Framing gaming

This study investigates the effects of media frames on attitudes toward video games, perceptions of their users, and consequences. Prior research has shown that gaming is a controversial issue, with media coverage focusing on either risks or opportunities. To examine the effects of these portrayals, the present study used a 2 × 2 experimental design and exposed participants (N = 360) to a news article that framed gaming in terms of risk or opportunity on the journalistic level and on the level of a corresponding expert statement. By examining the perceived negative effects of games, this study extends previous research by combining framing and third-person research. Results showed that framing gaming indeed had an effect on participants’ attitudes. This framing effect was moderated by individual video game use. Despite identifying a traditional third-person perception regarding negative video game effects, we found framing to have no significant influence on third-person perceptions

(A)synchronous Communication about TV Series on Social Media: A Multi-Method Investigation of Reddit Discussions

Audiences’ TV series entertainment experiences are increasingly shaped not only by the events on the ‘first screen’ but also by discussions on social media. While an extensive body of research has examined practices of ‘second screening,’ especially on Twitter, online discussions before and after the live broadcast and on other platforms have received less attention. On Reddit—one of the most important platforms for Social TV—discussions often take place in temporally structured threads that allow users to discuss an episode before (pre-premiere thread), during (live premiere thread), and after (post-premiere thread) it airs. In this project, we examine whether these spaces mainly indicate temporal preferences among users or are associated with different usage practices and motives. To do so, we conducted two case studies of the Reddit community r/gameofthrones: a survey about usage motives (n = 417) and an automated content analysis of approximately 1.2 million comments left on the episode discussion threads in which we examined thread use over time, interactions between users, and discussion content. The results revealed differing usage motives and practices for the three thread types, illustrating the distinct function that these communication spaces fulfil for users

Medijska pismenost i razvojni zadaci: Savezna Republika Njemačka kao studija slučaja

This article presents a skill-based media literacy model which can help to explain digital inequalities. The model integrates the everyday life of children and their developmental tasks. Under this concept, users are media literate if they are able to fulfil their developmental tasks successfully by using the media and to reflect upon the consequences and risks of their media use. In 2011, 82 German boys and girls were interviewed to gain a better understanding of the connections between internet use, media literacy and digital inequalities.U radu je predstavljen model medijske pismenosti koji se temelji na vještinama. Pretpostavlja se da taj model može pomoći da se objasne digitalne nejednakosti. Model ujedinjuje svakodnevni život djece i njihove razvojne zadatke. Prema predloženom konceptu za korisnike se može reći da su medijski pismeni ako su sposobni uspješno ispuniti razvojne zadatke koristeći medije, a očekuje se i da promišljaju o posljedicama i rizicima korištenja medija. 2011. godine intervjuirano je 82 djece u Njemačkoj s ciljem da se dobije bolji uvid u poveznice između korištenja interneta, medijske pismenosti i digitalnih nejednakosti

News Sharing in Social Media: A Review of Current Research on News Sharing Users, Content, and Networks

This article provides a review of scientific, peer-reviewed articles that examine the relationship between news sharing and social media in the period from 2004 to 2014. A total of 461 articles were obtained following a literature search in two databases (Communication & Mass Media Complete [CMMC] and ACM), out of which 109 were deemed relevant based on the study’s inclusion criteria. In order to identify general tendencies and to uncover nuanced findings, news sharing research was analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively. Three central areas of research—news sharing users, content, and networks—were identified and systematically reviewed. In the central concluding section, the results of the review are used to provide a critical diagnosis of current research and suggestions on how to move forward in news sharing research

What Does “Being Informed” Mean? Assessing Social Media Users’ Self-Concepts of Informedness

In recent years, much research has—more or less candidly—asked whether the use of social media platforms is “makingus dumber” (Cacciatore et al., 2018). Likewise, discussions around constructs such as the news‐finds‐me perceptionor illusions of knowledge point to concerns about social media users being inadequately informed. This assessment ofinadequacy, explicitly or implicitly, builds on the ideal of the informed citizen with a broad interest in current affairs whoknows about all important societal issues. However, research has largely ignored what citizens themselves understandas “being informed.” Accordingly, this research project asks what people actually want to be informed about, which usercharacteristics predict different self‐concepts of informedness, and how both of these aspects relate to feelings of beinginformed in the context of social media platforms. Based on a preregistered, national representative survey of Germansocial media users (n = 1,091), we find that keeping up with news and political information is generally less importantfor people than staying informed about their personal interests and their social environment. However, feelings of beinginformed through social media are most strongly predicted by how suitable a given social media platform is perceived tobe for keeping up‐to‐date with current affairs. This suggests that while information needs are diverse and related to differentsociodemographic and personal characteristics, most people indeed seem to associate “being informed” with politicalinformation and news

Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger? The Relationship between Cognitive Task Demands in Video Games and Recovery Experiences

Research has repeatedly demonstrated that the use of interactive media is associated with recovery experiences, suggesting that engaging with media can help people to alleviate stress and restore mental and physical resources. Video games, in particular, have been shown to fulfil various aspects of recovery, not least due to their ability to elicit feelings of mastery and control. However, little is known about the role of cognitive task demand (i.e., the amount of cognitive effort a task requires) in that process. Toward this end, our study aimed to investigate how cognitive task demand during gameplay affects users’ recovery experiences. Results of a laboratory experiment suggest that different dimensions of the recovery experiences seem to respond to different levels of cognitive task demand. While control experiences were highest under low cognitive task demand, there was no difference between groups regarding experiences of mastery and psychological detachment. Nevertheless, both gaming conditions outperformed the control condition regarding experiences of mastery and psychological detachment. Controlling for personal gaming experiences, relaxation was higher in the low cognitive task demand condition compared to the control condition. Findings are discussed in terms of their implications for research on the multilayered recovery effects of interactive media

Wandel der Sprach- und Debattenkultur in sozialen Online-Medien: Ein Literaturüberblick zu Ursachen und Wirkungen von inziviler Kommunikation

Der vorliegende Beitrag widmet sich den negativen Aspekten eines Wandels der Sprach- und Debattenkultur in sozialen Online-Medien. Im Rahmen eines narrativen Literaturüberblicks diskutieren die Autorinnen sowohl mögliche Ursachen der Wahrnehmung einer inzivilen Sprach- und Debattenkultur als auch Wirkungen auf die Nutzer*innen sozialer Online-Medien

Assessing the extent and types of hate speech in fringe fommunities: a case study of alt-right communities on 8chan, 4chan, and Reddit

Recent right-wing extremist terrorists were active in online fringe communities connected to the alt-right movement. Although these are commonly considered as distinctly hateful, racist, and misogynistic, the prevalence of hate speech in these communities has not been comprehensively investigated yet, particularly regarding more implicit and covert forms of hate. This study exploratively investigates the extent, nature, and clusters of different forms of hate speech in political fringe communities on Reddit , 4chan , and 8chan . To do so, a manual quantitative content analysis of user comments ( N  = 6,000) was combined with an automated topic modeling approach. The findings of the study not only show that hate is prevalent in all three communities (24% of comments contained explicit or implicit hate speech), but also provide insights into common types of hate speech expression, targets, and differences between the studied communities

Medijska pismenost i razvojni zadaci: Savezna Republika Njemačka kao studija slučaja

This article presents a skill-based media literacy model which can help to explain digital inequalities. The model integrates the everyday life of children and their developmental tasks. Under this concept, users are media literate if they are able to fulfil their developmental tasks successfully by using the media and to reflect upon the consequences and risks of their media use. In 2011, 82 German boys and girls were interviewed to gain a better understanding of the connections between internet use, media literacy and digital inequalities.U radu je predstavljen model medijske pismenosti koji se temelji na vještinama. Pretpostavlja se da taj model može pomoći da se objasne digitalne nejednakosti. Model ujedinjuje svakodnevni život djece i njihove razvojne zadatke. Prema predloženom konceptu za korisnike se može reći da su medijski pismeni ako su sposobni uspješno ispuniti razvojne zadatke koristeći medije, a očekuje se i da promišljaju o posljedicama i rizicima korištenja medija. 2011. godine intervjuirano je 82 djece u Njemačkoj s ciljem da se dobije bolji uvid u poveznice između korištenja interneta, medijske pismenosti i digitalnih nejednakosti