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Contains fulltext : 250295.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access) Previous research has shown that passive social media use does not have the same positive effects on well-being as active social media use. However, it is currently unclear whether these effects can be attributed to the benefits of active use, the costs of passive use, or both. The current article investigated the effect of active and passive Facebook use on feelings of social connectedness after being ostracized. In two preregistered experiments, participants were first ostracized on a faux social media platform, followed by a measurement of social connectedness. In Experiment 1 they were then instructed to either use Facebook passively, use Facebook actively, or use a non-social website (Wikipedia), after which social connectedness was measured again. Results indicated that active Facebook use can restore social connectedness after being ostracized as compared to using a non-social website. While passive Facebook use also restored social connectedness, it did not change social connectedness significantly more so than Wikipedia use. In Experiment 2, we replicated Experiment 1, now focusing only on passive Facebook use compared to a non-social website. Results showed again that passive Facebook use did not influence social connectedness more so than the use of Wikipedia. In exploratory analyses, we found that for participants who felt close to other Facebook users, passive Facebook use did increase social connectedness compared to using a non-social website. These experiments suggest that, even though passive social media use does not restore social connectedness in the same way that active social media use does, it also does not harm social connectedness, and it may actually promote social connectedness under certain circumstances. 11 p.

This dataset was used in the study of effects of online user behaviors on a network social capital. Paper citation: Rykov Y, Koltsova O, Sinyavskaya Y (2020) Effects of user behaviors on accumulation of social capital in an online social network. PLoS ONE 15(4): e0231837. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0231837

Scholars and social critics have been debating whether social network sites are of greater benefit to those who acquire more or less social resources in face-to-face interactions. This meta-analysis seeks to address the debate by proposing a nuanced perspective that differentiates between preference for and problem in interpersonal relations, and between social network site use and the benefits of such use.

Background As social media is a major channel of interpersonal communication in the digital age, social media addiction has emerged as a novel mental health issue that has raised considerable concerns among researchers, health professionals, policy makers, mass media, and the general public. Objective The aim of this study is to examine the prevalence of social media addiction derived from 4 major classification schemes (strict monothetic, strict polythetic, monothetic, and polythetic), with latent profiles embedded in the empirical data adopted as the benchmark for comparison. The extent of matching between the classification of each scheme and the actual data pattern was evaluated using sensitivity and specificity analyses. The associations between social media addiction and 2 comorbid mental health conditions—depression and anxiety—were investigated. Methods A cross-sectional web-based survey was conducted, and the replicability of findings was assessed in 2 independent samples comprising 573 adults from the United Kingdom (261/573, 45.6% men; mean age 43.62 years, SD 12.24 years) and 474 adults from the United States (224/474, 47.4% men; mean age 44.67 years, SD 12.99 years). The demographic characteristics of both samples were similar to those of their respective populations. Results The prevalence estimates of social media addiction varied across the classification schemes, ranging from 1% to 15% for the UK sample and 0% to 11% for the US sample. The latent profile analysis identified 3 latent groups for both samples: low-risk, at-risk, and high-risk. The sensitivity, specificity, and negative predictive values were high (83%-100%) for all classification schemes, except for the relatively lower sensitivity (73%-74%) for the polythetic scheme. However, the polythetic scheme had high positive predictive values (88%-94%), whereas such values were low (2%-43%) for the other 3 classification schemes. The group membership yielded by the polythetic scheme was largely consistent (95%-96%) with that of the benchmark. Conclusions Among the classification schemes, the polythetic scheme is more well-balanced across all 4 indices.

This article engages with the postfeminist debate on girls’ sexuality in contemporary Italy. The huge popularity among adolescents of social network sites (SNSs), which involve a vast mobilisation of personal images, has given rise to new concerns and a moralising gender panic about girls’ sexuality. Drawing on critical girls’ studies, and based on the outputs of a qualitative research project, the article discusses the gender discourses that emerge from Italian girls’ digital practices on SNSs, with specific reference to girls’ online self-representation through posting and sharing photos on Facebook and other SNSs. The article explores how sexual regulation works among girls in the digital context by analysing the postfeminist norms of female sexual embodiment in contemporary Italian digital culture. In doing so, the article hopes to contribute to the transnational academic debate in media and cultural studies by showing the discursive and visual conditions of possibility which shape girls’ digital sexual subjectivity on social network sites.

Social network brand sites are increasingly attracting the attention of scientists and managers intrigued by their potential application for brand value creation. The aim of this research is to fill the gap in understanding how users choose among social networking sites as an act of brand identification. Social network users, unlike it is in real life, do not need to own branded products to use their image. For this reason their identification with brands can bring interesting implications for those who study brand value creation. The study presents a new model whose structure of social network brand sites identification drivers varies for customer brand identification in the real and virtual worlds. The presented model reveals that personal branding is a planned effect of brand identification and is crucial for brand value creation in social networks.

The Social Web is quickly becoming a way of life: millions of people, everywhere, use social network sites to stay connected with their friends, discover new people and activities, and share user-created contents. Moreover, the Social Web phenomenon experiments an astoundingly rapid growth that is not likely to slow down in the near future. At the same time, the borderline between social networks and social media is more and more blurred. This complex and evolving scenario requires a new generation of computer scientists and engineers that understand how to properly design software for supporting and fostering social interactions. This paper describes a university-level experience started four academic years ago with a Social Web course. The course uses a multidisciplinary and active learning approach by requesting the students to design and prototype a Social Web application, and the teachers provide an active support and follow-up along the semester. The paper presents the adopted teaching strategies and analyzes the attained learning outcomes, both from the qualitative and quantitative point of views.

In this research study, first, a prototype network design as real modeling and using the OPNET software as virtual modeling of a typical enterprise network are constructed and analyzed. On these real and virtual network models, the affects of Firewall and VPN (Virtual Private Network) on network performance are studied. Then a more complex and realistic model than the first simple OPNET model is designed, and on this second model similar analysis work is performed. In this study, another research topic is to investigate application areas and uses of OPNET in communication networks education. What we have done different than the previous research studies and projects in our study is constructing both a real enterprise network prototype and virtual OPNET simulation model, and comparing network models and network analysis results. The affects of Firewall and VPN on these models are studied in both real network devices and virtual OPNET environments. Additionally, practical use of both developed real and virtual models in university education is also taken into consideration.

Incluye traducción realizada por el autor, The article analyzes access to various information and communication technologies –ICTs-(mobile phone, computer, Internet, e-mail and social network site) among a representative sample of homeless people in Madrid. The information was collected using a structured interview. The results show that new ICTs are used to some extent among homeless people in Madrid, although at much lower percentages than the general population in Spain. We observed a relatively widespread use of mobile phones, a medium-low level use of the Internet, computer and e-mail, and hardly any use of social networks, with significant differences according to the interviewees' age, level of education and Sapanish or foreign nationality. The digital divide has an especially negative effect on elderly homeless people, those with lower levels of education and those of Spanish origin, El artículo analiza el acceso a diferentes tecnologías de la información y comunicación (TICs) (teléfono móvil, ordenador, Internet, correo electrónico y redes sociales) por una muestra representativa de personas sin hogar en Madrid. La información se recogió mediante una entrevista estructurada heteroaplicada. Los resultados muestran que las nuevas TICs se utilizan en cierta medida entre las personas sin hogar en Madrid, aunque en porcentajes mucho más bajos que la población general en España. Se observa un uso relativamente extendido del teléfono móvil, una utilización media-baja de Internet, ordenador y correo electrónico y una escasa utilización de redes sociales, con importantes diferencias en función de la edad, el nivel de formación y nacionalidad de los entrevistados. La brecha digital afecta de forma especialmente negativa a las personas sin hogar de mayor edad, con menores niveles de formación y de origen español, Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad, This research was supported by the “Dirección General de Investigación Científica y Técnica” of the “Ministerio de Economía y Competitvidad” of Spain, in the “VI Plan Nacional de Investigación Científica Desarrollo e Innovación Tecnológica” (Ref. FEM2012-35053)

The study investigated ���out-of-classroom��� collaboration and factors influencing scaffolding amongst Japanese language learners and native speakers (NS) participating in social network site (SNS) discussion forums. The driving curiosity underlying this study is vested in a need to understand how the efficacy of online language education can be improved. Whilst a large and growing body of literature dwells in issues related to online education, it is notable that the literature has not yet traversed what makes effective applications of online education without face-to-face classroom contexts (out-of-class). The under-researched areas on online discussion forums relate to those conducted in: out-of-class environments; without an assessment regime; and, with diversity in participants��� language proficiency levels. Furthermore, the use of a SNS as a platform for investigating these areas is underexplored. The study engaged Japanese language learners and NS at an Australian university participating in discussion forums using a commercial SNS. Qualitative data was gathered from multiple sources: interviews; questionnaire; survey; reflective logbooks; language proficiency tests; and, online data. The interactions between the participants, comparing seven different groups were analysed with a new more finely grained Activity System: the Online Joint Activity System (OJAS), which was devised as a tool to reflect on interactions on SNS-based forums as a contribution to theory. The study found that proactive users of CMC enjoyed participating in the SNS-based forums to gain confidence in using Japanese and to improve their reading and writing skills. Both NS and Learners at all levels could provide scaffolding in three categories (linguistic; content; and navigation) identified in the study. Interactions between participants, especially NS including scaffolding from NS, are vital in the creation of a supportive online learning environment. In such an environment, discussion leaders��� and NSs��� inputs influence scaffolding provision and development of forums more than consistency or diversity of language competency. The OJAS helped to explain the interactions and contradictions observed in this study, taking into consideration the SNS environment. The study notes that SNS based language programs can make valuable complements to existing face-to-face programs. Additionally, it presents practical implications for future studies and teaching practices in SNS-based collaborative activities.

One of the most interesting and still not completely understood phenomena happening in Social Network Sites is their ability to spread (or not) units of information which may aggregate to form large distributed conversations. In this paper we present the result of an empirical study on a Large Social Database (LSD) aimed at measuring the factors enabling information spreading in Social Network Sites.

Social network sites (SNS) like MySpace seem to play a role in friendships and wider relationships for many people. Emotion expression can be important in relationship maintenance but little is known about the role of emotion in SNSs, other than positive comments being widespread in MySpace. But is emotion typically reciprocated, and do Friends express and/or receive similar levels of emotion expression to each other? Based upon an analysis of over two million MySpace public comments associated with 2,990 pairs of UK and US Friends using a sentiment detection program, statistically significant evidence was found for a weak correlation between the strength of positive emotion exchanged between Friends and received by Friends. This is consistent with two separate hypotheses: members tend to Friend others with similar levels of public emotion expression, or the expression of emotion in MySpace is contagious. The results may help to identify non-optimal behaviour and at-risk individuals in SNSs.

Adolescents are particularly susceptible to feelings of loneliness and social relationships are therefore an important part of their development. The aim of the present study is to explore the patterns of adolescents' use of Social Network Sites, e.g. Facebook, in relation to friendships, focusing on the differences between teenagers with a high and low level of loneliness. Participants (N=988) were aged 14-22 (M age = 16.32, SD = 1.59) and attended secondary schools in the north of Italy. The “loneliness group” includes more girls, older adolescents and subjects dissatisfied with their online and offline relationships; lonely adolescents consider their online contacts less as “true friends” and meet friends less frequently in person than the “no loneliness” group; the “loneliness” group believe it is easier to relate with peers online. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.