Social media literacy: A conceptual framework.

Concerns over the harmful effects of social media have directed public attention to media literacy as a potential remedy. Current conceptions of media literacy are frequently based on mass media, focusing on the analysis of common content and evaluation of the content using common values. This article initiates a new conceptual framework of social media literacy (SoMeLit). Moving away from the mass media-based assumptions of extant approaches, SoMeLit centers on the user's self in social media that is in dynamic causation with their choices of messages and networks. The foci of analysis in SoMeLit, therefore, are one's selections and values that influence and are influenced by the construction of one's reality on social media; and the evolving characteristics of social media platforms that set the boundaries of one's social media reality construction. Implications of the new components and dimensions of SoMeLit for future research, education, and action are discussed.

Normalizing Anxiety on Social Media Increases Self-Diagnosis of Anxiety: The Mediating Effect of Identification (But Not Stigma).

Normalizing mental health disorders in media communication can have a positive impact on the public by improving awareness. However, normalizing issues like anxiety could lead people to categorize normal anxiety as a disorder. In Study One, viewing social media posts that normalized anxiety resulted in a greater likelihood of self-diagnosis of anxiety disorder compared to social media posts that did not normalize it. This effect was through identification with and liking of the person featured in the social media post. In Study Two, those results were replicated. Additionally, we expected, but did not find, that normalizing anxiety had an impact on perceived stigma of anxiety disorders. Thus, at least in this case, normalization influenced self-diagnosis primarily through increasing identification with another person with anxiety, rather than decreasing stigma. Efforts to maximize positive impacts of normalizing disorders should examine unintended, potentially negative, consequences.

Social processes of participatory engagement effects: A longitudinal examination with a sample of young women in the United States.

Participatory interventions enable active user engagement, but research is needed to examine the longitudinal mechanisms through which engagement may generate outcomes. This study investigated the social processes following a web-based participatory media literacy intervention. In this program, young women were asked to create a digital counter message against the media content that promotes risk behavior. The effects of the message production were assessed at an immediate post-test and three- and six-month follow-ups. Message production increased collective efficacy at immediate post-test, which then stimulated the sharing of self-generated messages and interpersonal conversation at three-month follow-up. These sharing behaviors, in turn, led to critical media use and negative attitude toward risk behavior at six months. Collective efficacy and sharing behavior sequentially mediated the effects of message production on outcomes. Theoretical and pragmatic implications are discussed.

Examining and Extending the Influence of Presumed Influence Hypothesis in Social Media.

The influence of presumed influence hypothesis (IPI) is a communication theory accounting for the process of persuasive media effects. The present study integrates theoretical perspectives in persuasion and new and traditional media effects research to investigate the assumptions and explanatory mechanisms of IPI in an experiment. View numbers in social media directly predicted presumed exposure by others and indirectly predicted presumed influence on others, consistent with IPI and inconsistent with the bandwagon heuristic. Presumed exposure predicted presumed influence, consistent with IPI. Other predictors of presumed exposure and presumed influence were also found. Self's evaluation of the message (realism) and engagement in the message (identification) predicted presumed exposure by others and presumed influence on others, supporting the expectation that a motivational mechanism of IPI is self-centric social perception. Social media message view numbers did not predict persuasive outcomes directly, but the evaluation of and engagement in the message did. Finally, the data were inconsistent with the assumption of pervasive mass media reach. This study provides theoretical implications for examining persuasive effects of social media messages, while enhancing and expanding IPI. Limitations of the study and directions for future research are discussed.

Culture in Cancer Survivorship Interventions for Asian Americans: A Systematic Review and Critical Analyses.

Frequently hard to reach and underserved, Asian Americans are the racial group whose chief cause of mortality is cancer. Efficacious survivorship care is important, but little is known about extant intervention efforts for this community and how culture has been integrated into these efforts. This study examined cancer survivorship interventions for Asian Americans and how culture has been addressed, using an integrated framework consisting of goals, theory, methods, and cultural concordance in the persons of the interventions. Mixed methods comprising a systematic review and critical analyses were employed. Results indicate that only 13 interventions have been delivered to this community, with six of them pilot studies, and that they used a narrow range of focus on cancer type, with all interventions focusing on breast cancer survivorship. Applications of theory and methods were incongruent with cultural valuation of emotion expression and help seeking behavior. Cultural concordance was operationalized mostly as the racial ethnic match between interventionists and survivors. Deep culture factors including cultural beliefs and values were rarely specified. Theory and research should move beyond the currently prevalent definition of culture as race, ethnicity, or language, and interventions should consider the role of culture in their goals, theory, methods, and persons. Advances in theory and research are needed, as neither reliance on the Western paradigm nor assumptions about Asian Americans can be appropriate for achieving cultural validity. Future conceptualization and operationalization should consider culture more than race, ethnicity, or language.

Testing three explanations for stigmatization of people of Asian descent during COVID-19: maladaptive coping, biased media use, or racial prejudice?

OBJECTIVE: To investigate factors associated with the stigmatization of people of Asian descent during COVID-19 in the United States and factors that can mitigate or prevent stigmatization. DESIGN: A national sample survey of adults (N = 842) was conducted online between May 11 and May 19, 2020. Outcome variables were two dimensions of stigmatization, responsibility and persons as risk. Hierarchical regression analyses were performed. RESULTS: Racial prejudice, maladaptive coping, and biased media use each explained stigmatization. Racial prejudice, comprising stereotypical beliefs and emotion toward Asian Americans, was a stronger predictor of stigmatization than maladaptive coping or biased media use. Fear concerning the ongoing COVID-19 situation and the use of social media and partisan cable TV also predicted stigmatization. Low self-efficacy in dealing with COVID-19, when associated with high estimated harm of COVID-19, increased stigmatization. High perceived institutional efficacy in the handling of COVID-19 increased stigmatization when linked to high estimated harm of COVID-19. On the other hand, high perceived collective efficacy in coping with COVID-19 was associated with low stigmatization. More indirect contacts with Asians via the media predicted less stigmatization. CONCLUSIONS: Efforts to reduce stigmatization should address racial stereotypes and emotions, maladaptive coping, and biased media use by providing education and resources to the public. Fostering collective efficacy and media-based contacts with Asian Americans can facilitate these efforts.

Efficacy and Mediators of a Web-Based Media Literacy Intervention for Indoor Tanning Prevention.

Extant media literacy interventions have been delivered in person, limiting their potential for large scale reach, implementation, and dissemination. Although emerging evidence suggests the interventions can impact behavior, the theoretical mediators that can explain the efficacy remain unknown. This study investigated the efficacy and mediators of a web-based media literacy intervention for reducing indoor tanning behavior among young women. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: a media literacy intervention with counter argument production, a media literacy intervention with counter story production, or an assessment-only control condition. The outcomes of indoor tanning behavior and intention were evaluated with 3- and 6-month follow-ups. Results indicated significant effects of the web-based intervention on reducing indoor tanning behavior at the follow-ups. Changes in perceived media realism completely mediated the intervention effects on behavior. Perceived media realism, positive and negative outcome expectancies, and collective efficacy partially mediated intervention effects on intention. This study demonstrates the efficacy of a web-based media literacy intervention and the theoretical mechanisms underlying the efficacy. It indicates that by altering perceived media realism, outcome expectancies, and collective efficacy, web-based media literacy interventions could generate behavioral effects.

Mechanisms of Social Media Effects on Attitudes Toward E-Cigarette Use: Motivations, Mediators, and Moderators in a National Survey of Adolescents.

BACKGROUND: Exposure to risk behavior on social media is associated with risk behavior tendencies among adolescents, but research on the mechanisms underlying the effects of social media exposure is sparse. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate the motivations of social media use and the mediating and moderating mechanisms of their effects on attitude toward electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) use among adolescents. METHODS: Using data from a national sample survey of adolescents (age=14-17 years, N=594), we developed and validated a social media use motivation scale. We examined the roles of motivations in the effect of social media use on risk exposure and risk attitude. RESULTS: Motivations for social media use included agency, self-expression, realism, social learning, social comparison, and filter. These motivations were associated differentially with the frequency of use of Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and YouTube. Frequency of social media use was positively associated with exposure to e-cigarette messages across the four platforms (Ps<.001). Exposure to e-cigarette messages on Instagram (P=.005) and Snapchat (P=.03) was positively associated with attitude toward e-cigarette use. Perceived social media realism moderated the effects of e-cigarette message exposure such that when realism was high, the exposure effect was amplified, but when realism was low, the effect was mitigated (P<.001). A three-way interaction effect (P=.02) among exposure, social learning motivation, and social norm on attitude toward e-cigarette use was found. When perceived social norm was high, the moderating effect of social learning motivation on e-cigarette use attitude was amplified, but when social norm was low, the social learning motivation effect was attenuated. CONCLUSIONS: Because perceived social media realism moderates the effect of exposure to e-cigarette messages on attitude toward e-cigarette use, future intervention efforts should address the realism perceptions. The three-way interaction among exposure, social learning motivation, and social norm indicates the importance of addressing both the online and offline social environments of adolescents. The social media use motivation scale, reflecting perceived affordances, is broadly applicable. Understanding social media use motivations is important, as they indirectly influence attitude toward e-cigarette use via frequency of social media use and/or frequency of exposure to e-cigarette messages on social media.

Cultural Appropriateness in Health Communication: A Review and A Revised Framework.

A revised framework for cultural appropriateness is offered on the basis of a systematic review of operationalizations in 44 cancer screening interventions for Asian Americans. Studies commonly conveyed the epidemiological bases of the intervention (97.7%) and used the language of the population (95.5%). Less commonly reported were strategies central to health communication: cultural features of the intervention messages (77.3%) and the cultural beliefs and values that the intervention focused on (43.2%). Few used cultural tailoring (4.5%) and none aimed to address acculturation or cultural identity. The theoretical framework most frequently used was the health belief model (27.3%) which does not explain the role of culture. More studies focused on cultural barriers (20.5%) than cultural strengths (9.1%). Our revised framework comprises six cultural appropriateness strategies of cultural identity, linguistic, perceptual features, content, constituent-involving, and socioeconomic context-adaptive. It prioritizes cultural identity to recognize the dynamics within racial ethnic groups and to inform adaptive efforts for cultural appropriateness. It emphasizes examining cultural strengths that can facilitate change, as well as reducing cultural barriers. Future research and action should address the disparities in extant health disparities research in which theory and methods are underdeveloped and underutilized for Asian Americans.

Visual Cancer Communication on Social Media: An Examination of Content and Effects of #Melanomasucks.

BACKGROUND: Instagram is increasingly becoming a platform on which visual communication of cancer takes place, but few studies have investigated the content and effects. In particular, a paucity of research has evaluated the effects of visual communication of cancer on participative engagement outcomes. OBJECTIVE: The objective of our study was to investigate cancer-related beliefs and emotions shared on Instagram and to examine their effects on participative engagement outcomes including likes, comments, and social support. METHODS: This study analyzed the content of 441 posts of #melanomasucks on Instagram and assessed the effects of the content characteristics on outcomes, including the number of likes and comments and types of social support using group least absolute shrinkage and selection operator logistic regression. RESULTS: Posts about controlling melanoma were most frequent (271/441, 61.5%), followed by 240 (54.4%) posts about outcomes of having melanoma. Ninety posts (20.4%) were about the causes of melanoma. A greater number of posts expressed positive (159/441, 36.1%) than negative emotions (100/441, 22.7%). Eighty posts (18.1%) expressed hope, making it the most frequently expressed emotion; 49 posts expressed fear (11.1%), 46 were humorous (10.4%), and 46 showed sadness (10.4%). Posts about self behavior as a cause of melanoma decreased likes (P<.001) and social support comments (P=.048). Posts about physical consequences of melanoma decreased likes (P=.02) but increased comments (P<.001) and emotional social support (P<.001); posts about melanoma treatment experience increased comments (P=.03) and emotional social support (P<.001). None of the expressions of positive emotions increased likes, comments, or social support. Expression of anger increased the number of likes (P<.001) but those about fear (P<.001) and joy (P=.006) decreased the number of likes. Posts about fear (P=.003) and sadness (P=.003) increased emotional social support. Posts showing images of melanoma or its treatment on the face or body parts made up 21.8% (96/441) of total posts. Inclusion of images increased the number of comments (P=.001). CONCLUSIONS: To our knowledge, this is the first investigation of the content and effects of user-generated visual cancer communication on social media. The findings show where the self-expressive and social engagement functions of #melanomasucks converge and diverge, providing implications for extending research on the commonsense model of illness and for developing conceptual frameworks explaining participative engagement on social media.

Efficacy of a Media Literacy Intervention for Indoor Tanning Prevention.

Indoor tanning leads to melanoma, the fifth most common cancer in the USA. The highest rate of indoor tanning is among young women whose exposure to tanned images in the media is linked to protanning attitudes. This study evaluated the efficacy of a media literacy intervention for reducing young women's indoor tanning. Intervention participants analyzed the content and functions of the media influencing protanning attitudes and produced counter-messages to help themselves and peers resist harmful media effects. The message production was of two types: digital argument production or digital story production. The control group received assessments only. This three-group randomized design involved 26 sorority chapters and 247 members in five Midwestern states where indoor tanning is prevalent. At 2- and 6-month follow-up assessments, those in the two intervention conditions were less likely to be indoor tanners (p = .033) and reported lower indoor tanning intentions (p = .002) compared to those in the control condition. No difference between the two intervention groups was found for behavior. Although the argument group exhibited slightly weaker indoor tanning intentions than the story group, the difference was not significant. The results provide the first evidence of the efficacy of a media literacy intervention for indoor tanning reduction. Implications for participative engagement interventions are discussed.

What makes a message real? The effects of perceived realism of alcohol- and drug-related messages on personal probability estimation.

Perceived lack of realism in alcohol advertising messages promising positive outcomes and antialcohol and antidrug messages portraying negative outcomes of alcohol consumption has been a cause for public health concern. This study examined the effects of perceived realism dimensions on personal probability estimation through identification and message minimization. Data collected from college students in U.S. Midwest in 2010 (N = 315) were analyzed with multilevel structural equation modeling. Plausibility and narrative consistency mitigated message minimization, but they did not influence identification. Factuality and perceptual quality influenced both message minimization and identification, but their effects were smaller than those of typicality. Typicality was the strongest predictor of probability estimation. Implications of the results and suggestions for future research are provided.

Media Literacy Interventions: A Meta-Analytic Review.

Although numerous media literacy interventions have been developed and delivered over the past 3 decades, a comprehensive meta-analytic assessment of their effects has not been available. This study investigates the average effect size and moderators of 51 media literacy interventions. Media literacy interventions had positive effects (d=.37) on outcomes including media knowledge, criticism, perceived realism, influence, behavioral beliefs, attitudes, self-efficacy, and behavior. Moderator analyses indicated that interventions with more sessions were more effective, but those with more components were less effective. Intervention effects did not vary by the agent, target age, the setting, audience involvement, the topic, the country, or publication status.

Effects of gain- and loss-framed messages on the sun safety behavior of adolescents: the moderating role of risk perceptions.

This study examined how message framing effects can be moderated by two types of risk: (a) perceived effectiveness in preventing a risk and (b) perceived susceptibility to the risk. The results indicate that the perceived effectiveness moderated framing effects on the intention to use sunscreen such that a loss-framed message was more effective when perceived effectiveness was low, whereas a gain-framed message was more effective when perceived effectiveness was high. In addition, perceived susceptibility to skin cancer moderated framing effects on the intention to use sunscreen and the intention to wear long pants such that a loss-framed message was more effective when perceived susceptibility was high.

Genre-specific media and perceptions of personal and social risk of smoking among South Korean college students.

The smoking rate among adult men in South Korea is one of the highest in the world, standing at about 53%. Although various mass media-based educational initiatives have been taken to reduce this rate, their contribution toward the smoking risk perceptions of South Koreans has not been investigated. This study examined the association between genre-specific media exposure and personal and social risk perceptions of smokers and nonsmokers. Data from a survey of 558 South Korean college students (39% smokers) show that genre-specific media exposure differentially predicts personal and social risk perceptions of smokers and nonsmokers. News media exposure predicted smokers' personal risk perceptions, whereas entertainment media exposure predicted nonsmokers' personal risk perceptions. Exposure to a hybrid genre, health infotainment, predicted social risk perceptions, but not personal risk perceptions, of both smokers and nonsmokers. High rates of exposure to medical documentary were associated with low personal risk perceptions of nonsmokers, but not smokers. These results collectively suggest that mixed-media strategies may effectively address perceptions of personal and social risk of smoking. Suggestions for future research, and theoretical and practical implications, are offered.

Gain- and Loss-Frame Sun Safety Messages and Psychological Reactance of Adolescents.

Adolescents are frequently thought of as having strong desire for independence and defiance of authority. Using psychological reactance theory, this study investigated the effects of gain and loss frame messages advocating sun safety behavior on the perceived threats to freedom of high school-aged adolescents. A loss rather than a gain frame message produced greater perceived threats to freedom among adolescents. Perceived threats to freedom were associated with anger, but anger was not associated with attitudes toward behavior. Perceived threats to freedom were not associated with negative cognitions, but more negative cognitions were associated with less positive attitudes toward behavior. Implications of the findings on future research are explored.

Magazine exposure, tanned women stereotypes, and tanning attitudes.

This study investigated whether magazine exposure is related to stereotypical beliefs about tanned women. A survey of White college women (n=205) assessed their exposure to beauty/fashion and health/fitness magazines. Outcome variables were the beliefs that tanned women are fashionable, fit, and shallow. Attention to the tanned women's images in health magazines positively predicted the belief that tanned women are fit and that tanned women are shallow; in contrast, attention to the images in beauty magazine negatively predicted the belief that tanned women are fit. Number of beauty magazines women read negatively predicted the belief that tanned women are shallow. The belief that tanned women are fit was unrelated, but the belief that tanned women are shallow was negatively related, with tanning attitudes.

Predictors and the role of attitude toward the message and perceived message quality in gain- and loss-frame antidrug persuasion of adolescents.

This study examines predictors and the role of attitude toward the message and perceived message quality in the gain- and loss-framed antidrug persuasion of adolescents. Identification predicted the perceived effectiveness of gain- but not loss-frame ads, whereas perceived realism contributed to the perceived effectiveness of both frame ads. Positive affect predicted the attitude toward the gain-frame ads, whereas negative affect predicted the perceived quality of the loss-frame ads. Attitude toward the message was a stronger predictor of the effectiveness of gain-frame ads, while perceived message quality but not attitude toward the message was correlated with the effectiveness of loss-frame ads. Discussion focuses on implications for formative evaluation of health communication campaign messages.

Fraternity drinking as edgework: an analysis of perspectives on risk and control.

Using theories on group identity and voluntary risk taking, data gathered through seven focus groups involving 43 fraternity members were analyzed to understand the ways in which the members construct the problems of and solutions to excessive drinking. Control emerged as a metaconcept that is both an undercurrent and interconnection to the expressed opinions. The possession and practice of control discriminated three levels of in-group versus out-group membership. Perspectives on solutions were predicated upon the perceived risk of lack of control and intergroup dynamics. Implications on intervention and policy efforts are discussed.

Predictors of summer sun safety practice intentions among rural high school students.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the association between theoretically grounded psychosocial motivators and the sun safety practice intentions of rural youth. METHODS: A survey was given to 219 members of FFA (Future Farmers of America) at high schools in the rural Midwest (average age = 16). RESULTS: Perceived self-efficacy, peer norms, response efficacy, and susceptibility predicted protective clothing and sunscreen use intentions. Among boys, perceived norms among same-sex peers; but among girls, norms among both same- and opposite-sex peers, were significant. CONCLUSIONS: Self-efficacy should be an important component of sun safety education for rural youth. Gender-specific peer norms should also be addressed.