socialmediaanxiety

[socialmediaanxiety]

The Negatives of Social Media

Feeling Connected in Social Media

As we discussed last week, social media can be a great place for us to connect with other like-minded individuals. Whether we are searching for support groups, new books to read, or design inspiration, social media has something for everyone. Please see lasts weeks post on feeling connected in social media where I expanded on this topic as well as the idea of homophily in social media. https://www.tumblr.com/socialmediaanxiety/727472893301325824/welcome-to-the-internet-take-a-look-around?source=share

The Algorithm and Cognitive Biases

Also, in the discussion from last week, we talked about the algorithms in social media and how they work. The purpose of the algorithm is to figure out what we like and send us content and ads based on those likes and interest and even suggest new topics based on our preferences. The more you interact, the more the algorithm learns about you. On the surface, this seems great. No one wants to scroll through 25 videos or posts they have no interest in just to find one they do. But not everyone is searching puppy videos all day long. Political extremism, hate speech, homophobia, and religious extremism seem to be at an all-time high lately. When people with these extremist views interact with this content online, the algorithm does the same as it does for everyone else, keeps sending them more and more of this content. If this is all you are seeing when you log on, it becomes hard to climb back out the rabbit hole. Your confirmation bias has taken over, leaving little room for critical thinking.

Avoiding the Echo Chamber

When talking about media and content consumption, an “echo chamber” refers to someone who only consumes content that confirms their beliefs, whether they are correct or not.  With social media and its algorithms, it’s easy to get sucked into the echo chamber. To avoid this, it is important that we consume content outside of our beliefs. How can you unbiasedly look at a situation if you are only viewing one side of the argument? For a lot of people, it’s really hard to accept or listen to another’s viewpoint, especially when it’s something that goes against something they believe in so deeply. Critical thinking is so important when consuming any media, not just online. Always ask questions and verify the information you are getting is factual.  Just because it is coming from a source you may trust, doesn’t mean there isn’t an ulterior motive behind it. Most importantly, I think we should always seek out information from people with different lived experiences and viewpoints than us. Not everyone experiences the world the way we do and just because someone’s experience is different than yours doesn’t make it wrong. 

References 

Close, S. A. (Ed.). (2017). The dark side of social media : A consumer psychology perspective. Taylor & Francis Group.

Bessi, A., Zollo, F., Michela, D. V., Puliga, M., Scala, A., Caldarelli, G., Uzzi, B., & Quattrociocchi, W. (2016). Users Polarization on Facebook and Youtube. PLoS One, 11(8)https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0159641

Ceb. (2023). The future of brainwashing in neuroscience and social media. Yale University Press. https://yalebooks.yale.edu/2023/02/17/the-future-of-brainwashing-in-neuroscience-and-social-media/

[socialmediaanxiety]

"Welcome to the internet, take a look around. Anything that brain of yours can think of can be found!"

Feeling Connected in Social Media

Food, water, shelter, safety, we’ve all heard of these as the basic needs of humans in order to survive. But emotionally and psychology we need a little more. Connection is the feeling of being close to a person or group of people, the feeling of belonging or sense of community and most, if not all, humans have the desire to belong. Maybe you’re from a small town, and don’t really feel like you fit in with the people there. Maybe you feel like the “black sheep” of your family and not really sure how you belong.  Maybe you have really niche interests or are struggling with a medical condition and don’t have anyone in your life who you can share these experiences with. Social media has transformed that. It has connected so many different groups of people, from different walks of life through their shared interests, values, and life experiences.  Loneliness and isolation can be detrimental to a person’s mental and physical health, causing things link anxiety, decrease in cognitive abilities, decreased brain activity, depression, and so much more. Finding other like-minded individuals who you can connect with, even if they are scattered across the globe, is essential to us as humans.

Homophily and Social Media

Homophily can be defined as “the tendency to form strong social connections with people who share one’s defining characteristics, as age, gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, personal beliefs, etc.” In terms of social media use, it is kind of easy to see how these two are connected.  The average person spends about 2.5-5 hours a day on social media.  We usually like and follow people and accounts that have similar interests and values as us.  Think about it, who wants to spend 5 hours a day scrolling through their feed if it’s filled with things they have no interest in?  Because of this, we are constantly interacting with people who we share things in common with that are important to us. For someone who may not have a ton of social connection in the “real world” this can help build that sense of community and belonging we all crave. 

Platform Algorithms

In terms of social media, “algorithms analyze user behavior and prioritize content the platform believes the user wants to see and is most likely to engage with.” Let’s say you love reading, comedy, and politics. If you were on Tik Tok, for example, the app initially ask you the types of content you are interested in and starts pushing videos to your feed. The more you interact (like, share, save, dislike) the more the algorithm learns about you and your specific interests and tailors your feed to you. Eventually, you’ll have all the “book tok”, comedian, political videos your little heart desires! Again, it is easy to see how algorithms and homophily are connected. You are literally telling it “I like this! Show me more of this and less of that!” until your feed is full of all the things that align with your interests. The algorithm is helping you build that sense of community.

References

Loneliness and social isolation — tips for staying connected. (n.d.). National Institute on Aging. https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/loneliness-and-social-isolation-tips-staying-connected#:~:text=Studies%20show%20that%20loneliness%20and,be%20socially%20isolated%20or%20lonely.

Close, S. A. (Ed.). (2017). The dark side of social media : A consumer psychology perspective. Taylor & Francis Group.

Psychology Today. (2021, December 28). The Psychology of Social Connections. Retrieved from Psychology Today: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/between-you-and-me/202112/the-psychology-social-connections

Cox, L. K. (2023, July 17). 6 Social Media Algorithms Marketers Need to Know About in 2023. Hubspot. https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/how-algorithm-works-facebook-twitter-instagram#:~:text=Other%20Key%20Algorithms-,What%20is%20a%20social%20media%20algorithm%3F,same%20social%20media%20news%20feed.

[socialmediaanxiety]

May I Have Your Attention Please!

Capturing Attention in Social Media

In the world of instant gratification and “gold fish” attention spans, how can we hold an audience’s attention long enough to get them interested in our message and draw them in to hear it? Do we go after their emotions? Should we hop on the band wagon and make content that is “trending”? Maybe starting with an attention-grabbing photo or video might do the trick.  Well, the answer is, all the above! Capturing the attention of social media users means you are not only able to keep them engaged but you are able to keep them actively seeking out your content and wanting more. If you are a business seeking to grow your sales and expand your customer base or an influencer who uses social media as their main source of income, understanding the science and psychology of social media is vital. 

Dr. Gloria Marks from the University of California has been studying the attention spans of humans since 2004. According to her research, humans had an average attention span of 2 1/2 minutes in 2004 and now they have found the average to be less than minute! (47 seconds to be exact!) (Why Our Attention Spans Are Shrinking, With Gloria Mark, PhD, n.d.) Since you have so little time to work with, it’s important to be strategic when it comes to your social media posts. 

Use photos and videos to capture the user’s attention. 

Follow the trends! Use popular hash tags and trending topics to reach a bigger audience that may not have seen your content otherwise.

The average social media user uses 3 more social media platforms. Make sure your content is customizable to any platform so you can appeal to more users.

Maintaining Engagement in Social Media

One you have your follower’s attention, you don’ t want to lose it. You didn’t do all that hard work for nothing! Maintaining that engagement means keeping them coming back for more and sharing your content to their friends and family.  You have to constantly be in tune to what your customers and followers want to see and engage with and figuring out how to marry that with your message or products.

Be yourself! As cliché as that may be, it is important to always stay true to yourself or brand. Users will appreciate and relate more with you and your content if you are authentic. 

Keep a consistent schedule for posting content. The more your followers see you the more they will want to keep seeing you! 

Engage with your followers. Ask their opinions, engage with their comments, and see what content they’d like to see more of. (Wesley-Powell, 2022)

References

Carstens, Deborah S,PhD., P.M.P., Doss, S. K., PhD., & Kies, S. C. (2018). Social Media Impact on Attention Span. Journal of Management & Engineering Integration, 11(1), 20-27. http://library.capella.edu/login?qurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.proquest.com%2Fscholarly-journals%2Fsocial-media-impact-on-attention-span%2Fdocview%2F2316725647%2Fse-2%3Faccountid%3D27965

Panel, E. (2021, April 27). 12 Ways To Grab Attention With Content. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesbusinesscouncil/2021/04/27/12-ways-to-grab-attention-with-content/?sh=57ac9d05445b

Ashrof, V. a. M. (2021, April 12). Impact Of Social Media On Our Attention Span And Its Drastic Aftermath| Countercurrents. Countercurrents. https://countercurrents.org/2021/04/impact-of-social-media-on-our-attention-span-and-its-drastic-aftermath/

Why our attention spans are shrinking, with Gloria Mark, PhD. (n.d.). https://www.apa.org. https://www.apa.org/news/podcasts/speaking-of-psychology/attention-spans

Wesley-Powell, A. (2022, December 12). How to boost engagement on social media | Hurrdat Marketing. Hurrdat Marketing. https://hurrdatmarketing.com/digital-marketing-news/ways-to-increase-social-media-engagement/

Ferreira, N. M. (2023, June 8). 15 Ways to Increase Social Media Engagement Quickly. Oberlo. https://www.oberlo.com/blog/social-media-engagement