Snapping Live: Exploring the Effects of Ephemerality Nature of Messaging in Social Media Settings

Ephemeral messaging apps such as Snapchat has become a very popular app with young adults. The Snapchat application defined as an instant messaging app that allows its users to take pictures, videos, add a captions, doodles and send the content to a friend or add it to the user’s story. Importantly, “the snaps” will self-destruct after a specified period of time. Further investigation regarding the effects of using ephemeral nature of messaging in Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC) is explored in the theoretical framework of Hyperpersonal. This study was designed to examine the role of ephemeral nature of messaging in social media settings. Using responses from an online survey regarding Snapchat intensity, Self-Disclosure, Self- Presentation, Social Presence, Self-Destructing Messages and synchronous communication scales were examined. Direct relationships were examined with simple correlation. Finally, a complete model was tested using structural equation modeling. Results demonstrate that Snapchat users mainly share selfies that are mostly taken at home and primarily for communication with close friends and family. Also, results of SEM model indicate that Snapchat intensity was significantly related to Hyperpersonal communication (Walther, 1996). However, it was found that Social Presence, Ephemerality: Self-Destructing Messages scales are positive predictors of Ephemerality: Synchronicity. The findings are seen as an attempt to adapt the framework of Hyperpersonal theory (Walther, 1996). The results of the study will allow the researcher to better understand and measure the Ephemerality: Synchronicity and Hyperpersonal constructs as well as increase researchers understanding of the role of ephemerality nature of messaging in social media platforms

Adolescents’ perceptions of digital media’s potential to elicit jealousy, conflict and monitoring behaviors within romantic relationships

Understanding the role of digital media in adolescents’ romantic relationships is essential to the prevention of digital dating violence. This study focuses on adolescents’ perceptions of the impact of digital media on jealousy, conflict, and control within their romantic relationships. Twelve focus group interviews were conducted, among 55 secondary school students (ngirls = 28; 51% girls) between the ages of 15 and 18 years (Mage = 16.60 years; SD age = 1.21), in the Dutch-speaking community of Belgium. The respondents identified several sources of jealousy within their romantic relationships, such as online pictures of the romantic partner with others and online messaging with others. Adolescents identified several ways in which romantic partners would react when experiencing feelings of jealousy, such as contacting the person they saw as a threat or looking up the other person’s social media profiles. Along with feelings of jealousy, respondents described several monitoring behaviors, such as reading each other’s e-mails or accessing each other’s social media accounts. Adolescents also articulated several ways that they curated their social media to avoid conflict and jealousy within their romantic relationships. For instance, they adapted their social media behavior by avoiding the posting of certain pictures, or by ceasing to comment on certain content of others. The discussion section includes suggestions for future research and implications for practice, such as the need to incorporate information about e-safety into sexual and relational education and the need to have discussions with adolescents, about healthy boundaries for communication within their friendships and romantic relationships.</jats:p

THE ROLE OF INSTANT MESSANGING ON THE EFFECTIVENESS OF LECTURER'S PERFORMANCE AT THE UNIVERSITAS ABDURRAB

Recently education has a high demand in terms of communication services, instant messaging (IM) becomes an option in communicating in University as the service increases in accordance with user needs. Previous works have suggested that the use of IM may disrupt the working activities. But in recent years research shown that IM utilization had increased in work life. By using IM technology allows the information shared quickly, precisely and accurately, so that surely will improve the effectiveness of work. Lecturers are the critical aspectto make a better improvement of the university its self. With the development of communication technology will impact the emergence of various types of activities based on technology, all of which are based on electronics such as instant messaging which will help the effectiveness of lecturer's performance. This research uses quantitative method to measure the significance of the effect of instant messaging on the performance of lecturers at the Universitas Abdurrab. This research shown that all lecturers using instant messaging in their work have a significant influence on their performance. Through this research is expected to contribute to encourage efforts to increase the use of Instant Messaging, so that the Internet Service Providers can provide more specific services for the education, especially in the university to support the establishment of e-education and e-management

Exploring children's social and moral behaviour in a technology context

The central argument of this thesis is that disclosure of certain information via computer-mediated communication technologies influence specific behaviours in relation to trust, and betrayal for children and young people. The main aim of this thesis is to extend the computer mediated communication literature by investigating young people‘s use of digital communication devices in an effort to explore interactions between methods of computer mediated communication and young people‘s subsequent social and moral behaviour. The thesis begins with qualitative analyses of data gathered via focus groups to raise a broad range of issues important to the young user rather than the issues deemed important by parents and educators. Young people indicate clearly that they are aware of the safety issues that concern parents and academics eager to protect them from predators. Whilst the single most popular reason they identify for engaging with technology is to communicate, they identify three key areas of concern related to technology use; usage preferences, positive aspects of technology use and negative aspects of technology use. The topics relating to the latter two themes combine social and moral behaviours forming a preliminary framework for understanding behaviour within the HCI agenda. Subjective and objective methodology is implemented, typically via questionnaires and content analysis. In depth examination and assessment of those concerns deemed important to the young user is achieved via questionnaire studies developed from the issues raised in the focus groups. Building upon the preliminary framework identified in the first study, the thesis employs a questionnaire study to examine whether technology has an impact on trust by young people and how any betrayal of trust might impact on their subsequent behaviour. The questionnaire studies reveal that for young people dynamics of trust and forgiveness are functions of both type of medium chosen to convey information, as well as the recipient to whom the information is related. Further investigation confirms that similar elements exist for older users communicating via digital communication technologies. Subsequent investigation reveals that as young users of computer mediated communication adopt each new alternative communication medium, they then manipulate that new medium to fit their communication needs by using them in such a way as to enhance the speed and quality of communication

User Determinism: A Study of the Determination of Gratifications on the Uses of China’s WeChat

Modern social media have been being multi-functionalized. Some social media companies add more functions to their products in order to gratify more personal needs of their customers. Contrary to devoting to gratify users’ needs, some other media companies make smart marketing strategies, which aim to influence consumers’ behavior for motivating them to conduct financial transactions. However, marketing strategies are only effective in a certain period on a certain group of people. In contrast, gratifying users’ needs is always an effective way to obtain a large amount of users. China’s WeChat, one currently dominant social messaging application in Chinese Mainland, as is such an multi-functionalized social medium that keeps adding more features for gratifying user needs in order to earn large usage, rather than applies marketing strategies to attract users. I conducted a survey and received 788 responses. From the results, it can be seen that how important WeChat features are to users; why users chose to use WeChat more than other social media; and what other needs users want WeChat to gratify. The results point out that a large number of people choose to use a social medium frequently is because this social medium is capable to gratify a variety of their needs. Gratifying user needs is a more effective and everlasting way to earn more users and usage, rather than influencing user behavior through smart marketing strategies