Organizations increasingly use social media and especially social networking sites (SNS) to support their marketing agenda, enhance collaboration, and develop new capabilities. However, the success of SNS initiatives is largely dependent on sustainable user participation. In this study, we argue that the continuance intentions of users may be gender-sensitive. To theorize and investigate gender differences in the determinants of continuance intentions, this study draws on the expectation-confirmation model, the uses and gratification theory, as well as the self-construal theory and its extensions. Our survey of 488 users shows that while both men and women are motivated by the ability to self-enhance, there are some gender differences. Specifically, while women are mainly driven by relational uses, such as maintaining close ties and getting access to social information on close and distant networks, men base their continuance intentions on their ability to gain information of a general nature. Our research makes several contributions to the discourse in strategic information systems literature concerning the use of social media by individuals and organizations. Theoretically, it expands the understanding of the phenomenon of continuance intentions and specifically the role of the gender differences in its determinants. On a practical level, it delivers insights for SNS providers and marketers into how satisfaction and continuance intentions of male and female SNS users can be differentially promoted. Furthermore, as organizations increasingly rely on corporate social networks to foster collaboration and innovation, our insights deliver initial recommendations on how organizational social media initiatives can be supported with regard to gender-based differences.

Why men and women continue to use social networking sites: The role of gender differences

Social media influencers promote not only products and brands but also their opinions on serious topics like party politics or climate change. These so-called digital opinion leaders may exert a powerful impact on their followers’ political attitudes. Accordingly, we explore new directions to explain how influencers’ communication is related to political outcomes by proposing the concept of perceived simplification of politics (PSP). We argue that PSP may fuel political cynicism but also stimulate youth's interest in politics. We also explore important boundary conditions of these associations. We use data from three studies, a two-wave panel survey of adolescents (NT2 = 294), a cross-sectional survey of young adults (N = 632), and a two-wave panel survey of young adults (NT2 = 496) in Germany between 2019 and 2020. Findings of all three studies show that the frequency of exposure to social media influencers’ content increases PSP. In Studies 1 and 2, PSP is related to higher political cynicism, while in Study 3, this relationship is restricted to influencers’ communication about environmental topics and gender equality. Furthermore, Studies 2 and 3 suggest that PSP also increases political interest—yet this association requires a certain level of parasocial interaction (PSI) with the influencer and is contingent on specific political topics.

Politics – Simply Explained? How Influencers Affect Youth’s Perceived Simplification of Politics, Political Cynicism, and Political Interest

Reducing Resistance: The Impact of Nonfollowers’ and Followers’ Parasocial Relationships with Social Media Influencers on Persuasive Resistance and Advertising Effectiveness

ABSTRACT Influencers, characterized by their social-media-made fame, are known for endorsing brands, but are also producing political content, which has been shown to resonate with youth. However, research on how their political messages impact young people’s political involvement is still scarce. To address this lacuna, we conducted a two-wave panel study (N W2 = 496) among youth aged 16 to 25 years to investigate links between following political influencers, young people’s internal political efficacy, and political participation. We draw from the two-step flow of communication and opinion leadership literature to explain influencers’ impact on young people’s political behavior. Moreover, we advance the theoretical argument that influencers may not only relay political news, but also render it more comprehensible for youth. Influencers may thereby raise young people’s confidence in their political self-competence, and consequently affect their level of political participation. We find that followers’ internal political efficacy is predicted by following political influencers at moderate to high levels of perceived simplification of politics by influencers. However, there is no link between internal political efficacy and political participation, which may be explained by influencers’ direct and short-term mobilizing effect on young people. Overall, our findings have important theoretical implications for contemporary understandings of opinion leadership in mediated contexts.

Influencers as Empowering Agents? Following Political Influencers, Internal Political Efficacy and Participation among Youth

Im Zuge der Digitalisierung finden grose Teile der Meinungsbildung heute in Netzwerken statt, in denen Angebote neuer Kommunikator:innen neben die Berichterstattung professioneller Journalist:innen treten. Der Artikel widmet sich einem Typ dieser neuen reichweitenstarken Akteure der politischen Offentlichkeit, der zwar gesellschaftlich viel Aufmerksamkeit auf sich zieht, in der politischen Kommunikationsforschung aber noch weitgehend unbekannt ist: politischen Social-Media-Influencer:innen (im Folgenden PSMI). Ziel des Beitrages ist es, theoretische Annahmen uber PSMI zu treffen, um sie empirischer Forschung zuganglicher zu machen. Dafur werden PSMI auf Grundlage einer systematischen Literaturanalyse erstmalig definiert und ihre Eigenschaften mit jenen von politischen Meinungsfuhrern verglichen. Die Analyse zeigt in konzeptionell-theoretischer Hinsicht, dass die Kommunikationsrolle von PSMI als Weiterentwicklung von Meinungsfuhrerschaft beschrieben werden kann, hin zu einer Form von mediatisierter, (semi-)professioneller und offentlicher Kommunikation, die auf strategischer Selbstinszenierung beruht. Mithilfe des Meinungsfuhrerkonzepts lassen sich erste Annahmen formulieren, die mit Befragungen und Inhaltsanalysen empirisch uberpruft werden sollten, um die Bedeutung von PSMI in der politischen Offentlichkeit differenzierter bestimmen zu konnen.

/pdf/politische-social-media-influencer-als-meinungsfuhrer-1cfir1e6ib.pdf

Politische Social-Media-Influencer als Meinungsführer?

The roles of YouTube videos and YouTubers for getting information about political and societal topics are becoming gradually more important to young people. Quantitative research about young people’s use and perception of YouTube-videos and their potential effects on opinion formation is sparse though. This cross-sectional quantitative study addresses this empirical gap. We examined young people’s analytic-critical evaluations of YouTubers and their videos about political and societal topics (YTPS-videos), and how these are affected by the young people’s age and gender. We analysed questionnaire data of 562 participants and divided them into three different age groups. Overall, the participants reported a moderate watching frequency of YTPS-videos. They also rated YTPS-videos as moderately credible and considered specific characteristics of YTPS-videos and their producers as being moderately indicative for fake news. When comparing to traditional TV news, YTPS-videos were perceived as more entertaining, emotional, funny, exciting, modern, and motivating but also as more subjective and manipulating. Regarding YouTubers, the participants ascribed them an important role model function, but criticised them for handling it rather irresponsibly. Concerning opinion formation processes, the participants reported of a rather unimportant role of YTPS-videos for their learning about political and societal topics. They also perceived themselves as less influenceable than other peers and younger people. Still, they prefer talking with friends instead of teachers about YTPS-videos. Age and gender also had effects on various scales. These results deliver essential data for future research and educational measures and opened up unexplored areas in this research field.

/pdf/influencers-on-youtube-a-quantitative-study-on-young-people-4mhooiwpck.pdf

Influencers on YouTube: a quantitative study on young people’s use and perception of videos about political and societal topics

Medienentwicklung und Medienpädagogik: Webvideo

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Influencers on YouTube: a quantitative study on young people’s use and perception of videos about political and societal topics

Medienentwicklung und Medienpädagogik: Webvideo