Social Media and News Gathering: Tapping into the Millennial Mindset

Social media are transforming the way information travels within and between networks of individuals. Many pundits claim that individuals no longer seek news but instead news finds individuals, particularly on social media websites. The current study is an exploratory look at how one specific group of individuals—Gen Y—gathers news. Data was collected from an online survey and results indicate that Gen Y is increasingly relying on social media for information and news. Interestingly, despite their preference of social media for news gathering, young adults still perceive traditional media sources as more credible than social media sources. Other findings are presented, and both theoretical and practical implications are drawn.

Individual and personality factors that explain selfie behaviors

Among the artifacts of the increasingly digital and social media-saturated world we live in is the rise and proliferation of selfie phenomenon. This study is designed to provide empirical evidence in support of, and to quantify the effect size of, the personality and individual-level factors frequently mentioned in literature as the drivers of selfie behaviors. Results indicate that all of the variables considered in this study — age, gender, time spent on social media, narcissism, extraversion, and impression management — predict and explain 60 percent of the variance in selfie behaviors. Implications are drawn and future avenues are discussed

Antecedents and consequences of binge-watching for college students

Binge watching is a popular practice among college students. While there has been an increased interest in better understanding the phenomenon of binge watching, there has not been an effort to model the antecedents and consequences of binge watching for college students. The current study adopts a mixed method (focus group and survey) approach to propose a model for antecedents and consequences of binge watching and test the hypotheses that link the various constructs in the model. Policy, practical, and theoretical implications are drawn

Motivations and Antecedents of Consumer Engagement With Brand Pages on Social Networking Sites

Brand pages on social networking sites (SNSs) have become the key platform where consumers interact with brands. This study explored the types of consumer engagement with brand pages on Facebook as well as the motivations and antecedents that drive such engagement. Given the participatory and communal nature of SNSs, this study focused on the effects of social media dependency and three social relationship factors, including parasocial interaction, perceived source credibility, and community identification on consumer engagement with Facebook brand pages. A web survey was conducted to understand the motivations and antecedents of consumer engagement. The results confirm that, with the exception of perceived credibility, relationship-oriented factors played a significant role in inducing consumer engagement on SNSs