Beyond the authenticity bind - Finstagram as an escape from the attention economy

Our study examines ‘Finstagramming’ as a resistance strategy from influencers trying to circumvent the prescriptive nature and restrictive algorithm of Instagram. Without ever leaving the platform, Finstagram acts as an emancipatory outlet that enables influencers to share more intimate, less-conforming and unpolished content without jeopardis-ing the highly curated, monetizable person-brand of their main account. Through a dual-method qualitative approach of netnography and in-depth interviews, we unravel this paradox of embedded escap-ism, where influencers toggle between main and Finsta accounts in their pursuit of authenticity. Our findings reveal the porosity of these multiple digital personae and differentiated digital work taking place on the platform. We argue that Finstagram affords a momentary escape from the digital attention economy whilst remaining tethered to socially mediated authenticity markers

The Journey to Self: An Intra-personal Perspective of Emotion Regulation on Social Networking Sites

Although social networking sites (SNS) users often share positive emotions in the content posted online, their satisfaction with SNS and intention to continue using it vary greatly across users. We argue that a key to addressing this puzzle is how content creators up-regulate their emotions on SNS. Building on emotion regulation theory and belongingness theory, we characterize digital emotion regulation in two ways (i.e., positive shift and emotional labor) and propose a dual-pathway model that involves two self-views. By constructing three complementary studies, we find that it is emotional labor, rather than positive shift, that drives a user’s sense of belonging through anticipated self-enhancement (i.e., communal self-view) and felt authenticity (i.e., authentic self-view) and explains the varying outcomes. Our findings reveal the benefits of deep acting and countervailing effects of surface acting. The present research provides important theoretical and practical implications

ANALISIS UJI VALIDITAS DAN RELIABILITAS INSTRUMEN ON-FOMO DENGAN PEMODELAN RASCH

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk memvalidasi instrumen ON-FOMO yang dikembangkan untuk responden generasi milenial Indonesia dengan menggunakan pemodelan Rasch.Fear of missing out (FOMO) mengarah pada sikap terhadap kecemasan dalam melewatkan momen yang terjadi di media sosial ketika sedang tidak terlibat di dalamnya. Sub dimensi dari FOMO didasari oleh: (1) need to belong, (2) need for popularity, (3) anxiety, (4) addiction. Instrumen ini diujikan pada 529 responden pengguna Instagram dan Facebook. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa ON-FOMO memiliki karakteristik psikometrik yang baik untuk mengukur fear of missing out(FOMO) pada sampel generasi milenial Indonesia. Semua asumsi pemodelan Rasch terpenuhi. Reliabilitas responden sebesar 0,83, reliabilitas butir sebesar 0,99, danreliabilitas instrumen sebe sar 0,85 menunjukkan konsistensi internal yang bagus sekali dari ON-FOMO versi Indonesia. Berdasarkan temuan ini, FOMO yang dialami masyarakat Indonesia dapat diukur dengan menggunakan instrumen ini. This study aims to validate the ON-FOMO instrument developed for Indonesian millennial generation respondents using Rasch model. Fear of missing out (FOMO) refers to an attitude towards anxiety about missing moments that occur on social media when they are not involved in it. The sub-dimensions of FOMO are based on: (1) need to belong, (2) need for popularity, (3) anxiety, (4) addiction. This instrument was tested on 529 respondents using Instagram and Facebook. The results showed that ONFOMO has good psychometric characteristics to measure FOMO in the Indonesian millennial generation sample. All assumptions of the Rasch model were fulfilled. Respondent reliability of 0.83, item reliability of 0.99, and instrument reliability of 0.85 showed excellent internal consistency of the Indonesian version of ON-FOMO. Basedon these findings, the FOMO experienced by the Indonesian people can be measured using this instrument

Stumbling onto New Ideas: Technical Structure and Interactional Norms on Online Social Media

In its early stages, the Internet was viewed as an open forum for sharing and learning. Now, with a few dominant social media sites mediating most web access and the popular conception of these sites as polarizing filter bubbles, the promise of the open web appears to have been compromised. However, users of the microblogging website Tumblr do not experience this effect, instead encountering new ideas and topics alongside the content with which they intend to engage. Through a survey of over 250 Tumblr users, computational analysis of blogs, and interviews with users, my thesis seeks to uncover why Tumblr has become fertile ground for exposure to new content, expanding users’ information networks rather than reinforcing their preconceptions. I identify the key technical features of the site and social norms that work in combination to create this effect. The technical affordances include Tumblr’s disconnect from users’ offline networks, the site’s less socially focused user experience, reblogs and tags, and the customizability and control given to blog owners. The social understandings that have developed within these affordances include perceived anonymity, low-risk participation, and self-centered blogging. Within the limitations and allowances imposed by these technical constraints and social rules, many users curate personal blogs where they post a diversity of content that reflects their own interests and thoughts. Because of the unsorted nature of the Tumblr dashboard, users that follow personal blogs will encounter all of the content posted on those blogs, and in this way, be exposed to topics and ideas they were not looking for originally

Adolescents, Social Media, and the Use of Self-Portraiture in Identity Formation

Adolescence is a time of maturation, integration of selves, and, in the modern age, digital performance on social media. Conflicts in the identity vs. role confusion stage of Eriksonian development are addressed throughout this research, although the existing literature rarely connects them to online trends. A qualitative survey, sent to high school students, explores the tension between self-doubt and the desire to be seen. Responses indicate that teens who post on social media are attempting to make sense of their formative years via the reactions of this networked world. Certain participants show resistance to the phenomenon of the Selfie, implying that some adolescents may view it as merely a passing fad. Participants’ contradictory attitudes concerning social media and the Selfie reflect the four most recurrent themes: duality, insecurity, freedom of expression, and the communication gap between adolescents and adults

The Online Authenticity Paradox: What Being “Authentic” on Social Media Means, and Barriers to Achieving It

People often strive to present themselves authentically on social media, but this may not be possible for everyone. To understand how people view online authenticity, how it relates to social media sharing behaviors, and whether it is achievable, we interviewed 28 social media users who had recently experienced major life transitions. We found that to many participants, online authenticity required presenting a consistent, positive, and “true” self across online and offline contexts. Though most stated that they considered online authenticity achievable, their social media self-disclosure behaviors around life transitions revealed what we call the online authenticity paradox: people strive to achieve online authenticity, yet because doing so requires sharing negative experiences on social media, online authenticity is often unreachable, or is possible only at great personal cost – especially for those with marginalized identities and difficult life experiences.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/169586/1/V5cscw423-haimsonA.pdfDescription of V5cscw423-haimsonA.pdf : Main articleSEL

This post is sponsored but all opinions are my own: does fashion blogging offer an authentic voice? An investigation into the credibility of fashion blogger sponsored content and blogger perspectives on the tensions between authenticity and commercialisation.

This study investigates the impact of commercial sponsorship upon fashion blogging, a form of digital communication that has become important in influencing online consumer behaviour. Fashion companies appreciate the marketing value of blogs and have utilised them to their own advantage. As a result, the fashion blogosphere has become increasingly commercialised. Existing research into changes in fashion blogging has generally focused upon the attitudes and perspectives of blog readers. Relatively little research investigates the attitude of fashion bloggers themselves. This thesis therefore specifically examines the attitudes of UK fashion bloggers as regards the impact of commercial sponsorship upon their practice and on the credibility and authenticity of their blog output. This study takes an interpretative, qualitative research approach with a combination of an online questionnaire and in-depth interviews. It focuses upon over 300 fashion bloggers divided into three distinct groups: young and old active bloggers and significantly a third group of bloggers who have discontinued the activity. A review of existing literature identified a number of key areas for exploration: the effect of sponsorship upon blogger motivation, design and content of blog output, the pressures upon bloggers resulting from accepting sponsorship rewards, blogger perception of the impact that commercialisation may have had upon their practice values, the potential effect of sponsorship upon their relationship with readers, their views on the changing status of the fashion blogosphere and their role as fashion bloggers. The findings offer a number of new perspectives upon the evolving fashion-blog sector, especially with reference to the following themes: the personal pressures felt by some fashion bloggers as a consequence of their involvement with commercial partnerships and the negative impact that this can have upon their mental health; the increased discrepancy between the ways in which fashion bloggers talk about their practice and the reality of their actual online behaviour as regards disclosure of sponsored material, self-censorship and reluctance to be critical; the increased priority that many fashion bloggers now place upon commercial opportunities rather than their relationship with readers. This research is of significance as it has explored the tensions affecting fashion blogger attitudes and practice from their own point of view. It has specifically analysed the general decline of social community in the fashion blogosphere and the impact that this has had upon the authenticity and credibility of the fashion blogger voice

The New Reality of the Digital World: Trolls

İnternetin, bilgi erişimi ve paylaşımı konusunda sunduğu olanaklar gün geçtikçe artmaktadır. İnternet kullanıcıları, içerik üretiminin ve paylaşımının yanında içeriklere yorum yapma olanağına sahip olmaktadır. Ancak bu durum, geçerli ve yararlı bilgiyi ayırt etmeyi zorlaştırmaktadır. Yanıltıcı, provokatif ya da hakaret içerikli iletilerin yaygınlaşmasıyla birlikte eleştirel düşünme, dijital okuryazarlık ve medya okuryazarlığı becerileri önem kazanmıştır. Bilgisayarlar aracılığıyla gerçekleştirilen iletişim ağının genişlemesi, çevrimiçi kullanıcıların etkileşim içinde oldukları forum, blog ve sosyal medya gibi platformların oluşumuna olanak sağlamıştır. Çevrimiçi ortamların yaygın kullanımı, farklı kullanıcıları tahrik ederek duygusal tepkiler vermeleri yönünde kışkırtmak anlamına gelen "Trollük" kavramının oluşumuna zemin hazırlamıştır. Bu çalışmanın amacı, trollük kavramını ve trollerin karakteristik özelliklerini trol motivasyonları, tanımı ve özellikleri bağlamında değerlendirebilmektir. Trollük örnekleri verildikten sonra trol davranışların nedenlerine, alanyazında bulunan trollük çalışmalarına ve bulgularına yer verilmiş; bunların yanında trollüğün önlenmesine yönelik öneriler sunulmuştur.The internet provides opportunities growingly for accessing and sharing information day by day. Internet users get to comment, besides of creating and sharing content. However, this situation makes difficult distinguishing true and useful information. The skills of critical thinking, digital literacy and media literacy have gained importance as a result of propagation of messages which contains misleading, provocative or insulting elements. The platforms such as forums, blogs and social media that users interact with each other online on, emerged from expanding of computer mediated communication. Widespread use of online platform paved the way for emerging of the concept of trolling which means provocating people to react emotionally. This study aims to evaluate the concept of trolling and characterics of the trolls in the context of motivations, definition and properties of trolling. Thus, after giving examples of trolling; the reasons results trolling and findings of other studies concerns trolling explained, besides that suggestions made for preventing trolling

Does being real pay off? : examining the impact of perceived authenticity in crisis communication

This study examines whether communicating with authenticity in a crisis situation can help produce more successful post-crisis results and if the type of crisis apology impacts the relationship between authenticity and post-crisis success. The theoretical framework is centered around the contingency theory of accommodation, the situational crisis communications theory, and findings from other fields on the impact of authenticity. Authenticity is hypothesized to have a positive effect on post-crisis outcomes, and it is also explored if there is an interaction effect between authenticity and degree of accommodation. The study uses a 2 (authenticity: present vs. not present) x 2 (type of crisis response: accommodative vs. advocating) mixed experimental design, where authenticity and type of crisis response both are between-subjects factors. For the experiment, 229 participants were presented with modified crisis scenarios and manipulated responses in an online setting and subsequently asked about how the organization handled the crisis. The experiment was repeated in two different scenarios focusing on the American Red Cross and United Airlines. The findings show that authentic crisis responses lead to significantly more positive crisis outcomes, measured on four different parameters than non-authentic crisis responses did. Whether an organization accommodated or not in their crisis response did not significantly impact the crisis outcomes, and the study also failed to find any interaction between authenticity and accommodation on crisis success.Includes bibliographical reference