Infodemiološka studija o upotrebi maski za lice tijekom pandemije COVID-19: usporedba SAD-a i Južne Koreje

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been varied responses to public health officials\u27 recommendations about wearing face masks as a means to slow the spread of the virus. This study, by using Twitter data, aims to explore the role of digital technology in facilitating public conversations and formulating public perception regarding face masks during the COVID-19 pandemic in two contrasting contexts: the U.S. and South Korea. From January 1, 2020 to April 14, 2020, a total of 22,928 users generated 27,501 tweets regarding face masks in the U.S. network, whereas 17,267 users produced 18,686 tweets in that of South Korea. The results of the semantic network analysis shed light on Americans\u27 initial resistance to wearing masks as well as Koreans\u27 willingness to comply. Details of the results are discussed further in the paper. With real-time data aggregation, this study gives insight into the rising controversy regarding wearing face masks during COVID-19 while providing implications for health officials designing strategic communication messages.Usred pandemije COVID-19, dobivamo različite odgovore na preporuke službenika javnoga zdravstva o nošenju maski za lice kao mjere koja usporava širenje virusa. Ova se studija koristi podacima s Twittera kako bi istražila ulogu digitalne tehnologije u olakšavanju javne komunikacije i formuliranju percepcije javnosti o nošenju maski tijekom pandemije COVID-19 u dva konteksta: SAD-u i Južnoj Koreji. Od 1. siječnja do 14. travnja 2020. u mreži SAD-a ukupno je 22 928 korisnika generiralo 27 501 tweet na temu maski za lice, dok ih je u Južnoj Koreji 17 267 korisnika proizvelo 18 686. Rezultati analize semantičke mreže otkrivaju početni otpor Amerikanaca prema nošenju maski, kao i spremnost Korejaca da se mjera pridržavaju. Pojedinosti rezultata iznesene su u radu. Uz agregaciju podataka u stvarnom vremenu, ova studija daje uvid u sve veći prijepor povezan s nošenjem maski za lice tijekom pandemije COVID-19, dajući u isti mah informacije zdravstvenim djelatnicima koji oblikuju strateške komunikacijske poruke

Halloween 2023: It’s A Barbie World!

Encapsulated in pink, Barbie epitomizes a dreamland that stimulates feelings of nostalgia, joy, and imagination, fulfilling individuals’ desire to escape. Mattel, the parent company of Barbie, and Warner Bros. through 100 or more brand collaborations (del Barco, 2023), has relentlessly swept the world with a blitz of Barbie-themed merchandises, such as Barbie dreamhouse rentals, Barbie gaming consoles, Barbie pasta, Barbie pink suitcases, Barbie apparels, bright fuchsia Xbox, Barbie boat cruise, pink burger, etc. Staggering surge for online sales of Barbie-themed products affirms the impressive upswing of online consumers’ interest in Barbie. With the significance of Halloween, the popularity of Barbie, and the ubiquity of popular culture in the online space, this research investigates the extent to which Barbie costumes are generating online activity, searches, and general interest in comparison to other potential costume choices. This study of more than 46,000 social media posts finds that Barbie costumes are resoundingly more popularl than costumes for Ken, Star Wars and Marvel characters

Taylor-made Super Bowl: Taylor SwiftMania on Social Media Regarding the Big Game

Celebrity couples occupy a unique space in popular culture. Similar to the royal unions of history and the present, the combination of notoriety and the voyeuristic appeal of watching a relationship play out in public spaces, celebrity couples energize popular discourse and invite public commentary and interest. The opportunity to become a spectator in ongoing celebrity coupling invites a level of perceived intimacy in what feels like a relationship with famous people. Data collected for this study suggests Taylor Swift’s connection to Super Bowl LVIII has elevated the meaning of the game beyond the stratospheric levels of cultural significance the Super Bowl already ha

Taylor SWift-Mania on Social Media Regarding the Big Game

The continuation of America’s most popular sport meeting the world’s most famous pop star seems destined to dominate the airwaves and social media next weekend. Findings from the study included the following. First, in the period when the Chiefs and 49ers advanced to Super Bowl LVIII, Taylor Swift related #superbowl posts on “X” (formerly known as Twitter) totaled more than the COMBINED number of posts about the game’s QB’s and even her beau, Travis Kelce. Second, the social mentions of Taylor Swift and Super Bowl reached two million in the seven-day period (January 28 – February 3, 2024) after Chiefs’ win on January 28 and sparked an 80% surge in social mentions compared to the previous seven days. Third, the social discussions on Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s relationship surged 490% since Chief’s AFC Championship victory on January 28. Lastly, nearly 31,000 social posts (approximately 224% increase) speculated that Swift’s involvement with the Super Bowl could potentially boost ratings and interest in the event. This land-slide interest in Taylor Swift’s role in the NFL made lots of social media users predict that this year’s big game will be the “highest watched Super Bowl in history.

An Investigation of Social Media Discussion on Valentine\u27s Day 2024 Trends: Money Can Buy Love and Chocolates

Valentine’s Day, typically defined by expression of love and affection, has been celebrated as a symbolic day to exchange gifts among lovers. The expression of love has been firmly tied with the act of giving material things, such as gifts. However, over the years, discomfort and even anger has grown around the over-commercialization of Valentine’s Day, creating a deep divide between those who gift and those who criticize and denounce the holiday as nothing but a “Hallmark card holiday” to push consumerism. Our center’s study from the previous year indicated that over-commercialization of Valentine’s Day found that love is not defined by materialistic consumptions (Choi et al., 2023). However, the prospects for 2024 are different. To explore social media users’ general sentiments towards the practice of gift giving on Valentine’s Day, this study utilized AI-driven social media analytics tool, Brandwatch, to collect and examine social conversations from various platforms such as Facebook, X (formerly known as Twitter), Instagram, YouTube, and others. This study examined over 2 million social media posts over a 10-day period (February 1 - February 11) prior to Valentine’s Day 2024. Search queries related to Valentine’s Day (e.g., #Valentinesday, flowers, chocolate, jewelry, etc.) were built to collect data

From memes to message to Mario Kart: An analysis of the reach of social media content related to Kamala Harris

A daunting challenge in political engagement lies in connecting with the younger demographics who are the digital natives. Especially, the 18-24 age group has some of the lowest turnout rates amongst eligible voters. After her sudden ascendence to be the presumptive presidential candidate for the Democrat Party, a tidal wave of meme posts, largely from young Americans, playfully associated Kamala Harris with coconut tree. These coconut-themed memes ignited an unprecedented surge of energy and engagement among young voters on social media platforms, which provides an ideal context to examine their reactions toward these memes in light of a high-stake presidential election. This study thus seeks to examine how young voters react toward the coconut tree memes about Kamala Harris on social media

Guinness is the Pumpkin Spice Latte of St. Patrick\u27s Day

This study by a team of faculty from the Joetta Di Bella and Fred C. Sautter III Center for Strategic Communication in the School of Communication and Media at Montclair State University shows that Guinness was the most-discussed brand on social media leading up to St. Patrick’s Day, and not just in the traditional ways people share how they drink the popular beer brand. The volume of social media conversations related to Guinness beer and St. Patrick’s Day saw a 25% increase. Most social chats exhibited a happy mood as evidenced by a 62% joyful sentiment. While the Shamrock Shake from McDonald’s was another popular product discussed by social media users, the Guinness brand was highlighted in non-traditional ways related to the holiday, including cooking and recipes, Guinness chocolate, a new ad campaign with Aquaman star Jasom Momoa, and a partnership with Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow and the Joe Burrow Foundation

2023 SCOTUS Report: Americans Reacted with Disgust and Sadness toward the SCOTUS\u27 Recent Rulings

On June 29, SCOTUS struck down affirmative action, ruling the race-conscious admissions programs at colleges and universities unconstitutional. Then, on June 30, SCOTUS handed down another landmark ruling which outlawed student loan forgiveness and terminated President Biden’s plan to provide student loan reliefs for tens of millions of Americans. This high court’s decision on student loans will likely affect one in eight Americans, leaving student loan borrowers feeling frustrated, defeated, and angry. As online media have increasingly played a central role in facilitating civic engagement and shaping individuals’ decisions on contested issues, this study thus examines how social media users have reacted toward these two landmark decisions by SCOTUS

Negative Emotions on Social Media Dominate Gen Z\u27s decisions for the 2024 Election

The demographics of Gen Z have positioned it to potentially have the greatest impact of any emerging generation in the upcoming election. As this generation consumes social media at a rate higher than any other generation, evaluation of the themes and tone surrounding the election in social media is particularly important for understanding Gen Z and politics. Results show election themes and issues in social media reveal negative emotional sentiment (77%) online is more than double the amount of positive sentiment, with “sadness, disgust, fear, anger” far outpacing optimistic sentiment such as “joy.