflecting citizens' mental difficulties and SNS activities together. Moreover, companies are needed to carefully consider the risk of the sense of isolation when marketing to SNS users. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, people use social networking sites (SNSs) to seek social support, ease the move toward the social distance, and communicate and engage with one another. However, there is growing evidence that trustworthiness and quality of information can affect individuals' online engagement behaviors. This study proposes a theoretical model to test people's online engagement during the COVID-19 pandemic by applying the elaboration likelihood model (ELM). Through a questionnaire survey of 630 SNS users, the study examines whether and how source credibility and information quality affect people's online engagement during the COVID-19 pandemic. The model was tested using structural equation modeling. The findings show that source credibility and information quality have a significantly positive relationship with perceived benefit, while negative and significantly associated with perceived risk. Furthermore, perceived benefit is a stronger predictor of online public engagement than the perceived risk. To improve online public engagement as a crisis response strategy, careful source selection and careful generation of online crisis information should not be overlooked. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social media sites play a significant role in the present generation especially among university students. The research assess the effect of networking site on Students’ Academic Performance and examine the effect of social networking site on Students’ extra curriculum activities. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and multiple regression analysis. The study found that there is positive relationship between social networking site and students’ academic performance, the analysis also revealed that there is significant relationship between social networking site and students’ extra curriculum activities. The study therefore recommends that Social media sites are a strong tool that can support excellent academic performance to university students. Students should therefore be allowed to have a choice of social media site they are willing to use especially when using it for learning.

During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, people use social networking sites (SNSs) to seek social support, ease the move toward the social distance, and communicate and engage with one another. However, there is growing evidence that trustworthiness and quality of information can affect individuals’ online engagement behaviors. This study proposes a theoretical model to test people’s online engagement during the COVID-19 pandemic by applying the elaboration likelihood model (ELM). Through a questionnaire survey of 630 SNS users, the study examines whether and how source credibility and information quality affect people’s online engagement during the COVID-19 pandemic. The model was tested using structural equation modeling. The findings show that source credibility and information quality have a significantly positive relationship with perceived benefit, while negative and significantly associated with perceived risk. Furthermore, perceived benefit is a stronger predictor of online public engagement than the perceived risk. To improve online public engagement as a crisis response strategy, careful source selection and careful generation of online crisis information should not be overlooked.

Predicting personality traits from social networking site profiles can help to assess individual differences in verbal reasoning without using long questionnaires. Inspired by earlier studies, which investigated whether abstract-thinking ability are predictable by social networking sites data, we used supervised machine learning to predict verbal-reasoning ability based on a proposed set of features extracted from virtual community membership. A large sample (N = 3,646) of Russian young adults aged 18–22 years approved access to the data from their social networking accounts and completed an online test on verbal reasoning. We experimented with binary classification machine-learning models for verbal-reasoning prediction. Prediction performance was tested on isolated control subsamples for men and women. The results of prediction on AUC-ROC metrics for control subsamples over 0.7 indicated reasonably good performance on predicting verbal-reasoning level. We also investigated the contribution of virtual community's genres to verbal reasoning level prediction for male and female participants. Theoretical interpretations of results stemming from both Vygotsky's sociocultural theory and behavioural genomics are discussed, including the implication that virtual communities make up a non-shared environment that can cause variance in verbal reasoning. We intend to conduct studies to explore the implications of the results further.

Objective: The current study aimed to investigate the effect of SNS use on graduate students’ depression and further explored the effect of negative social comparison and an individual’s implicit personality theory. Methods: Scales for Social Networking Site Use Intensity, the Negative Social Comparison Measure, the Implicit Personality Theory Inventory, and CES-D were used to investigate 1792 graduate students from a full-time university in Wuhan. Result: (1) Social networking site use was positively correlated with negative social comparison and depression; (2) the mediating effect of negative social comparison was significant in social networking site use’s influence on depression; (3) after controlling for negative social comparison, graduate students’ use of SNS could negatively predict depression; and (4) the mediation effect of negative social comparison was moderated by an individual’s implicit personality theory. Specifically, the mediation effect was more pronounced among the entity theorists, while the graduate students’ incremental implicit personality theory may buffer the depressive effect of negative social comparison. Conclusions: Negative social comparison mediates the relationship between SNS use and depression; in addition, individual differences in implicit personality theory (the entity theorist vs. incremental theorist) moderate the link between negative social comparison and depression.

Social adjustment to college can be challenging, and social networking sites (SNSs) may ease the process. SNSs as an adjustment tool may be particularly useful for those who have relatively limited social support in their proximal environments, such as first-generation college students. This study explored how first-generation and continuing students used Facebook and Instagram, and how their usage was related to college social adjustment. Survey data from 251 undergraduates (M age = 19.55; 33% first generation) showed that first-generation students engaged in less Facebook interaction with on-campus friends than continuing students. For both groups, SNS interaction with on-campus friends was related to better social adjustment. Continuing students' Instagram interaction with family was also related to better adjustment. In contrast, first-generation students' Instagram interaction with off-campus friends and Instagram broadcasting were both related to poor adjustment. In conclusion, the two groups used SNSs in similar manners, but the implications of SNS use for college adjustment varied by students' first-generation status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scientifically based social network lifestyle intervention did not reduce 10-year cardiovascular risk but improved certain NCD risk factors over 12 months. Facebook plus health professionals group reduced overweight, diabetes risk and total number of risk factors, and Facebook only group reduced inadequate fruit-and-vegetable intake and smoking compared to control. Objective: To determine if scientifically based social network (Facebook) lifestyle interventions reduce 10-year cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. Methods: Financial sector employees (n  = 300) were equally randomly assigned: Facebook plus Health Professionals (FB+HP), Facebook (FB), or control (C). We report changes in 10-year Framingham risk score (FRS) for CVD (%) and risk factors over 12 months. Results: FRS did not change within and between groups. Overweight (−7.4% vs −5.6%, P   =  0.005) and diabetes risk (–10.7% vs 0.2%, P   =  0.011) reduced significantly in FB+HP versus FB and C, respectively. Inadequate fruit/vegetable intake (–9.4% vs 3.6%, P   =  0.011) and smoking (–0.7% vs 14.9%) reduced significantly in FB versus C. No significant changes in physical activity, central obesity, hypertension, and hypercholesterolemia between groups. Conclusions: Scientifically based social network lifestyle intervention programs could be included in workplace health promotional programmes to improve certain non-communicable disease risk factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This paper discusses the use of Twitter as a news source, especially in data journalism. This practice uses public databases as sources for its investigations, but has now started to make use of less conventional sources, such as Twitter, which politicians now use as an official communication channel and thus avoid giving interviews to the press. In this study, we analyze news articles published over a period of a little less than two months by the data journalism team at Vortex Media. Our focus was on political coverage. Twitter may be classified as a reproductive or statistical documentary news sources, depending on the case. We argue that, by using this social networking site as a news source, data journalism could be able to provide new knowledge. Its limitations lie within the working order of the social network itself, which is highly mediated by algorithms and conditioned to spread disinformation. Este artigo discute o uso do Twitter como fonte, em especial no jornalismo guiado por dados. Conhecida por investigar a partir de bancos de dados públicos, esta prática tem acessado fontes menos convencionais, a exemplo da plataforma, à medida que os políticos a tratam como canal oficial de comunicação e evitam conceder entrevistas à imprensa. Neste estudo, analisamos notícias publicadas pela equipe de dados do site jornalístico Vortex Media em pouco menos de dois meses, observando que a cobertura política se destaca nesse contexto. O Twitter pode ser classificado como fonte documental do tipo reprodução ou estatística, dependendo do caso. Defendemos que o jornalismo guiado por dados tem potencial para promover conhecimento inédito a partir do uso desse site de rede social como fonte; suas limitações estão na própria condição da rede, mediada por algoritmos e propícia para o espalhamento de desinformação. Este artículo analiza el uso de Twitter como fuente, especialmente en el periodismo de datos. Conocido por investigar desde bases de datos públicas, esta práctica ha accedido a fuentes menos convencionales, como la plataforma, ya que los políticos la tratan como un canal oficial de comunicación y evitan dar entrevistas a la prensa. En este estudio, analizamos las noticias publicadas por el equipo de datos del sitio periodístico Vortex Media en poco menos de dos meses, señalando que la cobertura política se destaca en este contexto. Twitter puede clasificarse como fuente documental reproductiva o estadística, según el caso. Argumentamos que el periodismo de datos tiene el potencial de promover el conocimiento sin precedentes del uso de este sitio de redes sociales como fuente; sus limitaciones están en la condición de esta red, mediada por algoritmos y propicia para la difusión de la desinformación.

Objective: Social networking sites (SNSs) provide users with a variety of opportunities to encounter political disagreement. One important factor of the encounters with disagreement could be social endorsements because SNS users can easily engage with other people's posts via functions, such as liking and retweeting. The goal of this study is to test the hypothesis by examining the relationship between social endorsements, exposure to political disagreement (XPD), and information seeking. Methods: We use a national survey conducted during the 2016 U.S. presidential election campaign. Ordinary least squares regression models are specified for analysis. Results: We find that SNS users who prefer reading political information endorsed by others are more likely to encounter political disagreement. We also find that XPD on SNSs encourages people to search for more information about the counter‐attitudinal posts, especially when the encountered disagreement is perceived to have good arguments and rationales. Conclusion: Overall, social endorsement enhances the probability of XPD on SNSs. This in turn facilitates individuals' search for more information, an important feature in democracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the background of current information era and the important role of body image in the health and well-being of female adolescents, this study aimed to investigate the moderating role of body image flexibility on the association between photo-related activities on SNS (social networking site) and body dissatisfaction among female adolescents in China. A total of 646 female adolescents were recruited to complete a set of questionnaires concerning the photo-related activities on WeChat Moments (the most widely used SNS in China), body image flexibility, and body dissatisfaction. The results showed that photo-related activities were positively associated with body dissatisfaction, and body image flexibility could significantly moderate this association, with a more significant effect for individuals with low levels of body image flexibility. This study not only contributes Chinese data and findings to this research theme, but also deepens our understanding by investigating the moderating mechanism; the results were also discussed in terms of limitations and implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]