Microbusinesses' challenges and perceptions in using social media during the COVID-19 crisis

COVID-19 struck the world by storm and has taken its victims along the way. It had also put the whole world on a temporary pause as people tried to manage the virus as best as possible. It has affected people all around the globe and had a huge impact on the global economy. This research will look into how microbusinesses have used social media in order to better face the challenges and changes that came due to the COVID-19 crisis while it will discuss how businesses' perceptions were altered along the way. In particular we are reviewing relevant academic literature surrounding microbusinesses and how they have been affected by COVID-19. The research methods used within this study, and the research results will be stated with reference to primary respondents. We have used a combination of secondary and primary research to develop further understanding of microbusinesses and the impact that COVID-19 has had on organizations in relation to the use of the internet and social media platforms. Limitations of the study will also be identified, and future research areas will be identified.

‘It's just nice not to be on screens': exploring the relationship between pottery making, eudemonic wellbeing, and Instagram

Since the mid-nineteenth century Arts and Crafts Movement in Britain and its subsequent revivals, craft has been positioned in opposition to new technologies. Yet, increasingly people learn, share, produce, and consume crafts through engagements online. This article discusses the relationship between pottery making, eudemonic wellbeing, and the social media site Instagram in the context of digital ethnographic research with British potters during the COVID-19 pandemic. When physical access to spaces such as studios was limited, these potters turned to digital and social media to learn new skills and connect with others from within their own homes. Central to this article is the dissonance between my participants' belief that pottery offered them an escape from their phones, yet simultaneously, much of their enjoyment of pottery came from their participation in online spaces, particularly Instagram. The eudemonic wellbeing impacts generated through their engagements with pottery and the online resources and communities associated with it, concern, 1) satisfying work: self-fulfilment and empowerment, and 2) crafting the self: identity, belonging, and social connectedness, as well as a discussion of the stress and negative consequences engagements with social media brought about for several of my participants. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Leisure Studies is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

SOCIAL NETWORKS IN THE ERA OF PANDEMIC

In this paper, we investigate the problems of the behavior of social media within the framework of reliable and unreliable information that they offer, as well as the issue of the security of certain distributed and mobile online systems in the era of the COVID 19 virus pandemic. In the wake of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), many turned to social media for information and guidance. There are both positive and negative aspects to this behavior. These range from the spread of misinformation to the indispensable role social media has played in the dissemination of accurate information and mental health education. This article looks at both the challenges and benefits, considering who is potentially more likely to use social media and thus be impacted by the information imparted on the digital platforms that are now an integral part of our daily lives.

Asynchronous Encounters: Artistic Practice and Mediated Intimacy in the Space-Time of Lockdown

This essay engages with pandemic-era artistic practice, asking how digital technologies are being taken up out of desires and attempts to be intimate with, proximate to, 'contemporary' with one another. Drawing on theories of pandemic temporality and on media analysis approaches that highlight the digital's materiality, affectivity, and self-reflexivity, we think with three first-person, visual-digital works composed, circulated, and archived during the COVID-19 pandemic: Ella Comberg's research creation photo-essay on Google Street View, titled 'Eye of the Storm,' Bo Burnham's Netflix streaming special Inside, and Richard Fung's short documentary film '[ ... ],' shot on iPad. We suggest that these visual-digital pieces open onto the promises and limitations of mediated intimacies - with others, with ourselves, and with the space-time of lockdown. Their commitments to texture and tension draw out the 'impurity' (Shotwell 2016) of our digital lifeworlds, while also attuning us to possibilities for 'waiting with' (Baraitser and Salisbury 2020) one another amidst what Nadine Chan (2020) calls the 'distal temporalities' of late capitalism. To deliberately dwell in stuck or looped time and linger over the touch of distant, distal others - or what we call asynchronous encounters - is not to indulge or excuse the ways in which contemporary media platforms capitalise on affective and creative labour or surveil digital lifeworlds. Instead, we posit that the textures, glitches, and flickering bonds of mediated intimacy may offer new, multiple, reflexive and recursive pathways 'toward inhabited futures that are not so distal' (Chan 2020: 13.6).

The Influence of Social Media and Sustainability Advocacy on the Purchase Intention of Filipino Consumers in Fast Fashion

The large consumption of fast fashion brings many negative environmental impacts. Filipino consumers love and buy fast fashion because it is relatively cheap but trendy, and there are lots of fashionable designs to choose from. Despite the shortage in water supply and disposal issues of fast fashion, people still continue to purchase. The lack of awareness of consumers on sustainable fashion consumption led the researchers to conduct a study that aims to identify factors affecting Filipino consumers' buying decisions on fast fashion using the combined theory of planned behavior, elaboration likelihood model, and hedonic motivation. A total of 407 participants were gathered through a convenience sampling approach, and the data collected were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM). The result shows that attitude towards fast fashion is the highest contributing factor to purchase intention. While social media positively affects purchase intention, sustainability advocacy negatively impacts the consumers' intention to buy fast fashion. The awareness of sustainability leads to consumption reduction of fast fashion garments. Surprisingly, perceived product price and quality do not show a significant influence on purchase intention. Incorporating sustainability advocacy on social media may be a great strategy to encourage the sustainable consumption of fashion garments. The findings of this study could be a great tool to influence fashion companies and government institutions to promote sustainability awareness and transition marketing strategies to the sustainable consumption of fashion.

Why resist?: opposition to mask-wearing during the Covid-19 pandemic in Greece

This study investigates the factors that might have affected the implementation of the mask-wearing measure in Greek society from March 2020 to November 2021. To do so, this study utilizes a critical review of dominant characteristics of modern Greek society followed by a systematic review of the most recent literature on mask-wearing attitudes. The data in this study is derived from official Greek governmental announcements regarding the mask-wearing measure during the pandemic and the depiction of attitudes towards mask-wearing through Greek digital media, including digital newspapers, informative magazines and websites, and digital news sites. The article argues that the main preventive factors relate to distrust towards authority, including specific identified barriers according to relevant literature. More importantly, this study reinforces the significance of the adequate appreciation of the historical, cultural and social context within which political measures are implemented regardless of their global scale and universal necessity. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Journal of Southeast European & Black Sea Studies is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

Types of Astroturfing campaigns of disinformative and polarised content in times of pandemic in Spain

The paper seeks to determine the application of Astroturfing strategies on Twitter in Spain during the COVID-19 pandemic in the spring of 2020. Statistical analysis, network analysis and machine learning techniques are used to evaluate approximately 32,527 messages published from the state of alarm decree in Spain (14 March, 2020) until the end of May of the same year, associated with eight tags that address issues related to misleading content identified by two of the main factchecking projects (Maldito Bulo and Newtral). Data allow us to observe the participation of users (not bots) who play the role of influencers despite having an average profile or a profile that is far from being considered a public personality. The application of Astroturfing can be seen as a communication strategy used to position issues on social networks through the distribution, amplification and flooding of disinformation. The scenario allows us to verify the presence of a digital communication scenario that would favour a framework difficult to detect, from strategies such as the one studied, aimed at breaking the echo chamber and filter bubble of social networks, with the aim of positioning issues at the level of public opinion. © 2023 Scientific Association Icono14. All rights reserved.

Prospective associations between child screen time and parenting stress and later inattention symptoms in preschoolers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Introduction: Child attention skills are critical for supporting self-regulation abilities, especially during the first years of life. On the other hand, inattention symptoms in preschoolers have been associated with poor school readiness, literacy skills and academic achievement. Previous research has linked excessive screen time with increased inattention symptoms in early childhood. However, most research has only focused on TV exposure and did not investigate this association during the COVID-19 pandemic. This atypical context has increased screen time in children worldwide, including preschoolers. We hypothesize that higher levels of child screen media and parenting stress at age 3.5 will be associated with higher child inattention symptoms at age 4.5. Method: This study draws on participants followed longitudinally over the span of 2-years for an investigation of Canadian preschoolers' screen media use during the pandemic (N = 315, 2020). A follow-up with this sample was completed in 2021 (N = 264). Results: Analyses using multiple linear regression, revealed a positive association between child screen time at age 3.5 and inattention symptoms at 4.5 years. Parental stress was also positively associated with child inattention symptoms. Associations were observed above individual (child age, inhibitory control, and sex) and family (parent education and family income) characteristics. Discussion: These results confirmed our hypothesis and highlight that preschooler screen use and parenting stress may undermine attentional skills. Since attention is a crucial component for children development, behavior and academic outcomes, our study reinforces the importance for parents of adopting healthy media habits.

Exploring Large Digital Bodies for the Study of Human Behavior.

Internet access has become a fundamental component of contemporary society, with major impacts in many areas that offer opportunities for new research insights. The search and deposition of information in digital media form large sets of data known as digital corpora, which can be used to generate structured data, representing repositories of knowledge and evidence of human culture. This information offers opportunities for scientific investigations that contribute to the understanding of human behavior on a large scale, reaching human populations/individuals that would normally be difficult to access. These tools can help access social and cultural varieties worldwide. In this article, we briefly review the potential of these corpora in the study of human behavior. Therefore, we propose Culturomics of Human Behavior as an approach to understand, explain, and predict human behavior using digital corpora.

Learning derived from the implementation of a pedagogical device in remote teaching conditions by Covid-19

The experience of implementing a pedagogical device in a rural educational institution is presented. The objective is to contribute to the study of the incorporation of digital media in schools through the description and analysis of certain pedagogical adaptations that took place in remote teaching conditions due to Covid-19. Under the action-research approach in education, high school students were guided and accompanied in the creation of short videos on environmental promotion and sustainable development. From a qualitative analysis, the following were identified as important adaptations: 1) more flexible times, rhythms, and stages of teaching and learning;2) the agency and mobilization of digital skills by the teacher to strengthen the pedagogical relationship;and 3) the emphasis placed on the communicative aspects of digital media to favor the creation and expression of students. In general, a reflection on the resources, means and strategies that are needed to respond to the heterogeneity of educational scenarios or unprecedented conditions such as those generated by the pandemic is addressed.

Social support to mitigate perceived risk: moderating effect of trust

During a crisis period, the transmission of travel information is faster than ever via social media (Wut, T. M., Xu, J. B., & Wong, S.-m. (2021). Crisis management research (1985–2020) in the hospitality and tourism industry: A review and research agenda. Tourism Management, 85, 104307). Social media influencers provide opportunities to mitigate perceived risk and rebuild travel confidence. Based on both customer socialization theory and dual-process theory of cognitive reasoning, we propose that trust would moderate the relationship between social support from social media influencers and perceived risk. The research model was tested using 738 questionnaires collected from Chinese social media users. Findings from statistical analyses have shown significant relationships among the research variables, and the moderating role of cognitive and affective trust was supported. Our findings could provide implications regarding how to utilize social media influencers wisely to mitigate perceived risk in the post-COVID-19 period.

Technology transfer in e-communication for small and medium enterprises as promoters of innovation and competitiveness

Globalization, technological innovations, and the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic have promoted disruptive changes in buying and selling negotiation models through e-communication. As a result, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) have been forced to adapt to online channels. Considering market relevance, this article describes the survey results with 11 SMEs regarding their adherence to digital media. Moreover, a case study of a selected company demonstrated barriers and propulsions to digital adequacy. The aim was to promote SMEs' competitiveness through technology transfer, focusing on e-communication and strategic digital planning. The results show that the insertion of technology through digital media depends on the knowledge of the tools used in this medium. Therefore, despite being ready to use, SMEs have not yet fully leveraged digital media. Organizational barriers, such as lack of time for those responsible, lack of training and knowledge, and strategic planning, were observed. However, environmental factors such as competitive pressure and innovation-related policies are positive for insertion. Thus, there is room for companies to invest in digital strategic planning focused on improving sales, customer relations, and competitiveness. © 2022 IEEE.

Exploring the topic structure and evolutionary trends of health informatics research in library and information science

PurposeThis study aims to reveal the topic structure and evolutionary trends of health informatics research in library and information science.Design/methodology/approachUsing publications in Web of Science core collection, this study combines informetrics and content analysis to reveal the topic structure and evolutionary trends of health informatics research in library and information science. The analyses are conducted by Pajek, VOSviewer and Gephi.FindingsThe health informatics research in library and information science can be divided into five subcommunities: health information needs and seeking behavior, application of bibliometrics in medicine, health information literacy, health information in social media and electronic health records. Research on health information literacy and health information in social media is the core of research. Most topics had a clear and continuous evolutionary venation. In the future, health information literacy and health information in social media will tend to be the mainstream. There is room for systematic development of research on health information needs and seeking behavior.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first study to analyze the topic structure and evolutionary trends of health informatics research based on the perspective of library and information science. This study helps identify the concerns and contributions of library and information science to health informatics research and provides compelling evidence for researchers to understand the current state of research.

Data mining analytics investigate WeChat users' behaviours: online social media and social commerce development

PurposeAs of December 2021, WeChat had more than 1.2 billion active users worldwide, making it the most active online social media in mainland China. The term social commerce is used to describe new online sales through a mix of social networks and/or peer-to-peer communication or marketing strategies in terms of allowing consumers to satisfy their shopping behaviour through online social media. Thus, given the numerous active users, the development of online social media and social commerce on WeChat is a critical issue of internet research.Design/methodology/approachThis empirical study takes WeChat as the online social media research object. Questionnaires for WeChat users in China were designed and distributed. All items are designed as nominal and ordinal scales (not Likert scale). The obtained data was put into a relational database (N = 2,342), and different meaningful patterns and rules were examined through data mining analytics, including clustering analysis and association rules, to explore the role of WeChat in the development of online social media and social commerce.FindingsPractical implications are presented according to the research findings of meaningful patterns and rules. In addition, alternatives to WeChat in terms of further development are also proposed according to the investigation findings of WeChat users' behaviour and preferences in China.Originality/valueThis study concludes that online social media, such as WeChat, will be able to transcend the current development pattern of most online social media and make good use of investigating users' behaviour and preferences, not only to stimulate the interaction of users in the social network, but also to create social commerce value in social sciences.

Does social media usage boost career prospects of women: an exploratory study in the academia

PurposeThis paper draws on the affordance perspective, to explore the social media (SM) usage experiences that might render valuable for academic women professionals, for knowledge exchange, networking and success. Owing to the increased SM usage during COVID-19 pandemic, this paper tries to find out that in what ways do SM affordances facilitate the underprivileged group of women professionals to grow in their careers in a masculine, conservative society through knowledge exchange.Design/methodology/approachBy utilizing qualitative study design, the authors collected data from 31 women employed in Pakistani universities, through unstructured questionnaires. The responses were analyzed through Nvivo.FindingsThe generated themes suggested that women in Pakistan are aware of SM's potential for knowledge exchange among fellow professionals. They use it to aid them in communication, collaboration and networking. Additionally, they utilize it to share knowledge and build networks that are vital for career progression and success.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper concludes with the implications for practitioners that would aid them in boosting career prospects for women academicians through SM usage in a developing country Pakistan;where women's career outlooks are not as promising as for men;or as bright as for women working in the developed economies.Originality/valueThis a unique attempt to explore knowledge exchange dimensions with the help of SM in the context of working women by the deploying the phenomenological approach.

Screen time and preschool children: Promoting health and development in a digital world.

COVID-19 transformed the family media environment and spurred research on the effects of screen media exposure and use on young children. This update of a 2017 CPS statement re-examines the potential benefits and risks of screen media in children younger than 5 years, with focus on developmental, psychosocial, and physical health. Four evidence-based principles-minimizing, mitigating, mindfully using, and modelling healthy use of screens-continue to guide children's early experience with a rapidly changing media landscape. Knowing how young children learn and develop informs best practice for health care providers and early years professionals (e.g., early childhood educators, child care providers). Anticipatory guidance should now include child and family screen use in (and beyond) pandemic conditions.

The Relationship between Social Media Exposure and Social Comparison Level: Instagram as a Model

This research designed to discover the relationship between the exposure of social media and social comparison level, taking Instagram as a model based on age, social status, educational level, job, frequency of opening Instagram daily and numbers of hours spend on the app per day as study variables to discover if there are relationships between these variables and social comparison level among Palestinian females Instagram users. This research is a descriptive study used the survey methodology that depended on pre- prepared questionnaire was developed by Sharmaa, et al. (2022). The internal consistency was checked by Cronbach's Alpha Coefficient. The values of the test were above 0.9, point out excellent (1.0–0.90) reliability for all the constructs (Sharma, et al., 2022). The sample included 140 Palestinian females who have an effective Instagram application and use it periodically. Frequencies tables and One Way ANOVA test were used by SPSS program to examine the hypothesis of the study. Six statistical hypotheses were tested. Results from data analyzing found that there is no significant statistical relationship between the exposure to Instagram and social comparison level based on age, educational level, social status, job, frequency of opening the app per day and number of hours spend on the app per day. The research found that the sample's majority expressed that Others' Instagram posts inspire and motivate them. Also,half of the sample care about the way the others interact with their posts and think that people present themselves on Instagram in a different way compared to reality and that they don't make positive or negative judgments on others based on their number of likes and followers.

Anthropause environmentalisms: Noticing natures with the Self‐Isolating Bird Club

This paper offers a detailed empirical account of how human–environment relations were reconfigured in the UK and Ireland during the 2020–2021 COVID‐19 lockdowns, a period which natural scientists defined as the COVID‐19 Anthropause. Bringing this scientific concept into conversation with geographical work, we consider anthropause as both a lived condition and an historical moment of space–time decompression. Our expanded conceptualisation of anthropause, centred on lived experience and everyday life, develops a more hopeful politics than those offered by the 'Great Acceleration' narrative, which suggests digital media and urbanisation separate humans from nature. In contrast, we identify affirmative and inclusive modes of 'anthropause environmentalism' and explore their potential for fostering convivial human–nature relations in a world that is increasingly urban, digital, and powered by vernacular expertise. To make this argument, we turn to the Self‐Isolating Bird Club, an online birdwatching community operating across several social media platforms which, at the pandemic's height, reached over 50,000 members. We trace three key changes to human–nature relations illustrated by this group which we use to structure our paper: connection, community and cultivation. The COVID‐19 Anthropause recalibrated the fabric and rhythms of everyday life, changing what counts as a meaningful human–nature relationship. This paper will be of interest to geographers exploring environmental change at the interface of more‐than‐human and digital geographies, as well as environmentalists and conservationists. To conclude, we offer suggestions as to how scholars and practitioners might harness the lessons of anthropause to respond to the 'anthropulse'. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

Sadness, Negativity, and Uncertainty in Education During COVID-19 on Social Media

The global COVID-19 pandemic increased social media usage to obtain information and to share concerns, feelings, and emotions, turning it into a prolific field of research through which it is possible to understand how audiences are coping with the multitude of recent challenges. This paper presents results from a social media analysis of 61532 education-related news headlines posted by the major daily news provider in Portugal, Sic Notícias, on Facebook, from January to December 2020. We focus on how the news impacted on audiences' emotional response and discourse, and we analyze the key issues of the most commented news content. The results show a prevailing sadness among audiences and a very negative discourse all throughout 2020, with a high degree uncertainty being expressed. The main concerns revolved around parents supporting children in their first remote learning endeavors, financial sustainability, the lack of devices, the disinfection of schools, and the students' mobility, particularly in the non-higher education context.