Content shared on social media for national cancer survivors day 2018.

BACKGROUND:Studies estimate that the number of cancer survivors will double by 2050 due to improvements in diagnostic accuracy and treatment efficacy. Despite the growing population of cancer survivors, there is a paucity of research regarding how these individuals experience the transition from active treatment to long-term surveillance. While research has explored this transition from more organized venues, such as support groups for cancer survivors, this paper explores the discourses surrounding cancer survivorship on social media, paying particular attention to how individuals who identify as cancer survivors represent their experience. METHODS:We identified social media posts relating to cancer survivorship on Twitter and Instagram in early June 2018, in order to coincide with National Cancer Survivorship Day on June 3, 2018. We used nine pre-selected hashtags to identify content. For each hashtag, we manually collected the 150 most recent posts from Twitter and the 100 most recent plus the top 9 posts from Instagram. Our preliminary sample included 1172 posts; after eliminating posts from one hashtag due to irrelevance, we were left with 1063 posts. We randomly sampled 200 of these to create a subset for analysis; after review for irrelevant posts, 193 posts remained for analysis (118 from Instagram and 75 from Twitter). We utilized a grounded theory approach to analyze the posts, first open-coding a subset to develop a codebook, then applying the codebook to the rest of the sample and finally memo writing to develop themes. RESULTS:Overall, there is substantial difference in the tone and thematic content between Instagram and Twitter posts, Instagram takes on a more narrative form that represents journeys through cancer treatment and subsequent survivorship, whereas Twitter is more factual, leaning towards advocacy, awareness and fundraising. In terms of content type, 120 posts (62%) of the sample were images, of which 42 (35%) were images of the individual posting and 28 (23%) were images of patients posted by family or friends. Of the remaining images, 14 (12%) were of support groups and 7 (6%) were of family or friends. We identified four salient themes through analysis of the social media posts from Twitter and Instagram: social support, celebrating milestones and honoring survivors, expressing identity, and renewal vs. rebirth. DISCUSSION:We observed a marked relationship between physical appearance, functional status and survivorship. Additionally, our findings suggest the importance of social support for cancer patients and survivors as well as the role social media can pay in identity formation. CONCLUSION:Our findings suggest that individuals who identify as survivors on social media define their identity fluidly, incorporating elements of physical, emotional and psychological health as well as autonomy

ICT, CYBER-BULLYING, AND SELF-DISCLOSURE: AN EXPERIENTIAL STUDY OF TWITTER

With the advent of the Internet and the convergence of communications technologies, cyber-bullying has become a perennial issue among media scholars and educators. Across the globe, the Internet is no longer just a medium that facilitates the movement of data in the information superhighway; it has become the medium for peers to inflict harm on others. This paper, therefore, explores how cyber-bullying is manifested on its victims and its negative effects on self-disclosure. The survey method was used to gather data with the questionnaire as the major instrument of data collection. The paper found out that 46% of the respondents have been cyber-bullied, while 87% had witnessed other persons cyber-bullied on Twitter. In addition, 55% agreed that they bully others on Twitter, while 44% indicated that they retaliate in verbal and visuals forms whenever they are cyber-bullied. The paper recommends that the developing countries like Nigeria should establish laws and policies to discourage the act of cyber-bullying while non-governmental organizations should join the crusade against cyber-bullying.Keywords: Internet, Cyber-bullying, Self-disclosure, Young people, Twitte

ICT, CYBER-BULLYING, AND SELF-DISCLOSURE: AN EXPERIENTIAL STUDY OF TWITTER

With the advent of the Internet and the convergence of communications technologies, cyber-bullying has become a perennial issue among media scholars and educators. Across the globe, the Internet is no longer just a medium that facilitates the movement of data in the information superhighway; it has become the medium for peers to inflict harm on others. This paper, therefore, explores how cyber-bullying is manifested on its victims and its negative effects on self-disclosure. The survey method was used to gather data with the questionnaire as the major instrument of data collection. The paper found out that 46% of the respondents have been cyber-bullied, while 87% had witnessed other persons cyber-bullied on Twitter. In addition, 55% agreed that they bully others on Twitter, while 44% indicated that they retaliate in verbal and visuals forms whenever they are cyber-bullied. The paper recommends that the developing countries like Nigeria should establish laws and policies to discourage the act of cyber-bullying while non-governmental organizations should join the crusade against cyber-bullying.Keywords: Internet, Cyber-bullying, Self-disclosure, Young people, Twitte

Big Brother is Listening to You: Digital Eavesdropping in the Advertising Industry

In the Digital Age, information is more accessible than ever. Unfortunately, that accessibility has come at the expense of privacy. Now, more and more personal information is in the hands of corporations and governments, for uses not known to the average consumer. Although these entities have long been able to keep tabs on individuals, with the advent of virtual assistants and “always-listening” technologies, the ease by which a third party may extract information from a consumer has only increased. The stark reality is that lawmakers have left the American public behind. While other countries have enacted consumer privacy protections, the United States has no satisfactory legal framework in place to curb data collection by greedy businesses or to regulate how those companies may use and protect consumer data. This Article contemplates one use of that data: digital advertising. Inspired by stories of suspiciously well-targeted advertisements appearing on social media websites, this Article additionally questions whether companies have been honest about their collection of audio data. To address the potential harms consumers may suffer as a result of this deficient privacy protection, this Article proposes a framework wherein companies must acquire users\u27 consent and the government must ensure that businesses do not use consumer information for harmful purposes

Corporate twitter channels: The impact of engagement and informedness on corporate reputation

__Abstract__ This article examines firm communication on a corporate Twitter channel and its effects on corporate reputation. We identify the importance of user engagement and informedness in explaining corporate reputation, and examine three design factors that likely affect user engagement in a corporate Twitter channel. We conduct an exploratory 2 × 2 × 2 experiment among Twitter users to collect data. We find that the depth of the relationship among users, the level of corporate involvement, and the purpose of the channel interactively influence user engagement. Our findings suggest that deeper relationships among users of a corporate Twitter channel lead to higher user engagement when the level of corporate involvement with the channel is high and when the channel has a specific purpose, but not when the level of corporate involvement is high and the channel has a generic purpose. Surprisingly, when the channel has a generic purpose, a high degree of corporate involvement actually decreases user engagement. This finding implies that, under certain circumstances, a lower degree of corporate involvement in a social media channel may be more desirable. We also find that channel credibility positively influences user informedness. This is the first study that examines the dynamics of communication through a corporate Twitter channel. It contributes to the previous research related to social media by identifying engagement and informedness as two major factors that influence firms’ reputation. Our research can help marketing and social media managers to decide on channel design aspects such as whether to require users to register with an identity or to allow anonymous participation, whether to allocate dedicated employees to respond to user requests, and whether to set up different channels for different purposes

An exploratory investigation on the effects of online social networking sites on college students

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects online social networking sites have on college students, mainly the effects on their communication. A study at Rowan University was conducted using a random selection of undergraduate students. The Rowan Subject pool was used to recruit students. Although each student was in different majors, all of the students were in an introduction to psychology course. To examine the effects online social networking sites have on college students, there were two separate groups of students designed to interact with one another in two different ways. A group was instructed to communicate face-to-face on a topic and the group were audio and visually recorded. The other group was instructed to communicate through a Facebook page created by the researcher. A status was posted on the main page and the subjects were instructed to communication via Facebook. To examine communication, the number of words was counted. I hypothesized due to the increased use of online social networking sites; the group communicating through Facebook would have a higher word count than the group communicating face-to-face

“What’s happening?” Assessing the Sustainability of Virtual Professional Learning Communities on Social Media: A Quantitative Study of ‘Sense of Community’

While research has highlighted the multifaceted benefits of Twitter as an informal professional learning resource, there remains a lack of literature that adequately teases apart the dynamic underpinnings of these types of informal professional learning communities (Thacker, 2017; Visser et al., 2014). Greenhow & Gleason (2012) posited that there is a need to better understand Twitter’s place within the education profession, as well as “how participants understand their experiences and place within the Twitter community and beyond” (p. 473). Grounded in ‘sense of community’ theory, this study examined ‘sense of community’ as a construct supporting the #SSChat community’s sustainability. Additionally, I endeavored to determine whether a statistically significant correlation existed between perceived SOC and sustainability of #SSChat community participants, and whether statistically significant correlations existed between each of the four independent SOC tenets and sustainability. Findings from this study produced implications to inform future strategic planning efforts to strengthen the #SSChat community on Twitter. Moreover, they support the #SSChat as a viable form of social studies education professional development and have implications for similar social media-based informal professional learning communities, as well as the field of social studies education in general

Effectiveness of Corporate Social Media Activities to Increase Relational Outcomes

This study applies social media analytics to investigate the impact of different corporate social media activities on user word of mouth and attitudinal loyalty. We conduct a multilevel analysis of approximately 5 million tweets regarding the main Twitter accounts of 28 large global companies. We empirically identify different social media activities in terms of social media management strategies (using social media management tools or the web-frontend client), account types (broadcasting or receiving information), and communicative approaches (conversational or disseminative). We find positive effects of social media management tools, broadcasting accounts, and conversational communication on public perception