At Home with Entertainment and Information Media

PART 1: Social Media and Misinformation During COVID-19: Social media has grown in importance with the increasing popularity of social networking websites in particular (e.g. Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram etc.) and social computing in general. During the COVID-19 Pandemic social media platforms experienced increased activity and usage by citizens, and also gave rise to misinformation and conspiracy theories. As people increasingly participate in online communities for social, commercial, and civic interaction, it is important to study these phenomena. This talk will provide insight into a study which examined social media data related to the COVID-19 and 5G conspiracy theory drawing upon social network analysis using NodeXL. PART 2: The Dynamics of Social and Parasocial Relationships During Social Distancing: The COVID-19 pandemic swiftly and drastically altered individuals’ social interactions. Face-to-face contact was largely replaced with video conferencing, and social experiences were bound to activities that could occur within the home. “Social distancing” may have not just influenced social relationships, but also parasocial relationships: perceived connections to celebrities and fictional characters with whom audiences “know” exclusively through screens. A longitudinal panel survey was conducted to investigate how social distancing altered the intensity of perceived connections to real-life friends and media personae, and to examine the variables moderating over-time changes. Participants (N = 144) provided four waves of data, completing online questionnaires every two weeks for eight weeks. Preliminary results reveal that real-life friendship strength remained constant during social distancing, but was strongly correlated to frequency of mediated contact. Parasocial relationship strength grew significantly over time. Differences in friendship maintenance and parasocial growth were found for several personality traits (e.g., extroversion, attachment style, social anxiety) and environmental factors (e.g., living alone, employment status). These results provide causal evidence that technology provides the means to maintain social relationships when face-to-face engagement is limited, but that lack of face-to-face experiences may increase the importance of parasocial relationships without necessarily replacing our social relationships. Panelists: Wasim Ahmed - Social Media and Misinformation During COVID-19. Bradley Bond -The Dynamics of Social and Parasocial Relationships During Social Distancing. Moderator: Regina Tuma