Seriously Social: Making Connections in the Information Age

This thesis is about digital social networks and associated media in the lives of young primarily middle class, people, it based on a qualitative study - using interviews, focus groups and participant observation - of university undergraduates in the United Kingdom and Australia. The study traces how, between 2005 and 2008, these students utilise what I term, 'social media' to manage ?e their social lives. My analysis of the data draws attention to the participatory nature of the technology, and characterises how such resources have become 'everyday' and are seen as essential hubs of information

#Studytalk in marketised higher education: Student influencers as emerging support providers

Within the marketised higher education context, where traditional support systems are strained, student influencers on platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube have emerged as unexpected providers of academic and emotional support for their peers. Utilising a Foucauldian framework and drawing on 13 in-depth interviews with UK-based #studytalk creators, this study investigates the construction of student influencer subjectivity and their strategies for navigating this complex space. Findings reveal how these individuals leverage their success as academically high-achieving students and digital acumen to build legitimacy, negotiate ethical boundaries within the influencer market, and even resist the pervasive toxicity of certain study cultures. We show that these students do not just thrive to be influencers, but they engage with forms of ethical reflection to set certain parameters for their practice. Through this analysis, we contribute to a nuanced understanding of how students negotiate support and self-making in a marketised context while offering theoretical insights into the subjectification processes within the burgeoning influencer economy. By doing so, the article extends the dominant scholarly understandings of student support that often position support provision as the domain of universities. Instead, the findings show that students themselves are highly resourceful for developing and delivering peer support, and their practices intersect with wider student and youth experiences in digital age

The Influence of Joe Wicks on Physical Activity During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Thematic, Location, and Social Network Analysis of X Data

Background: Social media (SM) was essential in promoting physical activity during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially among people confined to their homes. Joe Wicks, a fitness coach, became particularly popular on SM during this time, posting daily workouts that millions of people worldwide followed. Objective: This study aims to investigate the influence of Joe Wicks on SM and the impact of his content on physical activity levels among the public. Methods: We used NodeXL Pro (Social Media Research Foundation) to collect data from X (formerly Twitter) over 54 days (March 23, 2020, to May 15, 2020), corresponding to the strictest lockdowns in the United Kingdom. We collected 290,649 posts, which we analyzed using social network analysis, thematic analysis, time-series analysis, and location analysis. Results: We found that there was significant engagement with content generated by Wicks, including reposts, likes, and comments. The most common types of posts were those that contained images, videos, and text of young people (school-aged children) undertaking physical activity by watching content created by Joe Wicks and posts from schools encouraging pupils to engage with the content. Other shared posts included those that encouraged others to join the fitness classes run by Wicks and those that contained general commentary. We also found that Wicks’ network of influence was extensive and complex. It contained numerous subcommunities and resembled a broadcast network shape. Other influencers added to engagement with Wicks via their networks. Our results show that influencers can create networks of influence that are exhibited in distinctive ways. Conclusions: Our study found that Joe Wicks was a highly influential figure on SM during the COVID-19 pandemic and that his content positively impacted physical activity levels among the public. Our findings suggest that influencers can play an important role in promoting public health and that government officials should consider working with influencers to communicate health messages and promote healthy behaviors. Our study has broader implications beyond the status of fitness influencers. Recognizing the critical role of individuals such as Joe Wicks in terms of health capital should be a critical area of inquiry for governments, public health authorities, and policy makers and mirrors the growing interest in health capital as part of embodied and digital experiences in everyday life

The Influence of Joe Wicks on Physical Activity During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Thematic, Location, and Social Network Analysis of X Data

Background: Social media (SM) was essential in promoting physical activity during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially among people confined to their homes. Joe Wicks, a fitness coach, became particularly popular on SM during this time, posting daily workouts that millions of people worldwide followed. Objective: This study aims to investigate the influence of Joe Wicks on SM and the impact of his content on physical activity levels among the public. Methods: We used NodeXL Pro (Social Media Research Foundation) to collect data from X (formerly Twitter) over 54 days (March 23, 2020, to May 15, 2020), corresponding to the strictest lockdowns in the United Kingdom. We collected 290,649 posts, which we analyzed using social network analysis, thematic analysis, time-series analysis, and location analysis. Results: We found that there was significant engagement with content generated by Wicks, including reposts, likes, and comments. The most common types of posts were those that contained images, videos, and text of young people (school-aged children) undertaking physical activity by watching content created by Joe Wicks and posts from schools encouraging pupils to engage with the content. Other shared posts included those that encouraged others to join the fitness classes run by Wicks and those that contained general commentary. We also found that Wicks’network of influence was extensive and complex. It contained numerous subcommunities and resembled a broadcast network shape. Other influencers added to engagement with Wicks via their networks. Our results show that influencers can create networks of influence that are exhibited in distinctive ways. Conclusions: Our study found that Joe Wicks was a highly influential figure on SM during the COVID-19 pandemic and that his content positively impacted physical activity levels among the public. Our findings suggest that influencers can play an important role in promoting public health and that government officials should consider working with influencers to communicate health messages and promote healthy behaviors. Our study has broader implications beyond the status of fitness influencers. Recognizing the critical role of individuals such as Joe Wicks in terms of health capital should be a critical area of inquiry for governments, public health authorities, and policy makers and mirrors the growing interest in health capital as part of embodied and digital experiences in everyday life

Binge Watching and the Role of Social Media Virality towards promoting Netflix’s Squid Game

From SAGE Publishing via Jisc Publications RouterHistory: epub 2022-03-23Publication status: PublishedThe management literature has extensively studied viral marketing in the last decade; however, there is a lack of research in understanding network structures and the role of influencers within popular cultural consumption, such as on-demand digital media and binge-watching. In this article, we investigate the role of social media in popularising the East Asian dystopian cultural drama Squid Game. We studied this phenomenon by analysing social network structures, dynamics and influencer characteristics that transformed Squid Game into a popular global digital cultural consumption sensation. Stemming from the foundational theories of popular culture binge-watching, network theory and the social media echo chamber effect, we demonstrate how careful ‘seeding’ and ‘broadcasting’ behaviour adopted by Netflix and key influencers helped the ‘reciprocal merging’ of creative media content within the broader social media space. Our study found that 13,727 Twitter users were tweeting or mentioned on the day show was released. Our research findings further present the characteristic of individual group-based echo chambers and their role in value co-creation towards expanding the network boundary through e-WOM. This phenomenon led to the show’s unprecedented popularity amongst a global audience within a short period. Contributions of our work expand viral marketing and echo-chamber concepts into the binge-watching and popular digital culture realm, where the interplay between dramatized Asian and Western dystopian social norms provided the very fabric of user-led promotion and value co-creation

Enlightened Participation: SME Perspectives about Net Zero on Social Media using the Action Case Approach

Aims/Objectives This study aims to examine a linked future for a Net Zero global economy. Such a future is examined through network-driven change and informed by co-action and shared business management practices. Methodology used in the study We employ an action case (AC) approach to understand the impact of national and worldwide Net Zero policy for small and medium-sized enterprises (SME). We drew upon a qualitative survey with SMEs alongside a social network analysis (SNA) of Twitter data. Findings We discovered a substantial predictive effect of policy support in the SME social media material regarding Net Zero attitudes. Our findings indicate that reinforcing messages on policy support and assisting enterprises in adopting the new objectives may considerably enhance Net Zero accountability and serve as the foundation for an intervention strategy in policy-focused programmes for SMEs.Output Status: Forthcomin

Enlightened Participation: SME Perspectives about Net Zero on Social Media using the Action Case Approach

Aims/Objectives This study aims to examine a linked future for a Net Zero global economy. Such a future is examined through network-driven change and informed by co-action and shared business management practices. Methodology used in the study We employ an action case (AC) approach to understand the impact of national and worldwide Net Zero policy for small and medium-sized enterprises (SME). We drew upon a qualitative survey with SMEs alongside a social network analysis (SNA) of Twitter data. Findings We discovered a substantial predictive effect of policy support in the SME social media material regarding Net Zero attitudes. Our findings indicate that reinforcing messages on policy support and assisting enterprises in adopting the new objectives may considerably enhance Net Zero accountability and serve as the foundation for an intervention strategy in policy-focused programmes for SMEs

Developing Techniques to Support Technological Solutions to Disinformation by Analysing Four Conspiracy Networks During COVID-19

Given the role of technology and social media during the COVID-19 pandemic, the aim of this paper is to conduct a social network analysis of four COVID-19 conspiracy theories that were spread during the pandemic between March to June 2020. Specifically, the paper examines the 5G, Film Your Hospital, Expose Bill Gates, and the Plandemic conspiracy theories. Identifying disinformation campaigns on social media and studying their tactics and composition is an essential step toward counteracting such campaigns. The current study draws upon data from the Twitter Search API and uses social network analysis to examine patterns of disinformation that may be shared across social networks with sabotaging ramifications. The findings are used to generate the Framework of Disinformation Seeding and Information Diffusion for understanding disinformation and the ideological nature of conspiracy networks that can support and inform future pandemic preparedness and counteracting disinformation. Furthermore, a Digital Mindfulness Toolbox (DigiAware) is developed to support individuals and organisations with their information management and decision-making both in times of crisis and as strategic tools for potential crisis preparation