Tech
Social Media Helps us Acknowledge our Differences and Embrace Them
Kathleen Lees
First Posted: Jan 10, 2014 05:02 PM EST
A recent study shows that by embracing social media, tech gurus can also embrace their differences as well as support each other better.
Recent statistics show that more than 175 million tweets are sent daily and nearly 11 new twitter accounts are created every second. Yet University of Missouri communication researchers have found that online social media can help users embrace differences through the forming of new ideas and new relationships. For this study in particular, researchers focused on global Lady Gaga subscribers, who currently has over 40 million twitter followers.
"Our work tends to focus on studying audiences who are maligned or consider themselves awkward," said Melissa Click, an assistant professor of communication in the MU College of Arts & Science, via a press release. "In our study of Lady Gaga followers, we found that she uses social media not for promotion but rather as a communication tool with her fans. She shares personal and 'insider' information through social media and develops feelings of intimacy with her followers. By revealing her embrace of her own differences and unusual behaviors, she allows her followers to embrace their own differences."
For their study, researchers interviewed several fans of Lady Gaga who identified themselves as gay, who had eating disorders or considered themselves different in some way.
They conducted one-on-one interviews with 45 self-identified "Little Monsters," or followers of Lady Gaga, between the ages of 14 and 53. Researchers used software to skype with followers from the U.S., Europe, Asia, Australia and Africa-male and female, gay and straight alike.
According to the study, they reported that this celebrity instilled strength in them through her acceptance of their differences, which gave them a reason to live. The social support network by Gaga also encouraged her followers to be more charitable with each other.
"We found that among the more sailent themes that emerged from our research was that participants' perceived relationships with Gaga affected how close they felt to her," Click added via the release. "They felt that she is the voice who celebrates their differences instead of mocking them, and this was a very positive thing."
What do you think?
More information regarding the study can be found via the journal Popular Music and Society.
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First Posted: Jan 10, 2014 05:02 PM EST
A recent study shows that by embracing social media, tech gurus can also embrace their differences as well as support each other better.
Recent statistics show that more than 175 million tweets are sent daily and nearly 11 new twitter accounts are created every second. Yet University of Missouri communication researchers have found that online social media can help users embrace differences through the forming of new ideas and new relationships. For this study in particular, researchers focused on global Lady Gaga subscribers, who currently has over 40 million twitter followers.
"Our work tends to focus on studying audiences who are maligned or consider themselves awkward," said Melissa Click, an assistant professor of communication in the MU College of Arts & Science, via a press release. "In our study of Lady Gaga followers, we found that she uses social media not for promotion but rather as a communication tool with her fans. She shares personal and 'insider' information through social media and develops feelings of intimacy with her followers. By revealing her embrace of her own differences and unusual behaviors, she allows her followers to embrace their own differences."
For their study, researchers interviewed several fans of Lady Gaga who identified themselves as gay, who had eating disorders or considered themselves different in some way.
They conducted one-on-one interviews with 45 self-identified "Little Monsters," or followers of Lady Gaga, between the ages of 14 and 53. Researchers used software to skype with followers from the U.S., Europe, Asia, Australia and Africa-male and female, gay and straight alike.
According to the study, they reported that this celebrity instilled strength in them through her acceptance of their differences, which gave them a reason to live. The social support network by Gaga also encouraged her followers to be more charitable with each other.
"We found that among the more sailent themes that emerged from our research was that participants' perceived relationships with Gaga affected how close they felt to her," Click added via the release. "They felt that she is the voice who celebrates their differences instead of mocking them, and this was a very positive thing."
What do you think?
More information regarding the study can be found via the journal Popular Music and Society.
See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone