We were looking at how to formulate a research question this week and we looked at writing keywords of things we were interested in. I made this mind map:
The role of para-social relationships on social media n influencing environmental behaviour change.
> questionnaire to followers
> Intention of influencers > through interview
> Techniques employed by influencers
Social media and its effect on Individual Behaviour Change around Climate Change (potential elective essay intro)
When we talk about the relationship between social media and climate change, we tend to focus on Social Media as being an extension of the traditional media sphere. Extensive research has been done on framing of information online or the deployment of emotions in transmitting this information, but this is still a rather blinkered approach to considering the effect of social media on the public’s understanding and behaviours against climate change.
It is one that fails to see social media as a new realm in and of itself as well as acting an as extension to traditional media outlets. Through the lens of behaviour change models for sustainability most commonly deployed by behavioural economics, previous research has considered the education model; the idea that education will lead to awareness and attitude change and then behavioural change but has overlooked the social models of social media. Social models are ways that others’ behaviour is both common and responsible and can effectively alter behaviour. On platforms where daily behaviour is recorded and shared among friends, we need to consider the impact this peer-to-peer sharing and monitoring has on people’s awareness and behaviours regarding climate change.
I think that we are approaching an interesting turn in the way that social media is conceptualised and analysed in academia as we see generation Z begin to conduct research of their own. One could argue that all research before this point has been akin to anthropological ethnographic study as an older generation analyses the younger generation’s usage of social media, almost a different culture. The rise in gen Z research will bring more autoethnographies/another interesting perspective from the first generation of digital natives. Through the work of this generation whose social lives are so enmeshed with digital technologies it will be evident the role that the social element of social media has on behavioural change.
We talk often of the changing media landscape as a result of social media looking at its impacts on traditional new media and news outlets but we overlook how media is changed itself and how peer created media > post shares etc. now has a larger precedence in our lives as a result of social media and therefore inc importance of SOCIAL ELEMENT > for too long we have focused on the high to low consumptive rather than peer to peer expressive social media.
These platforms are designed to exacerbate the social elements of the brain, its why they thrive > its not purely on convenience > they are mining the human psyche > importance to realise the potential of this to trigger behavioural change in the field of sustainability (probably already being done through advertising online > this is why influencer marketing works)
Have seen through Cambridge analytica the power of SM to change politics, and voting behaviour it is a powerful vehicle that if utilised has great potential for shaping public behaviour rapidly > needed for the 10 year change.
CASE STUDIES
- Social media and inc in veganism from an environmental perspective
- XR strategy of using social ties/sociability
- Transition from political impact to change on individual behaviour.
It is one that fails to see social media as a new realm in and of itself as well as acting an as extension to traditional media outlets. Through the lens of behaviour change models for sustainability most commonly deployed by behavioural economics, previous research has considered the education model; the idea that education will lead to awareness and attitude change and then behavioural change but has overlooked the social models of social media. Social models are ways that others’ behaviour is both common and responsible and can effectively alter behaviour. On platforms where daily behaviour is recorded and shared among friends, we need to consider the impact this peer-to-peer sharing and monitoring has on people’s awareness and behaviours regarding climate change.
I think that we are approaching an interesting turn in the way that social media is conceptualised and analysed in academia as we see generation Z begin to conduct research of their own. One could argue that all research before this point has been akin to anthropological ethnographic study as an older generation analyses the younger generation’s usage of social media, almost a different culture. The rise in gen Z research will bring more autoethnographies/another interesting perspective from the first generation of digital natives. Through the work of this generation whose social lives are so enmeshed with digital technologies it will be evident the role that the social element of social media has on behavioural change.
We talk often of the changing media landscape as a result of social media looking at its impacts on traditional new media and news outlets but we overlook how media is changed itself and how peer created media > post shares etc. now has a larger precedence in our lives as a result of social media and therefore inc importance of SOCIAL ELEMENT > for too long we have focused on the high to low consumptive rather than peer to peer expressive social media.
These platforms are designed to exacerbate the social elements of the brain, its why they thrive > its not purely on convenience > they are mining the human psyche > importance to realise the potential of this to trigger behavioural change in the field of sustainability (probably already being done through advertising online > this is why influencer marketing works)
Have seen through Cambridge analytica the power of SM to change politics, and voting behaviour it is a powerful vehicle that if utilised has great potential for shaping public behaviour rapidly > needed for the 10 year change.
CASE STUDIES
- Social media and inc in veganism from an environmental perspective
- XR strategy of using social ties/sociability
- Transition from political impact to change on individual behaviour.
FURTHER READING
A Grounded Theory Analysis of the Techniques Used by Social Media Influencers and Their potential for Influencing the Public Regarding Environmental Awareness
https://dl.acm.org/doi/abs/10.1145/3351108.3351145
A Grounded Theory Analysis of the Techniques Used by Social Media Influencers and Their potential for Influencing the Public Regarding Environmental Awareness
https://dl.acm.org/doi/abs/10.1145/3351108.3351145
