closer to the social media platforms and are almost addicted to it. ... Just below the best picture of the day, best quote of the day, ..... social media marketing.
Social Media Authenticity Issues: Information, Verification and Dissemination Radhe Krishan, Assistant Professor, Vivekananda Institute of Professional Studies, New Delhi Abstract In the present age of communication technology we are surrounded by a plethora of digital platforms that enable us to keep informed about the world we are living in. With a couple of software applications (apps) we not only can keep ourselves updated about the key events and developments occurring around us but we leave our comments or response to them whenever we feel to do it. These responses draw further attention of people who are like-minded or with opposite viewpoint and ultimately become part of the social discourse. It is pertinent to gauge the authenticity of the information we consume and share because this information shapes our viewpoint and we keep sharing it on one or the other communication platform. Youngsters are closer to the social media platforms and are almost addicted to it. They find themselves trapped in a race of knowing everything first. With this pressure they share information without giving a second thought. It may be a Facebook status, Whatsapp status or may be any other platform. This study would attempt to examine social media behavior of youngsters in general whereas in particular it aims to explore whether youngsters crosscheck or verify information they get from any social media platform before they share it with others or they just share it and seek response from people. Keywords: Social media, Youth, Sharing, Authenticity, Information
Introduction The IT revolution of 21st Century has created a web of highly interactive platforms that enabled individuals, communities and groups share, generate, create, discuss and modify user generated content. With such qualities and possibilities, the phenomenon of social media is changing the shape of the world we are living in. To be more precise, it is evident that the communication
landscape of the contemporary world is changed with the advancements in communication technology. Social Media, across the globe, has certainly carved a place for itself in the lives of people. It connects people and reduces if not removes the distance across boundaries of demography, geography and subject. Recent examples from the Middle East echo the power it has acquired over the period. Social media movements have resulted in toppling of governments, collapse of brands and celebrity disclosures. There are even agencies mushroomed up that handles only social media presence of their clients, whether brands or individuals, even companies now allocate budgets to monitor online conversations about their brand and leverage them to improve their products, customer service and build a positive vibe and recall. They keep posting intriguing content that lure user towards the „share‟ button. There hardly is any social network site or any popular website that do not offer sharing buttons on their webpage. These sharing buttons are icons or logos of popular social networking sites and are images that are universally recognized by almost all the users of internet. Whenever one comes across any interesting matter there is an urge to share. Though, it‟s not a novel phenomenon as it always was there with humans, yet social media provided the opportunity to satisfy that urge right at its moment. Just below the best picture of the day, best quote of the day, best status or anything of that sort, we would find the “share” button. The piece of information that may be unimportant, unknown or buried on some unknown webpage a moment ago becomes important, interesting and may be popular in a very short span of time. Individuals, groups and organizations with certain mindsets and objectives use social media to fulfill their hidden motives. Undoubtedly social media has its advantages but at the same time disadvantages also. Anyone can create any number of identities over social media platforms. This, at times, poses grave threat to individual privacy and wellbeing. Gullible masses may get influenced by certain groups or individuals and become more vulnerable in certain instances. Individuals tend to share information which they find anywhere on internet and interests them. Greek (2013) discusses the information sharing behavior of users: “As the adoption of features such as sharing buttons works its way into the structure of websites, our ability to spread information across multiple social networks and to
different audiences will become easier. This process of sharing pages and information to our social networks from across the web also increases our potential to engage with others and generate discussions.” Users feel great about sharing information as they expect other members of his group to do the same and in the process he comes across more interesting pieces of information. Also they feel that sharing such information strengthens their ties and build a good image of theirs. Girard & Girard found that people share because they feel sharing is rewarding. They mention: “The more the person believes that information sharing is the correct, socially accepted behavior, the more they are willing to share. And the more a person‟s work is dependent on the work of others, then the more likely the person is to share in order to increase reciprocity and in the needs of self-interest” Wasko and Faraz (2005) used theories of collective action to study why users of electronic networks share information and knowledge even when they are aware that there won‟t be any immediate gain and free riders will acquire same knowledge and information without making efforts that go into the process. Researchers also attempted to explore why individuals indulge in conversations, with special emphasis on conversations with strangers. Thibaut and Kelley (1959) offered a perspective to understand why individuals are more interested in some conversations, exchanges and behaviors than the other. The imbalance created by the innate differences in characters of individuals is to be attuned as far as possible. This process of creating a balance is constant in relationships. In their book „The Social Psychology of Groups‟ they argued that “This kind of relationship requires that the two individuals differ in certain respects and in ways that are complementary, each being able at low cost to provide the special kind of product valued by the other” (John W. Thibaut, 1959). Framework Many scholars observed that people share information with an objective of gathering positive response to their opinions or sometimes to confirm their viewpoints. They write blogs and share opinion online and gather all sorts of reactions to their opinions, sometimes in favor of and sometimes may be critical of. On the basis of such discussions they keep confirming and
reconfirming their viewpoint. Many researchers found that most of the times people adopt popular beliefs and opinions due to the fear of isolation or social rejection (Neumenn, 1974). Kietzmann et. al. proposed a basic framework of social media with seven functional blocks viz. identity, conversations, sharing, presence, relationships, reputation, and groups. Sharing, they said, represents the extent to which users exchange, distribute and receive content. Further the researchers mention, “Sharing alone is a way of interacting in social media, but whether sharing leads users to want to converse or even build relationships with each other depends on the functional objective of the social media platform. For instance, the objects of sociality are pictures for Flickr, Indie music for MySpace, and careers for LinkedIn.”
(Kietzmann, Hermkens, McCarthy, & Silvestre, 2011) Another matter of concern here is weather users verify, probe or confirm the piece of information they are sharing. There are hardly any checks to examine the quality, the hidden agenda or the motive of the content. The context and the source of the information being shared on social media platforms most of the times remain unidentified. This many a times lead to confusion,
conflict, misunderstandings giving birth to spoiled relationships and also sometimes spread tension and hatred among members of different social, religious, ethnic or even civic groups. At many instances the users delete their statuses or shared information from their online space after discovering the contextual meaning or controversial source. But on social media sphere the damage is done as the information quickly go viral. However in majority of the cases users do not even realize that the information they are sharing plays a key role in building their public image. People tend to form opinions about the character of persons by observing the kind of content they share online. Research Questions Though the research aims to explore various aspects related to online information sharing behavior of youngsters, yet it focuses on three simple questions. Q1. How young heavy social media users process information online? Q2. Are there any common traits related to online information sharing behavior? Q3. What is the common response to objectionable/controversial/offensive content?
Research Methodology For the purpose of this research heavy users of social media were sought to constitute the sample. It was observed that college students in metro cities are heavy social media users. Even there, media students use it more as they are to keep a track of not only internal activities but external activities as well. They are recommended by teachers and mentors to follow political parties, organisations, eminent personalities and government officials on internet so as to keep a track of what is happening on different levels in society. Keeping that in mind, and also considering convenience as a factor for the researcher, Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University (GGSIPU) was chosen as universe and students of Journalism and Mass Communication as population. Further non-probability sampling procedure was adopted and systematic random sampling method was employed. From the list of total 589
students, every eighth student was selected to become part of the sample 68 students were available. Primary data was collected with the help of a self-administered close ended questionnaire. After data collection, with the help of SPSS analytics software, data interpretation was done.
Key Findings Based on the data collected through the survey the research answers the questions discussed earlier. All the respondents used social networking sites and all of them accepted that they share information online. Majority of the respondents (54.4%) accepted they do it often. Majority of the respondents said that they share information with virtual friends more often than they do it exclusively with close friends. However, virtual friends, in this context, include close friends and acquaintances. Responding to the question whether they like content shared by others, there were mixed responses and 47% said sometimes they do like. In response to the direct question related to the validity of information they share, only 6% of the respondents admitted that they do verify before sharing. Conclusion Though the research has its own limitations, yet it gives an idea about online sharing behavior among heavy social media users. Majority of the users did confess that they did not verify or probed information before sharing it with others. In the light of recent events where social media stood in the center of action, it is pertinent to understand the limitations of this phenomenal platform of communication. Social media, undoubtedly, will grow with increasing internet penetration. Presently we can observe the role social media is playing in the context of upcoming parliamentary elections. We have examples of Syria and Egypt. And of course many more to come. Thus it becomes all the more pertinent to understand social media closely, scrutinize the users and devising ways to curb misuse.
Below are the frequency tables for the questions and responses.
Frequency Table Do you use internet every day?
Valid
yes
Frequency
Percent
Valid Percent
Cumulative Percent
68
100.0
100.0
100.0
Do you use social networking sites?
Valid
yes
Frequency
Percent
Valid Percent
Cumulative Percent
68
100.0
100.0
100.0
Are you aware that any information can be shared on diverse platforms online?
Valid
yes
Frequency
Percent
Valid Percent
Cumulative Percent
68
100.0
100.0
100.0
Do you share articles/videos/pictures/links online?
Valid
Frequency
Percent
Valid Percent
Cumulative Percent
yes
12
17.6
17.6
17.6
Sometimes
19
27.9
27.9
45.6
often
37
54.4
54.4
100.0
Total
68
100.0
100.0
Do you share them on diverse online platforms?
Valid
Frequency
Percent
Valid Percent
Cumulative Percent
yes
13
19.1
19.1
19.1
Sometimes
15
22.1
22.1
41.2
often
40
58.8
58.8
100.0
Total
68
100.0
100.0
If yes then with whom do you share these with?
Valid
Frequency
Percent
Valid Percent
Cumulative Percent
Close friends
7
10.3
10.3
10.3
Acquaintances
1
1.5
1.5
11.8
Virtual Friends
31
45.6
45.6
57.4
Everyone possible
29
42.6
42.6
100.0
Total
68
100.0
100.0
Do you like information shared by others online?
Valid
Frequency
Percent
Valid Percent
Cumulative Percent
yes
5
7.4
7.4
7.4
No
20
29.4
29.4
36.8
Sometimes
25
36.8
36.8
73.5
often
18
26.5
26.5
100.0
If yes then with whom do you share these with?
Valid
Frequency
Percent
Valid Percent
Cumulative Percent
Close friends
7
10.3
10.3
10.3
Acquaintances
1
1.5
1.5
11.8
Virtual Friends
31
45.6
45.6
57.4
Everyone possible
29
42.6
42.6
100.0
Total
68
100.0
100.0
Do you trust information shared by others online?
Valid
Frequency
Percent
Valid Percent
Cumulative Percent
yes
21
30.9
30.9
30.9
No
5
7.4
7.4
38.2
Sometimes
32
47.1
47.1
85.3
often
10
14.7
14.7
100.0
Total
68
100.0
100.0
Did you ever find any information online offensive?
Valid
Frequency
Percent
Valid Percent
Cumulative Percent
yes
9
13.2
13.2
13.2
No
2
2.9
2.9
16.2
Sometimes
32
47.1
47.1
63.2
often
25
36.8
36.8
100.0
Total
68
100.0
100.0
Did you ever feel forced to remove content you shared online?
Valid
Frequency
Percent
Valid Percent
Cumulative Percent
yes
7
10.3
10.3
10.3
No
61
89.7
89.7
100.0
Total
68
100.0
100.0
Did you ever report/complained about any content shared online?
Valid
Frequency
Percent
Valid Percent
Cumulative Percent
yes
4
5.9
5.9
5.9
No
64
94.1
94.1
100.0
Total
68
100.0
100.0
Did you ever come across any piece of information online that you know wasn’t authentic?
Valid
Frequency
Percent
Valid Percent
Cumulative Percent
yes
5
7.4
7.4
7.4
No
6
8.8
8.8
16.2
Sometimes
25
36.8
36.8
52.9
often
32
47.1
47.1
100.0
Total
68
100.0
100.0
Do you share information on diverse online platforms?
Valid
Frequency
Percent
Valid Percent
Cumulative Percent
yes
17
25.0
25.0
25.0
Sometimes
28
41.2
41.2
66.2
often
23
33.8
33.8
100.0
Total
68
100.0
100.0
Do you crosscheck or verify information before sharing it online?
Valid
Frequency
Percent
Valid Percent
Cumulative Percent
yes
4
5.9
5.9
5.9
No
31
45.6
45.6
51.5
Sometimes
24
35.3
35.3
86.8
often
9
13.2
13.2
100.0
Total
68
100.0
100.0
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Questionnaire
1. Do you use internet every day? a. Yes b. No 2. Do you use social networking sites? a. Yes b. No 3. Are you aware that any information can be shared on diverse platforms online? a. Yes b. No 4. Do you share articles/videos/pictures/links online? a. Yes b. No c. Sometimes d. often 5. Do you share them on diverse online platforms? a. Yes b. No c. Sometimes d. often 6. Do you crosscheck or verify information before sharing it online? a. Yes b. No c. Sometimes d. often 7. If yes then with whom do you share these with? a. Close friends b. Acquaintances c. Virtual Friends d. Everyone possible 8. Do you like information shared by others online? a. Yes b. No c. Sometimes d. often 9. Do you trust information shared by others online? a. Yes b. No c. Sometimes d. often 10. Do you crosscheck or verify information before sharing it online? a. Yes b. No c. Sometimes d. often 11. Did you ever find any information online offensive? a. Yes b. No c. Sometimes d. often 12. Did you ever feel forced to remove content you shared online? a. Yes b. No c. Sometimes d. often 13. Did you ever report/complained about any content shared online? a. Yes b. No c. Sometimes d. often 14. Do you ever come across any piece of information online that you know wasn‟t authentic?
a. Yes b. No c. Sometimes d. often 15. Do you share information on diverse online platforms? a. Yes b. No c. Sometimes d. often
