Various Social Media Platforms - Research Paper Example

Research on Clues People Use To Decide To Trust or Distrust Information/News They Receive Via Various Social Media Platforms Date: Research on Clues People Use To Decide To Trust or Distrust Information/News They Receive Via Various Social Media Platforms Introduction Social networking sites have become very popular in recent years since they enable individuals to devise public profiles within an interlinked system. With the increase in their popularity, social networking sites have become widely used as among the important news sources. However, people have become very cautious when it comes to determining the trustworthiness of the news contents or the information disseminated through them. As such, knowing the factors influencing the trust or distrust in social media content is very critical. The objective of this research is to understand at what point, or with what clues people decide to trust or distrust information or news they receive through various social media platforms. Research Design Case study method has been used to conduct this research. This is because it offers flexibility and allows the researcher to maintain the holistic features of real-life occurrences while investigating practical events. Generally, a case study is an empirical enquiry investigating a phenomenon within the context of real life when the borders between the phenomenon and the context are blurred or not clearly evident. By design, case studies normally adopt as their principal subject selected instances of social entity within its normal context. It offers a descriptive account of a case or cases while at the same time offering a possibility of being used in an intellectually thorough manner to realize experimental isolation of one or more chosen social factors within the context of real life. Case study is suitable for this research given that the subject under investigation is a contextually rich phenomenon that is being queried using the why question. Additionally, the researcher will exercise minimal control. The research question is also focuses on a contemporary issue rather than historic information. Sampling Method Purposive sampling technique was used as the sampling method in this study. The technique involves deliberately choosing an informant owing to the qualities possessed by the informant. It is a nonrandom sampling technique which does not require underlying theories. In simple terms, a decision is made by the researcher with regard to what needs to be known and sets to seek individuals who can and are willing to offer the information based on their knowledge and experience1 (291-313). The sampling method is particularly demonstrated through the informant technique in which one or few people are requested as guides to a particular practice. The informants are members of a community of interest who are observant and reflective and know about a given culture apart from being willing to share their knowledge. The criteria used involved the selection of traditional UCM students who possess smart phones. The selected students must also have at least one social media platform in their phones. They must also be in upper class junior or senior apart from spending much time on social media using their smart phones. Given the popularity of smart phones in the school, finding the target population was not difficult. Additionally, this population is relevant as the sample as the study requires that the sample population must be individuals who are familiar with and regularly used social media platforms. Data Collection Data was collected using semi structured interview composed of open-ended questions. This technique was adopted because it allows the respondents to give impulsive responses at that particular instance and to put into perspective various ideas put forward by the respondents. The use of open ended questions also enables the researcher to pick out common themes and cues with regard to the responses given by the respondents. Semi structured interview enable a focused, two-way conversational communication. Since much of the questions are constructed during the interview, it allows both the interviewer and the interviewee the flexibility to discuss issues thus providing rich data. Measurement Inductive measurement was used since it allows for categories and codes to emerge from the responses given by the respondents. The following questions were administered on the respondents: 1. Describe a typical session of scrolling through your newsfeed on the social media site you use most frequently. 2. Describe your thought process when deciding to open a link to an article posted onto said newsfeed. 3. What methods do you use to decide whether or not the article or information you’re reading is credible and reliable? Analysis Responses were analyzed using content analysis. This is a qualitative technique for making inferences by systematically and objectively identifying specified characteristics. This means that the responses will be analyzed to determine who says what and why in order to make inferences about the responses, its effect on recipients and to describe the attributes of the response. Responses will be categorized using key words and referential units such as words or terms, themes, characters, paragraphs and items. Data Presentation An analysis of the data reveals two major themes. First, social networking sites are not entirely used as a source of news information. For instance, one respondent stated that I do not care to read politics news. I only read it if I saw it in my friend’s page or if some of my friends sent me a link to read it. Other than that, I do not search for it. I never follow political accounts, I avoid it. (Interviewed by Sara, April 13, 2015, Interview 1) Another respondent mentioned that I always stay away from any links or posts with advertising because I think most of them are not reliable. Sometimes I feel that some people or companies use that way of posting fake news or stories just to attract the reader for their own benefits. It is not the social media; it is the links being shared on social media. (Interviewed by Sara, April 17, 2015) The implication is that social networking sites are not trusted as a source of news or information. A second theme that emerges is that news postings are trusted based the person who has posted the link. In other words, when the link is from a close trusted friend, the news item is considered reliable and trustworthy. For instance, one respondent stated I try to look at the source of the news link and also the title if it is worth reading and if it looks real. I prefer to open the links that come from a person that I know. Most of the news that I actually read come from Facebook and sometimes when I read something that I am not really sure that is true or reliable, I search for it in the actual newspaper to make sure the news story is true. (Interviewed by Sara, April 17, 2015, Interview 1) The same response is given by another respondent who mentioned that I do not open a lot of links especially when it is from a source that I am not aware of, or someone that I do not know. I do not trust random links that are posted everywhere. I only open the ones that come from someone I know. Since I am a sport major, I read a lot of sport news and I often read it from ESPN sport. I do not browse too often. (Interviewed by Sara, April 17, 2015, Interview 1) Overall, the data suggest that trust for social networking sites as sources of information or news is based on whether the information or news link is posted by a close friend or a credible news site. Generally, the respondents prefer to obtain news from sources they are aware of rather than social networking sites. Conclusion In conclusion, people decide whether to trust or distrust information or news items on social networking sites based on the source of the link to the information. People are more likely to trust the news or information on social networking site if it emanates from a source that they are familiar with such as a close friend or a credible news site. Overall, individuals prefer actual news and information sites as sources of information or news. Reference Lewis, J.L. & Sheppard, S.R.J. (2006). Culture and communication: can landscape visualization improve forest management consultation with indigenous communities? Landscape and Urban Planning 77:291–313. APPENDIX: INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT There were mixed responses with regard to the kind of news feed media sites that respondents used most frequently. For instance, one respondent stated that she used Twitter most of the time to keep up with its news and stories since she follows a lot of friends. She added that she liked reading all the sarcasm comments and quotes posted on the social media site. More specifically, she stated: I do not care to read politics news. I only read it if I saw it in my friend’s page or if some of my friends sent me a link to read it. Other than that, I do not search for it. I never follow political accounts, I avoid it. The respondent mentions various reasons for not following political news. According to her: Nowadays news is not good at all. Nothing is positive when it comes to political news and that is why I avoid reading it but if there is a big news that I really want to know about it in more details, I would definitely look for it in the actual news sites or channels that are credible such as Fox News and NBC. When asked to describe her thought when deciding to open a link to an article posted onto the social media site, the respondent said, I do not open a lot of links especially when it is from a source that I am not aware of, or someone that I do not know. I do not trust random links that are posted everywhere. I only open the ones that come from someone I know. Since I am a sport major, I read a lot of sport news and I often read it from ESPN sport. I do not browse too often. When asked about the method she uses to determine the reliability and credibility of an article or information she reads from the sites, she mentioned that I always stay away from any links or posts with advertising because I think most of them are not reliable. Sometimes I feel that some people or companies use that way of posting fake news or stories just to attract the reader for their own benefits. It is not the social media; it is the links being shared on social media. Various major cues emerge from these responses from the respondent. First, the respondent does not rely on social networking sites as sources of news. Instead, she prefers actual news sites. Secondly, she distrusts any news link with advertising since she considers a ploy to get her visit the site for the benefit of the advertising company. Finally, it is not the social media site which is important as a source of news but rather the links that are being shared. Another respondent stated that the social networking site that she frequently used was Instagram. The reason given was that the respondent posts a lot of pictures and prefers pictures to words. She uses the social networking site to search for posts and pictures that her friends have placed to know what they are doing back home since she is away from home and hardly see them. With regard to credibility and reliability of news posts made on the site, she stated; I try to look at the source of the news link and also the title if it is worth reading and if it looks real. I prefer to open the links that come from a person that I know. Most of the news that I actually read come from Facebook and sometimes when I read something that I am not really sure that is true or reliable, I search for it in the actual newspaper to make sure the news story is true. According to the respondent, she prefers reading news from Facebook because it is not only convenient but also cost effective. With regard to reliability and credibility of news on social networking sites, the respondent mentioned: Some .com are reliable while some are not. However, when I want to read or look for information that I am 100 percent sure that is credible and reliable, I look for .edu, .gov, or .org, sometimes the author too. Snap chat is the easiest way to read or find news. It has a variety of news and it is all reliable because it is from actual news sites. Social media makes it easy for us to find news because it is everywhere. Read More