Selective exposure on Facebook

This study investigated the causes and consequences of selective exposure on Facebook. The sample included Dutch and Slovenian (N = 134) undergraduate students. The results show that people who see, read, or click more news posts on Facebook feel more informed about the current political issues. Moreover, using Facebook as the main source of news was shown t go strongly influence the strength of the opinions towards political topics, namely immigration and membership in the EU. In overall, the study suggests that ideological selectivity to political information is influenced by the use of social media. &nbsp

Social media and democracy

Slowly approaching the second quarter of the 21st century, research on social media and its effects over democracy has quickly permeated across various fields in social sciences, particularly political communication. Based on accumulated evidence in this strand of literature, this paper briefly summarizes several established research areas. First, it highlights how social media facilitates individuals’ political expression. Second, it sheds light on how this enhanced communicative behavior has reinvigorated a more participatory society in democracy. Third, it examines social media’s democratic deficit mechanisms in regards to stagnant political knowledge acquisition. Finally, the paper offers a theoretical explanation to this lack of knowledge acquisition through the lenses of the ‘news-finds-me’ perception theory. Overall, the present manuscript explains specific ways in which social media helps and hinders the advancement of healthy democracies, thereby also providing promising guidelines for future research. 

Social media and democracy

Slowly approaching the second quarter of the 21st century, research on social media and its effects over democracy has quickly permeated across various fields in social sciences, particularly political communication. Based on accumulated evidence in this strand of literature, this paper briefly summarizes several established research areas. First, it highlights how social media facilitates individuals’ political expression. Second, it sheds light on how this enhanced communicative behavior has reinvigorated a more participatory society in democracy. Third, it examines social media’s democratic deficit mechanisms in regards to stagnant political knowledge acquisition. Finally, the paper offers a theoretical explanation to this lack of knowledge acquisition through the lenses of the ‘news-finds-me’ perception theory. Overall, the present manuscript explains specific ways in which social media helps and hinders the advancement of healthy democracies, thereby also providing promising guidelines for future research

Mídias sociais e suas interseções com liberdade de expressão, liberdade de informação e privacidade. Uma análise

Nowadays, there is a growing debate on the impact of social media on society, particularly on its potential negative effects. Therefore, this research is focused on three intersections of social media and fundamental freedoms: free speech, freedom of information and privacy. We begin analyzing social networking sites and social media role and evolution since their birth at the beginning of 21st century and remarking their positive aspects. Our objective is to identify malpractices related to social media and fundamental freedoms. A review of the literature is presented which outlines those malpractices. This review highlights some issues, such as arbitrary censorship, boundaries of free speech, misinformation, diversity of sources, visions and views, user content and privacy settings, and data profiling. Finally, we propose some solutions for each one of those issues.Actualmente existe un debate creciente sobre del impacto de las redes sociales en la sociedad. Los potenciales efectos negativos de estos medios han despertado el interés y la cautela de los académicos. Esta investigación se centra en tres intersecciones de las redes sociales y las libertades fundamentales: libertad de expresión, libertad de información y privacidad. Se analiza en primer lugar las redes sociales y su evolución desde su nacimiento a principios del siglo XXI, y destacando sus aspectos positivos. Se propone así identificar las malas prácticas relacionadas con redes sociales y libertades fundamentales. Se presenta una revisión de la literatura que subraya esas malas prácticas. Esta revisión destaca asuntos como la censura arbitraria, los límites de la libertad de expresión, la desinformación, la diversidad de fuentes, visiones y perspectivas, el contenido del usuario y los ajustes de privacidad, y la creación de perfiles de datos. Por último se proponen algunas soluciones para cada uno de estos asuntos.Atualmente, há um crescente debate sobre o impacto das redes sociais na sociedade. Os potenciais efeitos negativos desses meios de comunicação despertaram o interesse e a cautela dos acadêmicos. Esta pesquisa enfoca três interseções de redes sociais e liberdades fundamentais: liberdade de expressão, liberdade de informação e privacidade. Primeiramente, são analisadas as redes sociais e sua evolução desde o nascimento, no início do século XXI, destacando seus aspectos positivos. Assim, propõe-se identificar más práticas relacionadas às redes sociais e liberdades fundamentais. Uma revisão da literatura que destaca essas más práticas é apresentada. Esta revisão destaca questões como censura arbitrária, limites à liberdade de expressão, desinformação, diversidade de fontes, visões e perspectivas, conteúdo do usuário e configurações de privacidade e criação de perfis de dados. Por fim, são propostas algumas soluções para cada um desses assuntos

Close to politics and to policies: subjective knowledge about referendum topics in Eastern Europe

Citizens with political knowledge can contribute to the quality of democracy in their country. Previous research has established the existence of differences between the actual (objective) and perceived (subjective) level of political knowledge, but the factors driving citizens’ subjective political knowledge in a specific setting in which they can take direct decisions remain unclear. To explain what determines subjective knowledge about referendum topics among voters, the present analysis focuses on seven referendums held in Eastern Europe between 2015 and 2019 in Bulgaria, Hungary, Moldova, Poland, Romania (twice), and Slovakia. We use individual-level data from surveys conducted in the aftermath of each referendum with a total number of 1825 actual voters. The results indicate that more politically engaged citizens, those who trust parties and are satisfied with democracy, and those who are critical towards the government consider themselves more informed about the referendum topics

La configuración invisible del espacio digital: el caso de Facebook

La neutralidad en la red no existe. El espacio digital puede ser adaptado de forma automática al perfil de cada usuario. Sin que este tenga que identificarse, las empresas de gestión de contenidos en Internet disponen de suficientes datos de cualquier individuo para poder filtrar los resultados de su búsqueda y personalizarlos, sin previo aviso, condicionando así su experiencia en la red. Esta investigación, de carácter exploratorio, aborda en primer lugar la descripción del espacio público digital. En segundo lugar, plantea una tipología de espacios digitales que se definen en función del grado de adaptación de los contenidos al usuario. Finalmente, presenta un análisis de caso de espacio social digital personalizado. Concretamente, el estudio se centra en el caso de Facebook y utiliza como referencia el experimento llevado a cabo por la red social Facebook, que implicó la alteración de los contenidos del News Feed de 689.000 personas

A mixed-methods analysis of the effects of Facebook-based social support on health across Australian metropolitan and regional communities: does social media go the distance?

Facebook is a feature in contemporary life and can provide feelings of social support, which buffer the relationship between life stress and physical and mental health outcomes. It has been hypothesised that geographically-diverse communities may use Facebook to compensate for limited opportunities to access face-to-face social support. This thesis examines the role of Facebook-based social support on physical and mental health concerns for both regional and metropolitan Australians through a sequential mixed methods approach, and is presented as a thesis by publication. Four papers were submitted to peer-reviewed journals based on the research conducted for this thesis. These included a systematic review of the Facebook-based social support literature, two quantitative papers examining the effects of Facebook-social support on health across two samples of metropolitan and regional Australians, and a qualitative paper exploring the thoughts and feelings of regional Australians towards Facebook. The systematic literature review focused on 27 studies which examined the effects of Facebook-based social support on mental and physical health outcomes. The results of the systematic literature review found that Facebook-based social support improved general physical and mental health, as well as well-being. It was also found to reduce symptomology associated with mental illness, including depression, anxiety, online victimisation, and loneliness. The quantitative papers aimed to evaluate Facebook-based social in the context of the two main models of social support (the buffering hypothesis and the direct effect hypothesis). These papers drew on a sample of regional (n = 162) and metropolitan (n = 212) Facebook users. The results of the quantitative papers showed that greater levels of Facebook-based social support predicted lower levels of health concerns and mental distress in the metropolitan-based sample. No association between Facebook-based social support and health concerns was found in the regional sample. The qualitative paper focused on exploring the thoughts and feelings of fifteen regionally-based Australian Facebook users on Facebook and its use in their communities. The themes identified in the qualitative paper showed that regional Australians strongly engaged with Facebook as a communication utility and a local message board. The interviewees reported that Facebook was important to maintain social connections, however face-to-face social interactions were more meaningful. These findings show that the use of Facebook as a mechanism for social support, and its effects on health, vary across geographical locations, and appears to be mainly found in a metropolitan population. This research also shows that, while metropolitan users draw on Facebook-based social networks for social support, regionally-based users engage with Facebook as a communication utility rather than a social networking site. This difference might explain the difference in effects of Facebook-based social support on health outcomes across the two populations. This research highlights the need for further research into social media engagement across geographically diverse populations to establish methods of health-improving engagement with Facebook