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Social network sites as a threat to users’ self-determination and security: A framing analysis of German newspapers
Abstract
In this study, we examined the portrayal of privacy and data protection on social network sites (SNS) in German media. As a widely used social web application, SNS arouse a considerable amount of media attention. By means of a value-framing analysis, the present study investigated how German media frame privacy and data protection on SNS. In a first step, the three value frames informational self-determination, security and psychosocial need satisfaction were identified through a qualitative framing analysis of online media. In a second step, we conducted a standardized content analysis of four preselected German newspapers to quantify the previously identified frames. Results show that newspapers mainly frame SNS in matters of users’ informational self-determination and that they predominantly present SNS as a threat to this value.
... Privacy remains a critical concern as our world becomes increasingly digitized [17,25,26,30,37]. Studies on media coverage of privacy-related endeavors have analyzed media reporting of major events such as the Snowden revelations [4,11,18,45,48] or general national or cross-national coverage of issues concerning digital privacy [9,33,36,40,44]. Works investigating the privacyrelated news landscape employed frame and sentiment analyses to understand reporting patterns. ...
... Frame analysis seeks to uncover how news sources, most commonly, construct their discourse on issues of wide interest. Teutsch and Niemann [44] explore how German newspapers portray privacy in social network sites. The authors find that the amount of coverage over a period of seven years varies for the different identified frames and across local and national outlets. ...
Our increasingly digital world has heightened concerns about privacy. Newspaper and media reporting influences and shapes public opinion, which impacts the strategic and operational decisions of a variety of stakeholders, making it crucial to understand how privacy-related issues are portrayed in the media. Leveraging time-series analysis, topic modeling, and sentiment analysis, this paper presents a comprehensive study on the coverage of privacy-related issues in newspapers from 2010 to 2022 across six regions of the world. Temporal trends in privacy coverage reveal a gradual increase in attention to privacy issues globally, with a notable surge observed in newspapers from the Global South, complementing the historically prominent Global North coverage. Topic modeling uncovers dominant themes in privacy reporting, revealing shifts in media focus from government surveillance to data breaches and tech corporations' role. Notably, the majority of privacy reporting carries a negative sentiment, emphasizing the widespread unease that pervades discussions surrounding privacy matters.
... Ключевые слова: профилирование пользователей, машинное обучение, метод психосемантической локализации, Word2Vec, текстовые массивы, концептосферы, графовые модели DOI: 10.36535/0548-0027-2023-07-1 ВВЕДЕНИЕ Профилирование пользователей социальных интернет-сервисов -это актуальная научная проблема, связанная с безопасностью [1,2], политикой и избирательными процессами [3,4], поведением социальных групп [5,6] и индивидуальными потребительскими предпочтениями и поведением [7,8]. Материал для построения профилей довольно широк и включает "статические" и "динамические" подходы к собираемым данным: письменный опрос, стенограммы интервью, анкеты с развернутыми ответами, тексты комментариев, социально-демографические параметры, формы активности в сетевой коммуникации (активный или пассивный участник или наблюдатель), время, проведенное в сети, историю выполненных действий, социальное окружение, количество "друзей", интересы и предпочтения и др. ...
... , (2) где: rij -семантическое расстояние между i-м и j-м подграфами; aik и ajk -значения (0 или 1) i-го и j-го подграфов, относящихся к k-му концепту. Иными словами, семантическое расстояние между двумя подграфами понимается равным отношению суммы всех пар значений в том случае, когда оба члена пары имеют ненулевое значение, к сумме всех возможных комбинаций, в которых хотя бы один член пары имеет ненулевое значение. ...
Abstract—A new approach to profiling users of social internet services and the concept of recommender systems
based on this approach are presented. The proposed approach is based on the integration of the methods
and models of machine learning with the methods of psychosemantics and visual analytics, which are implemented
as software package that includes three client-server systems for collecting, processing, analyzing and
visualizing data.
... Moreover, they suggested that the themes phishing and spam and viruses and malware are less prominent in news reporting than in expert websites and informal communication between peers. In contrast to their work, most studies have a more specific focus, such as cyberterrorism [31,[39][40][41], hacking [32,42], cybercrime [32,43], online privacy [44,45], surveillance [45,46], online piracy [47], cyberbullying [48,49], Internet trolls [50], and cyber victimization [43]. Additional variation in previous research arises from the different types of media considered, diverging theoretical assumptions, and the different methods applied. ...
... ( In the case of surveillance [see (8)] earlier, this threat evokes ambiguity, since surveillance is also a method to provide security. That surveillance was construed as a threat in the newspapers is expected given lively debates over surveillance and privacy in digital society in recent years [44][45][46]. After all, journalists were key figures in the disclosure of far-reaching government surveillance programs targeting the public. ...
This paper explores how cyber threats are represented in Swedish newspapers. The sample comprises 1269 articles from three newspapers (Aftonbladet, Göteborgs-Posten, and Svenska Dagbladet) covering 25 years (1995–2019). The study provides a text-near and detailed analysis of the threats covered. The study analyzes these threats along several dimensions: their modality (e.g. unauthorized access or manipulation); to what extent ambiguous themes (e.g. attack, crime, and warfare) are specified in context; how cyber-threat coverage has changed over time; and the event orientation of the coverage, i.e. whether articles address topical events and, if so, which ones. There are five main findings. First, the Swedish newspaper cybersecurity discourse covers multiple threats; in total, 34 themes (present in at least 4% of articles) have been identified. Second, the representation of cyber threats varies in specificity. While generic themes such as attack and warfare are mostly specified in terms of their modality, they sometimes are not, leaving the representation vague. Third, this study, given its general approach, provides insights into media representations of particular cyber threats. For example, this study finds the meaning of “hacking” in the media to be more diversified and nuanced than previously assumed (e.g. as simply meaning “computer break-in”). Fourth, newspaper coverage of cyber threats has changed over time, in both quantity (i.e. the amount of coverage has increased) and quality, as three general trends have been observed: the state-ification and militarization of threats (i.e. increased attention to, e.g. nations and warfare as threats), the organization-ification of threats (i.e. increased attention to, e.g. government agencies and companies as threats), and the diversification and hyping of threats (i.e. cumulatively more threats are added to the cybersecurity discourse, although attention to particular threats is sometimes restricted in time). Finally, parallel to coverage of particular topical events (e.g. the “I love you” virus), newspaper representations of cyber threats largely exemplify “amplification without the event,” i.e. threats are covered without linking them to topical events, as is otherwise typical of news reports. The findings in relation to previous studies of cybersecurity discourse and the implications for informal learning and threat perception are discussed.
... In einer Informationsbroschüre von "Schau hin" (ein Beratungsangebot des Bundesministeriums für Familie, Senioren, Frauen und Jugend und verschiedenen öffentlichen Medien) wird darauf hingewiesen, dass "sensible Daten wie Name, Telefonnummer und Adresse nicht an Fremde weitergegeben werden sollten und im Netz nichts zu suchen haben" (Schau hin, 2017). Grundsätzlich berichten Medien in Deutschland meist kritisch gegenüber SNS (Teutsch & Niemann, 2016). ...
... Eventuell könnte es auch der Tatsache geschuldet sein, dass Menschen in der Beantwortungssituation der sozialen Norm entsprechen wollen, sozial erwünscht antworten (Trepte et al., 2014). Doris Teutsch und Julia Niemann zeigten, dass Medien in Deutschland eher kritisch über Informationsweitergabe auf SNS berichten (Teutsch & Niemann, 2016), weswegen Befragte eine solche Haltung eventuell emulieren, obwohl sie in dieser Form, beziehungsweise Intensität, nicht zutrifft. ...
Das Privacy Paradox besagt, dass Menschen beim Nutzen von Online-Diensten bereit sind, große Mengen personenbezogener Daten zu teilen – selbst dann, wenn ihnen Privatsphäre wichtig ist und sie um diese besorgt sind. In den zwei einführenden Abschnitten dieses Beitrages lege ich zunächst dar, was Privatheit aus psychologischer Perspektive bedeutet und anschließend, wie sich menschliches Verhalten – ganz allgemein betrachtet – erklären lässt. Anschließend übertrage ich diese allgemeinen Aspekte auf den Kontext des Internets. Hierbei stelle ich zuerst personenbezogene Faktoren vor, die Online-Verhalten erklären können, gefolgt von umgebungsbezogenen. Im anschließenden Teil widme ich mich dem Privacy Paradox aus einer spezifischen, primär akademischen Perspektive, indem die bisherige Forschungshistorie zusammengefasst und aktuelle Studienergebnisse analysiert werden. Abschließend folgt eine Diskussion des Privacy Paradox unter Berücksichtigung gesellschaftlicher Implikationen, konkreter Handlungsempfehlungen sowie einem eigenständigen Fazit.
... In einer Informationsbroschüre von "Schau hin" (ein Beratungsangebot des Bundesministeriums für Familie, Senioren, Frauen und Jugend und verschiedenen öffentlichen Medien) wird darauf hingewiesen, dass "sensible Daten wie Name, Telefonnummer und Adresse nicht an Fremde weitergegeben werden sollten und im Netz nichts zu suchen haben" (Schau hin, 2017). Grundsätzlich berichten Medien in Deutschland meist kritisch gegenüber SNS (Teutsch & Niemann, 2016). ...
... Eventuell könnte es auch der Tatsache geschuldet sein, dass Menschen in der Beantwortungssituation der sozialen Norm entsprechen wollen, sozial erwünscht antworten (Trepte et al., 2014). Doris Teutsch und Julia Niemann zeigten, dass Medien in Deutschland eher kritisch über Informationsweitergabe auf SNS berichten (Teutsch & Niemann, 2016), weswegen Befragte eine solche Haltung eventuell emulieren, obwohl sie in dieser Form, beziehungsweise Intensität, nicht zutrifft. ...
Das Privacy Paradox besagt, dass Menschen beim Nutzen von Online-Diensten bereit sind, große Mengen personenbezogener Daten zu teilen – selbst dann, wenn ihnen Privatsphäre wichtig ist und sie um diese besorgt sind. Dies führt an mancher Stelle zu Verwunderung, Bedenken oder gar Zynismus, und es lassen sich verschiedene kritische Fragen stellen. Beispielsweise: Warum sind viele Menschen bereit, im Internet Informationen zu offenbaren, die doch eigentlich privat sind? Ist es nicht paradox, dass sich einige um ihre Privatheit sorgen, aber dennoch viele aktives Mitglied auf sozialen Netzwerkseiten (SNS) wie Facebook, Instagram oder Snapchat sind? Warum gingen bei der Volkszählung im Jahre 1987 noch tausende Menschen auf die Straße, um gegen die Sammlung vermeintlich harmloser Daten wie Wohnsituation und Erwerbstätigkeit zu protestieren, sind aber jetzt bereit, intimere Daten wie Fotos, Hobbies und sexuelle Orientierung mit privatwirtschaftlichen Unternehmen zu teilen? Ist die Fülle der produzierten Daten nicht bedenklich – zumal diese meist auch noch auf Servern im Ausland liegen, für welche nicht das vergleichsweise strenge Datenschutzgesetz der Bundesrepublik Deutschland gilt? Sind die Parallelen zu Orwells 1984, Benthams Panoptikum oder den Praktiken ehemaliger Nachrichtendienste wie der ‚Stasi‘ nicht offenkundig? Zusammengenommen: Ist das nicht paradox? Der vorliegende Beitrag greift diese Fragen, Beobachtungen sowie Bedenken auf und versucht, in verständlicher Sprache und Form, Antworten aus einer psychologischen Perspektive anzubieten. Das Privacy Paradox stellt aktuell eine wichtige gesellschaftliche Frage dar, die in Medien und an Stammtischen entsprechend rege diskutiert wird. Es gibt viele journalistische Artikel zu dem Thema, einen eigenen darauf verweisenden Wikipedia-Eintrag und sogar spezifische Websites, die sich ausschließlich damit beschäftigen, das Privacy Paradox näher zu erklären. Ein interessanter Aspekt des Privacy Paradox ist dabei die Tatsache, dass es zum einen ein Alltagsphänomen darstellt, das intuitiv zugänglich ist und umgangssprachlich diskutiert werden kann. Zum anderen ist es aber auch ein akademisches Problem, das methodisch dezidiert untersucht wird und eine eigene Forschungsgeschichte sowie -dynamik aufweist. Im Beitrag möchte ich sowohl den intuitiven Zugang bedienen, indem ich zuerst allgemeine und leicht zugängliche Betrachtungen zu Privatheit, Verhalten und dem Internet voranstelle, als auch den akademischen, indem ich aktuelle Forschungsergebnisse analysiere.
... At the same time, 'being watched over' often has a negative connotation, and the intensification of corporate data gathering has raised a number of critical issues regarding privacy concerns and inappropriate surveillance, reported by contemporary sources such as mass media (e.g. Teutsch and Niemann 2016;von Pape et al. 2017). The main suggested reason for privacy concerns is lack of control on the part of the user -corporate collection of data is perceived as fair only when the user is granted control over the information and is informed of its intended use -otherwise exercised through such means as approval, modification and the opportunity to opt in or out (Malhotra et al. 2004;Smith et al. 2011). ...
... A further condition pointed out is that when a person is asked to express his/her attitude, the attitude may have been influenced (e.g., by subjective norms, peer pressure, self-denial), causing the person to withhold information or provide false information (Dienlin and Trepte 2015). One important contemporary influence is mass media, which have often been found to focus on prevailing privacy risks (Teutsch and Niemann 2016;von Pape et al. 2017). Consequently, the respondents' answers may largely reflect public opinion rather than their own personal opinion. ...
With the growing use of the Internet, companies are increasingly collecting and using personal data for commodifying purposes, resulting in both benefits and privacy risks for users and raising the issue of corporate surveillance. The present article investigates people’s attitudes towards corporate collection of personal data, discusses possible reasons for attitude results in relation to self-regulation, trust and media context, and compares these findings with results from the previous year. The study is based on a survey using a large-n probability sample of the Swedish population. The results are in accordance with the suggested privacy paradox: the majority of the population, as in the previous year, have negative attitudes towards corporate collection of their data, largely independent of context. Nonetheless, they continue to share their data without making any great effort to secure their privacy. Whether this depends on inexperience, ignorance or resignation, everyday corporate surveillance does not meet expectations regarding the just governing of informational privacy. As the results showed that the more positive people were towards sharing their data in various contexts, the more positively this affected their attitudes towards the fact that the data were being used by the collecting companies for various purposes, balancing out the power differences online would benefit not only users but also companies to a great extent.
... This study adopted the qualitative framing analysis method (Linström & Marais, 2012) to generate an in-depth understanding of how media served a particular issue or event to the public. The method of qualitative framing analysis by systematically close reading is deemed adequate to reveal all elements within the text (Teutsch & Niemann, 2016), both implicit and explicit. ...
Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has urged several countries to take an extreme measurement by imposing a lockdown policy to control the spread of the virus. Generally approved, the action might have several negative effects, primarily on economic aspects. Utilizing qualitative framing analysis, the study investigates how three national online economic and business media platforms, namely Kontan.co.id, Bisnis.com, and CNBCIndonesia.com, apply news frames to cater the lockdown-related issues to the public. The study identified four news frames: conflict, attribution of responsibility, economic consequences, and human interest. It appears that the ‘conflict frame’ is heavily used to portray lockdown policy as an ‘arena of war’ between health and economic interest.
Keywords: COVID-19 Impacts, Economic and Business Media, Lockdown, Qualitative Framing Analysis
... Dominant discursive approaches to networks thus affect the frames present in emergent news events about networks, and vice versa. For example, in framing privacy issues such as data protection in a certain way, media shape "attitudes and behaviors" of those using or researching those networks (Chong and Druckman, 2007;Teutsch and Niemann, 2016). ...
Networks are almost ubiquitous in the social sciences, in terms of method and structure. Dominant discourses around networks–concerning their purported democratic, progressive values and capacities–also impact how they are approached in research. This article illustrates the potential of this impact by tracing the trajectory and findings of a project focused on networked discussion of an Internet privacy debate. Using mixed methods—hyperlink network mapping, textual analysis (qualitative and quantitative), and semi-structured interviews—I examine online framing of a controversial data protection concept, the Right to be Forgotten. Initial, more “traditional” research approaches allowed for insight only into the most central and visible frames and sources. This led to a reorientation of research approach. In attempt to diversify sources and framings, I began focusing on the margins and off the “networked public sphere.” This article thus also recounts the significant empirical findings that resulted from such reflexivity and reorientation.
... As a reaction to the increasing amounts of data that are exchanged and the sociality of such data, 91% of users perceive that they have lost control over how their personal information is collected and used by friends, acquaintances, and colleagues (Quinn, 2014) and especially by companies and governments (Madden, 2014). As a result of their framing analysis of how newspapers cover privacy in social media, Teutsch and Niemann (2016) concluded that "personal THE SOCIAL MEDIA PRIVACY MODEL 4 data is getting out of control in the social web" (p. 11). ...
Privacy has been defined as the selective control of information sharing, where control is key. For social media, however, an individual user’s informational control has become more difficult. Hence, privacy is perceived as being closely related with control, but social media information is not under the individual user’s control. In this theoretical article, I review how the term control is part of theorizing on privacy, and I develop an understanding of online privacy with communication as the core mechanism by which privacy is regulated. The results of this article’s theoretical development are molded into a definition of privacy and the social media privacy model. The model is based on four propositions: Privacy in social media is interdependently perceived and valued. Thus, it cannot always be achieved through control. As an alternative, interpersonal communication is the primary mechanism by which to ensure social media privacy. Finally, trust and norms function as mechanisms that represent crystallized privacy communication.
... The wording of privacy questionnaires has a significant impact on the participants' answers, especially when asking about online privacy (Braunstein et al., 2011). Media reports that focus on privacy risks might influence users (Teutsch and Niemann, 2015). These findings strengthen the need to apply observational metrics to examine the real users' behaviors on OSNs, and to capture actual, rather than stated, user behaviors. ...
People's posting behaviors in social networks was perceived as ambiguous, with concerns misaligned with people's public postings. To address this gap, we suggest a model that offers new insights into the relationship between perceptions and actual behaviors. We define a quantitative marker for agility, the frequency in which people update their audience selection when posting information in online social networks, and evaluate the factors that contribute to the variability of agility between different users. We analyzed the posting behavior of Facebook 181 participants, as well as their answers to open and close questions. We find that frequent changes in privacy settings are correlated with high social privacy and with institutional privacy concerns, whereas social concerns were found to be more prominent. Agility was negatively correlated with low public sharing. Our findings show that users use privacy settings to effectively mitigate privacy concerns and desires for creating and strengthening social connections. We discuss how agility can be used to design and to evaluate new user interfaces for managing privacy in social settings.
... Massmedia är exempelvis en aktör som har stort inflytande för bildandet av attityder och har de senaste åren ofta fokuserat på integritetsrisker snarare än fördelarna med att dela data (t.ex. Teutsch & Niemann, 2016;von Pape m.fl., 2017). Inställningen till att dela data är inte heller konstant utan i vissa sammanhang -exempelvis olika informationstyper, aktörer eller överföringsprinciper -anses det mer eller mindre viktigt att skydda sin integritet eller ger olika värde att ge upp den (t.ex. ...
Sammanfattning Olika aktörer registrerar i allt högre uträckning vårt beteende när vi använder deras tjänster på internet, på gott och ont. Det har aktualiserat användarnas inställning till hanteringen av personliga data och personlig integritet. Detta kapitel undersöker svenskarnas attityd till registrering av personliga data för kommersiella syften och vilka bakgrundsfaktorer och mediekontexter som kan förklara denna inställning. Analysen visar att majoriteten av svenskarna är negativa till företagens insamling, en uppfattning som hållit sig relativt konstant de senaste tre åren. Men användares kunskap om var och när företag samlar in data har betydelse; de med högre kunskap gör i större utsträckning aktiva val för att kunna surfa anonymt, men är samtidigt mer positiva till registrering. Vidare skiljer sig attityden till insamling i olika kommersiella mediesammanhang mellan de som är positiva och gemene man. Kunskap om integritet och medieteknik, liksom vissa socio-demografiska faktorer, tycks därmed vara viktiga faktorer för att förklara attityden till registrering av personliga data på nätet.
... In tegenstelling tot voorgaand onderzoek starten wij van een benadering die 'framing' beschouwt als een handeling of proces, eerder dan over 'frames' te spreken als stabiele, onafhankelijke entiteiten (zie bijv. Teutsch & Niemann, 2016). ...
Samenvatting
Dit artikel presenteert de resultaten van een kwalitatieve framinganalyse van de berichtgeving over online privacyschending door Google door zowel een traditioneel journalistiek product, de krant NRC Handelsblad, als een alternatief, digitaal journalistiek platform, De Correspondent (N = 68). Hieruit komen twee duidelijk van elkaar te onderscheiden frames naar voren die het debat in beide nieuwsmedia uitmaken, namelijk keuzevrijheid en marktstructuur.
... The latter two communication settings are not perceived as private, and private disclosures are consequently avoided. The norming of privacy perceptions in these settings may have evolved from typical experiences, from similar socialization processes, and, in the case of public communication on SNSs, from mass media's consistent framing of SNSs as a risk for security and informational self-determination (Teutsch & Niemann, 2016). ...
New communication media such as social networking sites (SNSs) and instant messengers (IMs) challenge users’ privacy perceptions. Technical infrastructures and the flow of digital information lead to novel privacy risks that individuals are often not acquainted with. Users’ subjective perceptions of privacy may thus be flawed and lead to irrational behavior. In this work, we investigated a concept that has been addressed only implicitly in academic research on privacy: the user’s subjective perception of a given level of privacy. We examined the literature on how privacy perceptions have been conceptualized in traditional theories of privacy and how these conceptualizations are challenged in social media communication. We first qualitatively explored laypeople’s privacy concepts and investigated their subjective perceptions of privacy levels and subsequent private disclosures in different mediated and nonmediated communication settings. Interviews with N = 33 Germans revealed that, similar to academic privacy theories, they tend to conceptualize privacy as control over social, physical, and psychological boundaries. However, trust and other-dependent privacy emerged as important novel aspects for understanding privacy regulation in online communication. We further found that individuals consistently perceived a high level of privacy in face-to-face situations and a low level of privacy in public communication on SNSs. With regard to IMs, however, their answers were mixed: Uncertainty regarding digital communication properties and audiences as well as limited control over the communication setting prevented a reliable and shared perception of the privacy level. With regard to privacy behavior and private disclosures, we found that people tend to adapt their sharing of private information to the perceived level of privacy.
... For example, Mathes and Pfetsch (1991) found that the alternative media was the first to pick up the issue of privacy in the context of the 1987 German census, building the agenda for the established publications. Furthermore, in their analysis of value frames in the coverage of privacy and data protection on social networking sites, Teutsch and Niemann (2016) found that national journals usually presented the issue as a question of business practices that are impeding the principle of informational self-determination, whereas a regional journal emphasized the concrete risks for the security of individual users. ...
Digital technologies challenge the existing expectations of privacy for both individual users and societies at large. Although numerous surveys and experiments have studied how individual users respond to these challenges, we know little about such perceptions and debates in the larger public. This study investigated this question by analysing German media coverage of the issue of privacy during the current age in times of widespread digital technology. We asked which events journalists report when they broach the issue, what aspects of privacy they cover and whether the coverage refers to different kinds of privacy-related events and to different publication contexts. The results showed that it is not necessarily disasters that give coverage a new orientation. Instead, changes come from events that have the potential to enhance privacy in the future. The publication context also influences the presentation of privacy.
... Soziale Erwünschtheit-Hypothese: Deutsche Medien betonen vor allem die Risiken sozialer Netzwerkplattformen für die informationelle Selbstbestimmung und die Sicherheit der Nutzer (Teutsch & Niemann, 2015). Es ist anzunehmen, dass Rezipientinnen und Rezipienten durch die Medienberichterstattung die Norm einer kritischen Haltung gegenüber dem Teilen privater Informationen im Internet vermittelt wird. ...
... Respondents might withhold their true opinions or even provide false answers if they perceive strong situational constraints and norms forcing them to do so. Especially with regard to online privacy, users might be aware of contemporary reports in the mass media that often focus on prevailing privacy risks (Teutsch & Niemann, 2014). As a consequence, respondents' answers might largely reflect the public's opinion rather than their own. ...
The privacy paradox states that online privacy concerns do not sufficiently explain online privacy behaviors on social network sites (SNSs). In this study, it was first asked whether the privacy paradox would still exist when analyzed as in prior research. Second, it was hypothesized that the privacy paradox would disappear when analyzed in a new approach. The new approach featured a multidimensional operationalization of privacy by differentiating between informational, social, and psychological privacy. Next to privacy concerns, also, privacy attitudes and privacy intentions were analyzed. With the aim to improve methodological aspects, all items were designed on the basis of the theory of planned behavior. In an online questionnaire with N = 595 respondents, it was found that online privacy concerns were not significantly related to specific privacy behaviors, such as the frequency or content of disclosures on SNSs (e.g., name, cell-phone number, or religious views). This demonstrated that the privacy paradox still exists when it is operationalized as in prior research. With regard to the new approach, all hypotheses were confirmed: Results showed both a direct relation and an indirect relation between privacy attitudes and privacy behaviors, the latter mediated by privacy intentions. In addition, also an indirect relation between privacy concerns and privacy behaviors was found, mediated by privacy attitudes and privacy intentions. Therefore, privacy behaviors can be explained sufficiently when using privacy attitudes, privacy concerns, and privacy intentions within the theory of planned behavior. The behaviors of SNS users are not as paradoxical as was once believed. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Social networking sites have become an online realm where users are exposed to news about current affairs. People mainly encounter news incidentally because they are re-distributed by users whom they befriended or follow on social media platforms. In my dissertation project, I draw on shared reality theory in order to examine the question of how the relationship to the news endorser, the person who shares news content, determines social influence on opinion formation about shared news. The shared reality theory posits that people strive to achieve socially shared beliefs about any object and topic because of the fundamental epistemic need to establish what is real. Social verification of beliefs in interpersonal communication renders uncertain and ambiguous individual perceptions as valid and objectively true. However, reliable social verification may be provided only by others who are regarded as epistemic authority, in other words as someone whose judgment one can trust. People assign epistemic authority particularly to socially close others, such as friends and family, or to members of their in-group. I inferred from this that people should be influenced by the view of a socially close news endorser when forming an opinion about shared news content but not by the view of a socially distant news endorser. In Study 1, a laboratory experiment (N = 226), I manipulated a female news endorsers social closeness by presenting her as an in-group or out-group member. Participants opinion and memory of a news article were not affected by the news endorsers opinion in either of the conditions. I concluded that the news article did not elicit motivation to strive for shared reality because participants were confident about their own judgment. Therefore, they did not rely on the news endorsers view when forming an opinion about the news topic. Moreover, the results revealed that participants had stronger trust in the news endorser when she expressed a positive (vs. negative) opinion about the news topic, while social closeness to the news endorser did not predict trust. On the one hand, this is in line with the social norm of sharing positive thoughts and experiences on social networking sites: adherence to the positivity norm results in more favorable social ratings. On the other hand, my findings indicate that participants generally had a positive opinion about the topic of the stimulus article and thus had more trust in news endorsers who expressed a similar opinion. In Study 2, an online experiment (N = 1, 116), I exposed participants to a news post by a relational close vs. relational distant news endorser by having them name a close or distant actual Facebook friend. There was a small influence of the news endorsers opinion on participants thought and opinion valence irrespective of whether the news endorser was a close or distant friend. The finding was surprising, particularly because participants reported stronger trust in the view of the close friend than in the view of a distant friend. I concluded that in light of an ambiguity eliciting news article, people may even rely on the views of less trustworthy news endorsers in order to establish a socially shared and, therefore, valid opinion about a news topic. Drawing on shared reality theory, I hypothesized that social influence on opinion formation is mediated by news endorser congruent responses to a news post. The results indicated a tendency for the proposed indirect relation however, the effect size was small and the sample in Study 2 was not large enough to provide the necessary statistical power to detect the mediation. In conclusion, the results of my empirical studies provide first insights regarding the conditions under which a single news endorser influences opinion formation about news shared on social networking sites. I found limited support for shared reality creation as underlying mechanism of such social influence. Thus, my work contributes to the understanding of social influence on news perception happening in social networking sites and proposes theoretical refinements to shared reality theory. I suggest that future research should focus on the role of social and affiliative motivation for social influences on opinion formation about news shared on social networking sites.
Available here: http://opus.uni-hohenheim.de/volltexte/2021/1897/
Privatheit ist gewinnt vor allem in einem sozialen und kommunikativen Kontext an Bedeutung. Die Perspektiven und Trends der Privatheit beziehen sich also immer darauf, welchen Stellenwert Fragen des Datenschutzes, der Selbst-Preisgabe und der informationellen Selbstbestimmung in unserem Alltag haben. Wir möchten in diesem Beitrag aus verschiedenen Blickwinkeln die sich verändernden sozialen und kommunikativen Bedingungen und Umgangsweisen der Privatheit betrachten: Zunächst werden wir die Bedeutung interpersonaler Kommunikation für die Wahrnehmung, Aneignung und Nutzung neuer privatheitsgefährdender Medientechnologien diskutieren. Anschließend gehen wir auf die Ergebnisse einer inhaltsanalytischen Untersuchung der deutschen Berichterstattung zum Thema Privatheit ein. Aufbauend auf diese Verortung neuer Technologien in die kommunikative Umwelt der Menschen gehen wir exemplarisch auf individuelles Privatheitsverhalten im Kontext von Suchmaschinen und sozialen Netzwerkseiten ein. Wir schließen diesen Beitrag mit einer Reflexion der Forschungsergebnisse hinsichtlich aktueller gesellschaftlicher und technologischer Trends sowie politischer Entwicklungen.
With this report, we present the results of the Hohenheim study on privacy attitudes,
perceptions, and behaviors in the German population. The findings in this report stem
from the first wave of an ongoing longitudinal panel study in which a representative
panel of participants was surveyed five times over the course of three years. The first
wave, which was conducted in May 2014, was completed by 3,278 participants.
The aim of this survey is to help generate profound knowledge about the German
population’s attitudes, behaviors, and perceptions surrounding privacy. We are grateful
that we were able to follow up on this aim with the support of the German Ministry of
Education and Research (Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung, BMBF) and
with the support of the “Forum Privatheit” (www.forumprivatheit.de) – an interdisciplinary
research consortium that has been collaborating since 2012 on questions of informational
self-determination and privacy.
At the core of the survey that will be presented in this report, we measured people’s
behavior in different mediated and non-mediated communication settings. We believe
that in Germany and around the globe, the term privacy is now mostly connected to
the online world. However, online privacy has to be managed also through offline
communication. Moreover, privacy in offline settings is also affected by our online
communication.
In our survey, we asked respondents to report their perceptions, behaviors, and beliefs
regarding typical communication situations that they might encounter in all kinds of
social media and – of course – in face-to-face communication. Hence, with this report,
and to our knowledge for the first time, online and offline privacy behaviors can be
compared.
This research report presents comparative results from five nations (United States of America, United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands, and China) with regard to social media use, self-disclosure, privacy perceptions and attitudes, and privacy behavior in online environments. The data stemmed from an online survey that was conducted from November, 2011, to December, 2011. Across all five nations, N = 1,800 participants completed the survey.
The findings suggest that a broad differentiation between Western and Eastern cultures only partly accounted for differences in social media use and privacy behavior. Rather, the results of this report suggest that European countries (United Kingdom, Germany, and the Netherlands) share similar privacy perceptions and show similar behavioral patterns. Non-European cultures (the USA and China) on the other hand, use social media differently. Participants from European countries had generally smaller audiences on social network sites and microblogging platforms, tended to limit the visibility of their postings and profile information more, and used more privacy settings to safeguard their privacy. In particular, German social media users seemed to be guarded, protective, and rather reluctant to participate in online communication. Users from the US, on the other hand, rated privacy-related behavior as less risky and were hence less likely to imply sophisticated privacy strategies.
Apart from these findings, the report also shows that there are more commonalities than differences. People from all five countries think that it is important to protect privacy. Most users consciously decides what to share and what not to share. Accordingly, social media users do not always share intimate and detailed information about their lives.
Although the framing of public opinion has often been conceptualized as a collective and social process, experimental studies of framing have typically examined only individual, psychological responses to alternative message frames. In this research we employ for the first time group conversations as the unit of analysis (following Gamson 1992) in an experimental study of framing effects. Two hundred and thirty-five American citizens in 50 groups (17 homogeneously conservative groups, 15 homogeneously liberal groups, and 18 heterogeneous groups) discussed whether or not gay and lesbian partnerships should be legally recognized. Groups were randomly assigned to one of two framing conditions (a "homosexual marriage/special rights" frame or a "civil union/equal rights" frame). Results indicated framing effects that were, in all cases, contingent on the ideological leanings of the group. The "marriage" frame tended to polarize group discussions along ideological lines. Both liberal and conservative groups appeared to find their opponents' frame more provocative, responding to them with a larger number of statements and expressing greater ambivalence than when reacting to more hospitable frames.
In studying ‘priming effects’—the process by which activated mental constructs can influence how individuals evaluate other
concepts and ideas—political communication scholars have focused primarily on the frequency and recency of construct use in
the accessibility of specific cognitions; less attention has been given to the spread of activation among related cognitions. Drawing from both of these research interests, we argue that media framing of issues in moral or
ethical terms can prime voters to (1) make attributions about candidate integrity, and/or (2) evaluate other political issues
in ethical terms. To examine these relationships, this research used the same experimental design with two sub-populations—evangelical
Christians and university undergraduate students—expected to differ in the inter-connectedness of core values with political
attitudes. A single issue, which varied in the types of values in conflict, was systematically altered across four otherwise
constant political environments to examine priming effects. Findings suggest that future research should conceptualize priming
more broadly to include considerations of both the accessibility of cognitions in short-term memory and the pathways among
information in long-term memory.
Facebook-enabled resource mobilization attempts—broadcasted status updates in which people ask questions or request information, favors, or other forms of assistance from one’s network—can provide insight into social capital dynamics as they unfold on Facebook. Specifically, these requests and the responses they receive can serve as a window into how, why, and with what results individuals turn to their Friends network for help. In this study, we synthesize the existing research on resource mobilization requests via Facebook and present new analyses of survey data collected from a random sample of Facebook users who have made any post in the past 28 days (n = 573) and a sample of those who have posted a mobilization request in the past 28 days (n = 1074). To identify mobilization requests, an automated classifier trained on a hand-labeled sample of public status updates was used. Using participants’ self-reported survey data and server-level behavioral data, we examine how mobilization request behaviors relate to perceptions of bridging and bonding social capital, participants’ perceptions of Facebook’s utility regarding these requests, and related variables such as engagement in Facebook Relational Maintenance Behaviors. We find that those who post mobilization requests on Facebook report higher social capital, are more likely to try to respond to Friends’ expressed needs, and tend to see the site as a better source of information, coordination, and networked communication.
People around the globe now regularly interact with family and friends through social network sites (SNSs). In this article, we investigated the differences between social interactions in online and offline contexts as well as users' satisfaction with the social support received in these contexts. It was hypothesized that SNSs are better set up for the task of leveraging informational support but that they are inferior to offline contexts in terms of emotional or instrumental support. We further assumed that users might feel similarly satisfied with how support is rendered online and offline but that only social support transacted in offline contexts would contribute to overall life satisfaction. All hypotheses were supported by longitudinal data (N = 327) that were used to investigate social support over the course of 2 years with 4 points of measurement.
A large body of research argues that self-presentation strategies vary based on audience. But what happens when the technical features of Web sites enable—or even require—users to make personal disclosures to multiple audiences at once, as is often the case on social network sites (SNSs)? Do users apply a lowest common denominator approach, only making disclosures that are appropriate for all audience members? Do they employ technological tools to disaggregate audiences? When considering the resources that can be harnessed from SNS interactions, researchers suggest users need to engage with their network in order to reap benefits. The present study presents a model including network composition, disclosures, privacy-based strategies, and social capital. Results indicate that (1) audience size and diversity impacts disclosures and use of advanced privacy settings, (2) privacy concerns and privacy settings impact disclosures in varying ways; and (3) audience and disclosure characteristics predict bridging social capital.
The privacy paradox describes people's willingness to disclose personal information on social network sites despite expressing high levels of concern. In this study, we employ the distinction between institutional and social privacy to examine this phenomenon. We investigate what strategies undergraduate students have developed, and their motivations for using specific strategies. We employed a mixed-methods approach that included 77 surveys and 21 in-depth interviews. The results suggest that, in addition to using the default privacy settings, students have developed a number of strategies to address their privacy needs. These strategies are used primarily to guard against social privacy threats and consist of excluding contact information, using the limited profile option, untagging and removing photographs, and limiting Friendship requests from strangers. Privacy strategies are geared toward managing the Facebook profile, which we argue functions as a front stage. This active profile management allows users to negotiate the need for connecting on Facebook with the desire for increased privacy. Thus, users disclose information, because they have made a conscious effort to protect themselves against potential violations. We conclude that there is a tilt toward social privacy concerns. Little concern was raised about institutional privacy and no strategies were in place to protect against threats from the use of personal data by institutions. This is relevant for policy discussions, because it suggests that the collection, aggregation, and utilization of personal data for targeted advertisement have become an accepted social norm.
The main purpose of this study was to shed light on methodological problems in the content analysis of media frames. After a review of 5 common methods, we will present an alternative procedure that aims at improving reliability and validity. Based on the definition of frames advanced by R. M. Entman (1993), we propose that previously defined frame elements systematically group together in a specific way. This pattern of frame elements can be identified across several texts by means of cluster analysis. The proposed method is demonstrated with data on the coverage of the issue of biotechnology in The New York Times. It is concluded that the proposed method yields better results in terms of reliability and validity compared to previous methods.
This paper examines diversity in online news reporting and explanatory factors that shape news production. The analysis is based on online news from six countries (the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, France, and Italy), comparing online-only news sites and legacy media. The analysis shows that most online media reported in a diverse way, comprising multiple topics and actors. Furthermore, event-driven news journalism explains the occurrence of high diversity in news reporting. Available resources and the intensiveness of online reporting (the extent as well as the editing style) also account for diversity. We draw from these findings to make a contribution to research on diversity in online news and to comparative communication studies. Qualitative comparative analysis is used to reflect on the direction and meaning of changes in journalistic practices in the current media environment.
Using survey data collected from a sample of high school students in the United States (N = 504), this study examined how different types of social capital associated with parents, close friends, and Facebook Friends were related to students' confidence about their knowledge of the college application process and their expectations about succeeding in college. We found that social media use plays a significant role only for first-generation students – students whose parents did not graduate from college. For first-generation students, finding information about college through social media was associated with higher levels of efficacy about college application procedures. Having access via social media to a broader network of people who could actively answer questions and provide informational support was positively related with first-generation students' expectations about their ability to be successful in college, but was not the case for non first-generations.
This investigation analysed the kinds of communicative acts that are considered privacy-invading, which communication strategies are used to restore privacy when it has been violated and how relationship type affects communication of privacy. A preliminary self-report survey and a pilot study employing open-ended interviews (n=43) led to the development of a questionnaire in which respondents (n=444) rated 39 possible actions on invasiveness and rated the likelihood of using 40 different tactics to restore privacy. Types of privacy violations formed five dimensions: (1) psychological and informational violations, (2) non-verbal interactional violations, (3) verbal interactional violations, (4) physical violations and (5) impersonal violations. Strategies used to restore privacy included: (1) interaction control, (2) dyadic intimacy, (3) negative arousal, (4) distancing, (5) blocking and (6) confrontation. Significant differences emerged across doctor-patient, employeremployee, teacher-student, parent-child, spouse-spouse and siblingsibling relationships.
This study investigated how journalistic story frames can affect the thoughts and feelings of readers. Two hundred and seventy-eight students participated in two studies, reading and responding to a fictitious story about possible reductions in state funding of their university. Stories were presented in one of four randomly assigned versions, all containing the same information, but varying in their opening and closing paragraphs according to the frame employed: human interest, conflict, or personal consequences. A control version contained the common body only. In Study 1, thoughts listed by participants indicated that the news frames—although they had no influence on the volume of cognitive responses—significantly affected the topical focus and evaluative implications of thoughts generated. In Study 2, evaluations and opinions offered by participants indicated that the news frames also subtly could affect audience decision making about matters of public policy. Implications for shaping public opinion are discussed.
This study explores differences in volume of coverage and thematic content between US print news and online media coverage for an emerging technology – nanotechnology. We found that while American print news media and Google News coverage of this emerging technology has peaked and started to decline, Google Blog Search coverage of nanotechnology is still growing. Additionally, our data show discrepancies in thematic content of online and print news coverage. Specifically, online users are more likely to encounter environmentally themed content relating to nanotechnology than are users of American print newspapers. Differences in the amount of coverage of nanotechnology in print news and online media as well as thematic content suggest that public discourse on related issues will be shaped, in part, by media consumers’ preferred information platform.
This study offers insights into how news media frames interact with existing value orientations in shaping voter preferences. It is assumed that a framing effect should be more pronounced when frames in the news resonate with people’s existing value predispositions. These assumptions were tested in a real-world setting of a political campaign dealing with the issue of naturalization of immigrants. Based on a data set in which the data of a two-wave panel survey were matched with content analytic data, the present research demonstrated frame-resonance effects for news reporting about the pro campaign. That is, framing the issue in terms of the notion that people should have the final say in naturalization procedures shaped voting preferences only for voters whose basic values of social order, tradition, and security (high authoritarians) were touched. In contrast, a main effect of the opponents’ framing in the news on voting preferences was found. Thus, the majority followed the framing of the oppon
Detecting media frames has spawned a variety of methods, but very little has been done to investigate whether these methods provide comparable results. This article compares the results of two kinds of human coding framing analysis. The first is a method developed by Matthes and Kohring (2008) involving human coding of elements based on Entman's (1993) definition of frames, and the second coding is based on an extracted set of frames. Cluster analysis of news articles on population published from 1987–2007 in the Philippines yielded an optimum number of three communities or frames that agree with the holistic predetermined frames. Results indicate support for the validity of both procedures. Methodological implications are further discussed.
The Internet has drastically changed how people interact, communicate, conduct business, seek jobs, find partners, and shop.
Millions of people are using social networking sites to connect with others, and employers are using these sites as a source
of background information on job applicants. Employers report making decisions not to hire people based on the information
posted on social networking sites. Few employers have policies in place to govern when and how these online character checks
should be used and how to ensure that the information viewed is accurate. In this article, we explore how these inexpensive,
informal online character checks are harmful to society. Guidance is provided to employers on when and how to use these sites
in a socially responsible manner.
Keywordsbackground check-character check-social networking-social responsibility
Abstract Social network,sites,(SNSs) are increasingly attracting the attention of academic,and,industry researchers intrigued by their affordances and reach.,This special theme section of the,Journal,of Computer-Mediated,Communicationbrings ,together scholarship on these emergent phenomena.,In this introductory article, we describe features of SNSs and propose a comprehensive definition. We then present one perspective on the history of such sites, discussing key changes and developments. After briefly summarizing existing scholarship concerning SNSs, we discuss the articles,in this special section and conclude with considerations for future,research.
Little research has been conducted on the two most important criteria for the success of social network sites (SNS), that is, content sharing and sociability, and how these affect privacy experiences and usage behavior among SNS users. This article explores these issues by employing in-depth interviews and explorative usability tests, comparing the experiences and usage of younger and older Facebook users. First, the interviews revealed that Facebook users in all age groups reported more contact with several different groups of people, which reflects different types of social capital (i.e., family, friends, and acquaintances), because of Facebook, but not without consequences for privacy. Having too many Facebook “friends” and access to different social capital disrupt the sharing process due to experiences of social surveillance and social control. This social control often forces younger people in particular to use conformity as a strategy when sharing content to maintain their privacy. Further, the interviews revealed different motivations and usage patterns when older and younger users are compared. Second, the usability test found a significant difference between younger and older adults in time completion and task completion related to Facebook settings. Younger users are more skilled in their Facebook usage, whereas adults over the age of 40 have difficulties in understanding the navigation logic and privacy settings. Younger and older adults display completely open public profiles without realizing it. Finally, the design and theoretical implications of the findings are discussed.
Qualitative Inhaltsanalyse : Grundlagen u. Techniken. - Neuausg. - Weinheim : Dt. Studien-Verl., 1988. - 120 S. - Zugl.: Augsburg, Univ., Diss., 1983. - [1. Aufl. 1983]
Some 10 years ago Edward T. Hall, a cultural anthropologist, wrote The Hidden Dimension (Hall, 1966),2 a book that focused on how different cultures used space and the physical environment. This book appeared during a period when social and behavioral scientists and environmental-design professionals were joining forces to study the relationship between human behavior and the environment (see Altman, 1973, 1976; Craik, 1973; and Proshansky, Ittelson, & Rivlin, 1976; for a description of the development of this field and for examples of representative research).
Social network sites have gained tremendous traction recently as a popular online hangout spaces for both youth and adults. People flock to them to socialize with their friends and acquaintances, to share information with interested others, and to see and be seen. While networking socially or for professional purposes is not the predominant practice, there are those who use these sites to flirt with friends-of-friends, make business acquaintances, and occasionally even rally others for a political cause. I have been examining different aspects of social network sites, primarily from an ethnographic perspective, for over six years. In making sense of the practices that unfold on and through these sites, I have come to understand social network sites as a genre of "networked publics." Networked publics are publics that are restructured by networked technologies. As such, they are simultaneously (1) the space constructed through networked technologies and (2) the imagined collective that emerges as a result of the intersection of people, technology, and practice. Networked publics serve many of the same functions as other types of publics – they allow people to gather for social, cultural, and civic purposes and they help people connect with a world beyond their close friends and family. While networked publics share much in common with other types of publics, the ways in which technology structures them introduces distinct affordances that shape how people engage with these environments. The properties of bits – as distinct from atoms – introduce new possibilities for interaction. As a result, new dynamics emerge that shape participation. Analytically, the value of constructing social network sites as networked publics is to see the practices that unfold there as being informed by the affordances of networked publics and the resultant common dynamics. Networked publics' affordances do not dictate participants' behavior, but they do configure the environment in a way that shapes participants' engagement. In essence, the architecture of a particular environment matters and the architecture of networked publics is shaped by their affordances. The common dynamics fall out from these affordances and showcase salient issues that participants must regularly contend with when engaging in these environments. Understanding the properties, affordances, and dynamics common to networked publics provides a valuable framework for working out the logic of social practices.
While the psychological benefits of social support are well-established, it is also clear that for many socially anxious individuals, engaging with face-to-face social networks is problematic. This research examined whether social support derived from an online social network (Facebook) had incremental value in predicting subjective well-being over and above offline social support in socially anxious and non-socially anxious individuals. Individuals with high (N = 105) and low (N = 194) social anxiety completed measures of perceived social support, perceived social support derived from Facebook, and subjective well-being. For the high social anxiety group, Facebook social support explained a significant amount of additional variance in subjective well-being, with offline social support failing to contribute significantly to the model. For the low social anxiety group, Facebook social support did not explain any variance in well-being over and above offline social support. Possible implications of the utility of Facebook for socially anxious individuals are discussed.
Many studies have examined the relationship between social network sites (SNSs) and the development of social capital. However, most studies to date have only considered college and adult populations. This study examines the patterns of SNS use in an urban, teenage sample in the United States. It tests the hypothesis that use of SNSs is related to higher levels of social capital. The results show that youth who use Facebook and Myspace report higher social capital in both their school and online relationships. In addition, the analysis suggests that distinct modes of SNS experiences are differentially related to bridging and bonding social capital. Time spent in SNSs is related to bridging capital, while positive or negative experiences are related to bonding capital. The study offers new insights into how youth experience SNSs and the relationship of that experience with their connection to the world.
In competing to shape policy, interest groups develop rhetoric to garner media coverage and favorable public opinion, influencing how journalists frame issues because interest groups' positions can become pervasive. This study examined how pro-choice and pro-life groups attempted to frame the late-term abortion debate in 1995–1996. Interest groups' frames were derived from their press releases and direct quotations in news stories. Pro-life rhetoric was more frequent in six major newspapers' coverage and was more closely associated with the issue than prochoice rhetoric. Findings add to framing knowledge by illustrating how the sources selected and their own words can influence news.
Wer kennt Sie nicht, die Anzeigenmotive der „Frankfurter Allgemeinen Zeitung“ und der „Süddeutscher Zeitung“: „Dahinter steckt
immer ein kluger Kopf“ bzw. „Schenken Sie ihren Kindern schlaue Eltern“. Die Verlage, welche die Qualitätszeitungen – neben
der FAZ und SZ werden in Deutschland meist auch noch die „Frankfurter Rundschau“ und die „Welt“ als solche bezeichnet – herausgeben,
werben zu Recht mit der Qualität ihrer Leserschaft, verfügt sie doch über eine überdurchschnittliche Bildung, überdurchschnittliches
Einkommen und überdurchschnittlichen Einfluss in die Entscheidungsprozesse der Bundesrepublik Deutschland (FAZ-Verlag, SZ-Verlag).
Ein Leitmotiv in der Diskussion um journalistische Qualität lautet, diese sei schwer zu bestimmen. Auf die Definitionsschwierigkeit
wird auch im wissenschaftlichen Diskurs über Qualitätsmedien häufig hingewiesen. Was sind Qualitätsmedien, nach welchen Kriterien
lassen sie sich von anderen Medien abgrenzen und hinsichtlich welcher Dimensionen sind die Leistungen von Qualitätsmedien
zu beschreiben? Dieser Beitrag schlägt fragmentarisch Antworten auf diese Fragen vor und ergänzt damit Studien, die sich in
vielfältiger Weise mit Medienqualität beschäftigen (vgl. z.B. Arnold 2009). Im Mittelpunkt steht die Analyse von Veränderungen,
die sich seit den 1990er Jahren bei (Qualitäts-)Medien beobachten lassen. Basierend auf Daten aus einem von der Deutschen
Forschungsgemeinschaft geförderten Projekt zum Wandel des Journalismus werden Erkenntnisse zum Wandel und zur Stabilität in
einem ausgewählten Medienbereich vorgestellt: Analysiert werden „Süddeutsche Zeitung“, „Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger“, „Tagesthemen“, „RTL aktuel“l, „Deutschlandfunk“, WDR 2. Ausgangspunkt sind Überlegungen zur wissenschaftlichen Analyse von Qualitätsmedien, die diese Medienform über ihre Leistungen
in der Gesellschaft und über ihre journalistischen Merkmale beschreibt. Ausgehend von einem Konzept zur Analyse des journalistischen
Wandels werden daran anschließend ausgewählte Ergebnisse vorgestellt, die teils Kontinuität und teils Veränderungen dokumentieren.
Since reunification, the German public has witnessed four highly violent riots and attacks against aliens and foreigners. Both at home and abroad, the riots at Hoyerswerda and Rostock, as well as the arson attacks of Mölln and Solingen, have led to fears of a growing hostility against aliens and of an increasing right-wing radicalism in the united Germany. Besides these four key events, the Federal Office for Criminal Investigation (Bundeskriminalamt) recorded approximately 15,000 other attacks, molestations and offences. This study examines the impact of the four key events on subsequent news coverage. Using content analyses and data from the Federal Office for Criminal Investigation, we found that journalists' news selection was influenced considerably by each of the key events. Attacks similar to the key events in terms of victims, location and type of event had a higher chance of being published. Our data suggest that news selection can best be explained by a prototyping process, that is, an interaction between attributes of events and news-gathering routines of journalists.
Manchmal drängen sich Themen förmlich auf. Dies war der Fall, als sich im Jahr 2007 das „Studierendenverzeichnis“ (kurz: „StudiVZ“)
im Internet rasant ausbreitete, immer neue Mitglieder an den Hochschulen gewann und seine Bedeutung im Alltag der Studierenden
zunahm: Viele von ihnen verlassen für ihr Studium den Heimatort; am Hochschulort finden sie neue Freunde und Bekannte oder
führen alte Freundschaften über räumliche Distanzen weiter. StudiVZ erleichtert in dieser Lebensphase die Beziehungspflege
und das Knüpfen neuer Kontakte. Da lag es nahe, über die persönlichen Erfahrungen hinaus StudiVZ im Rahmen von Projektseminaren
und Examensarbeiten zu untersuchen. Mehrere solcher Studien über StudiVZ sind am Münsteraner Institut für Kommunikationswissenschaft
im Laufe der Zeit entstanden. Ihre Ergebnisse über das soziale Netzwerk werden im vorliegenden Band präsentiert. Ohne lange
Vorlaufzeit wurde es so möglich, den Aufstieg von StudiVZ in den Jahren 2007 und 2008 zu begleiten. Inzwischen ist die Dominanz
von Facebook, des Konkurrenten aus den USA, so erdrückend geworden, dass die Phase des größten Erfolgs wohl bereits hinter
StudiVZ liegen dürfte.
This paper is in the tradition of social analysis aimed at creating frameworks to join mass media and public opinion processes
(e.g. Clarke and Evans, 1983; Gamson, 1975; Gitlin, 1980; Hall, 1977; Iyengar and Kinder, 1987; Lang and Lang, 1968, 1983;
Lippman, 1922; Mollotch and Lester, 1974; Noelle-Neuman, 1974; Paletz and Entman, 1981; Shaw and McCombs, 1977; Turner and
Paz, 1986). After a brief review of media system dependency (MSD) theory, we illustrate how it may apply to public opinion
processes that entail contested issue ‘value-frames’ (Ball-Rokeach and Rokeach, 1987). In such cases, the media system is
directly implicated in the negotiation of legitimacy of opposing positions on an issue. Our illustrative case is the abortion
issue as it has been played out in the United States over recent decades (Luker, 1984). We focus upon the respective capacities
of pro- and anti-abortion movements to control the value-frame of media coverage of the issue (Guthrie, 1989). A value-frame
may be conceived as ‘… the main substantive theme of a morality play’ (Ball-Rokeach and Tallman, 1979) wherein the distinction
between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ hangs in the balance; in this case, between positions on abortion. We suggest that change in the
value-frame of media coverage and public discourse may be understood, at least in part, as an outcome of change in contestants'
MSD relations.
This study examines the effects of framing on how citizens use value language to explain their views on political issues. An experiment simulated exposure to framing in media coverage of gay rights. The results show that participants who received an "equality" frame were particularly likely to explain their views on gay rights in terms of equality and that participants who received a "morality" frame were particularly likely to cast their opinions in the language of morality. A closer examination, however, showed that exposure to the frames encouraged participants to use value language not only in ways suggested by the frames but also in ways that challenged the frames. Moreover, the results indicated that exposure to the "morality" frame interfered with the impact of the "equality" frame, suggesting that the presence of alternative frames can dampen framing effects.
What is the effect of democratic competition on the power of elites to frame public opinion? We address this issue first by defining the range of competitive contexts that might surround any debate over a policy issue. We then offer a theory that predicts how audiences, messages, and competitive environments interact to influence the magnitude of framing effects. These hypotheses are tested using experimental data gathered on the opinions of adults and college students toward two policy issues—the management of urban growth and the right of an extremist group to conduct a rally. Our results indicate that framing effects depend more heavily on the qualities of frames than on their frequency of dissemination and that competition alters but does not eliminate the influence of framing. We conclude by discussing the implications of these results for the study of public opinion and democratic political debate.
Over the years, scholars have demonstrated that media framing of political issues may significantly affect the way in which individuals interpret and think about these issues. However, a growing body of recent research has indicated that the impact of framing may vary due to individual differences. This study extends framing research by examining how individuals' core values might interact with news frames in affecting their cognitions and opinions of welfare reform. We presented respondents with newspaper articles that framed the issue of welfare reform by emphasizing the need for public assistance or strict work requirements. Results indicated that both news frames and individual values (i.e., humanitarianism and individualism) had a significant impact on individuals' issue thoughts and attitudes. Further, individual values and news frames had some significant interaction effects on audience responses.
A longitudinal analysis of panel data from users of a popular online social network site, Facebook, investigated the relationship between intensity of Facebook use, measures of psychological well-being, and bridging social capital. Two surveys conducted a year apart at a large U.S. university, complemented with in-depth interviews with 18 Facebook users, provide the study data. Intensity of Facebook use in year one strongly predicted bridging social capital outcomes in year two, even after controlling for measures of self-esteem and satisfaction with life. These latter psychological variables were also strongly associated with social capital outcomes. Self-esteem served to moderate the relationship between Facebook usage intensity and bridging social capital: those with lower self-esteem gained more from their use of Facebook in terms of bridging social capital than higher self-esteem participants. We suggest that Facebook affordances help reduce barriers that lower self-esteem students might experience in forming the kinds of large, heterogeneous networks that are sources of bridging social capital.
This article examines privacy as a generic process that occurs in all cultures but that also differs among cultures in terms of the behavioral mechanisms used to regulate desired levels of privacy. Ethnographic data are examined from a variety of cultures, particularly from societies with apparently maximum and minimum privacy, and from analyses of various social relationships, such as parents and children, in-laws, husbands and wives. It is concluded that privacy is a universal process that involves culturally unique regulatory mechanisms.
Political elites often present citizens with frames that define issues in terms of core values. This study tests two competing accounts of how citizens might process such frames. According to the “passive receiver” thesis, citizens process elite frames automatically, without engaging in critical thought. In contrast, the “thoughtful receiver” thesis holds that the impact of frames may depend on how favorably or unfavorably citizens respond to them. An experiment in value framing produced evidence more consistent with the thoughtful receiver thesis: The message that welfare reform is “tough love” influenced opinion only among those it did not anger, whereas the message that welfare reform is “cruel and inhumane” produced an effect only among those who judged it to be strong. More generally, these findings suggest that active processing of frames may limit the power of elite framing.
This article investigates Facebook users' awareness of privacy issues and perceived benefits and risks of utilizing Facebook. Research found that Facebook is deeply integrated in users' daily lives through specific routines and rituals. Users claimed to understand privacy issues, yet reported uploading large amounts of personal information. Risks to privacy invasion were ascribed more to others than to the self. However, users reporting privacy invasion were more likely to change privacy settings than those merely hearing about others' privacy invasions. Results suggest that this lax attitude may be based on a combination of high gratification, usage patterns, and a psychological mechanism similar to third-person effect. Safer use of social network services would thus require changes in user attitude.
The article deals with research on framing effects. First, I will start with classifying different approaches on framing. Subsequently, I will provide a definition of the concepts of frame, schema and framing, expand on framing research conducted so far - both theoretically and operationally. Having this equipment at hand, I will initiate a discussion on studies of framing-effects in terms of theory, methods and empirical results. This discussion leads to the conclusion that studies on framing effects are insufficiently concerned with the more recent psychological constructs and theories. In merely focusing on the activation of schemata, most studies ignore the more elaborate types of framing-effects. Therefore, several empirical questions remain unanswered and some methodical chances seem to be wasted.
Worldwide social networks, like Facebook, face fierce competition from local platforms when expanding globally. To remain attractive social network providers need to encourage user self-disclosure. Yet, little research exists on how cultural differences impact self-disclosure on these platforms. Addressing this gap, this study explores the differences in perceptions of disclosure-relevant determinants between German and US users. Survey of Facebook members indicates that German users expect more damage and attribute higher probability to privacy-related violations. On the other hand, even though American users show higher level of privacy concern, they extract more benefits from their social networking activities, have more trust in the service provider and legal assurances as well as perceive more control. These factors may explain a higher level of self-disclosure indicated by American users. Our results provide relevant insights for the social network providers who can adjust their expansion strategy with regard to cultural differences.
Online social networks such as Friendster, MySpace, or the Facebook have experienced exponential growth in membership in recent years. These networks oer attractive means for inter- action and communication, but also raise privacy and security concerns. In this study we survey a representative sample of the members of the Facebook (a social network for colleges and high schools) at a US academic institution, and compare the survey data to information retrieved from the net- work itself. We look for underlying demographic or behavioral dierences between the communities of the network's members and non-members; we analyze the impact of privacy concerns on members' behavior; we compare members' stated attitudes with actual behavior; and we document the changes in behavior subsequent to privacy-related information exposure. We find that an individual's privacy concerns are only a weak predictor of his membership to the network. Also privacy concerned individ- uals join the network and reveal great amounts of personal information. Some manage their privacy concerns by trusting their ability to control the information they provide and the external access to it. However, we also find evidence of members' misconceptions about the online community's actual size and composition, and about the visibility of members' profiles.
Research on social network sites (SNSs) typically employ measures that treat SNS use as homogenous although the user-base, user practices, and feature sets of these tools are increasingly diverse. Using a uses and gratifications approach, we address this problem by reconceptualizing SNSs as collections of features. Survey data collected from undergraduate students at a large Midwestern university (n=267) revealed that users’ motivations for using Facebook predict their use of different features, such as status updates and Wall posts, but features that share similar capabilities do not necessarily share underlying motivations for use. When these results are contrasted against models employing a more unidimensional measure of Facebook use, we find differences between motivations for both general Facebook use and use of specific features of the site. This suggests that unidimensional measures of SNS use obfuscate motivations for using specific features. Theoretical and methodological implications of these findings and this approach are discussed.
Teenagers will freely give up personal information to join social networks on the Internet. Afterwards, they are surprised when their parents read their journals. Communities are outraged by the personal information posted by young people online and colleges keep track of student activities on and off campus. The posting of personal information by teens and students has consequences. This article will discuss the uproar over privacy issues in social networks by describing a privacy paradox; private versus public space; and, social networking privacy issues. It will finally discuss proposed privacy solutions and steps that can be taken to help resolve the privacy paradox.