Motivations, Attention, and Social Media or: How Do I Grab and Keep the Attention of the Average Person?
Hey, You! Yeah, YOU!
Did I Get Your Attention?
Well? How about now?
When it comes to using social media, whether it be scrolling or posting, all of us are motivated to do so for one reason or another - finding a community one can relate to, looking for the perfect knick-knack for your living space, looking for a group of people to connect with, or even gaining a following can encourage social media use. Let us start at the beginning - what is motivation?
Longe (2016) shared that there are three types of motivation that humans experience - primary, stimulus-seeking, and learned (Longe, 2016). Primary motivations are found through food, water, and shelter for all human beings; stimulus-seeking motivations are internal, such as emotional connections or intellectual nourishment; learned motivations come from incentives or catalysts. Longe continues that motivations encourage or provoke people to act in any particular way (2016). Numerous reasons would inspire anyone to use social media; a prevalent reason an individual would want to use social media comes from stimulus-seeking - sheer boredom!
What motivates us to use social media? Lee, Lee, Moon, and Sung (2015) found that social interaction, escapism, and peeking are a few motivations for using Instagram. However, one could argue this to be universal through the bulk of social media (Lee et al., 2015). There are many ways to attempt to seek an end to boredom through social media - Instagram, Facebook, X (or the website formerly known as Twitter), and TikTok are all designed to keep the engagement of the average person. For example, loneliness could be a catalyst that encourages anyone to utilize social interaction, escapism, and peeking within social media, including engaging in parasocial relationships with celebrities and social media influencers (Lee et al., 2015).
Wait, Come Back! There's More!
So, how do big brands attract attention within the jungle that is the realm of social media? Through attention-grabbing antics, of course! Brady, Gantman, and Van Bavel (2019) determined that moral and emotional posts are essential in being noticed instead of using more neutral tones and feelings (Brady et al., 2019). Tsimonis and Dimitriadis (2014) both have found that posting daily comments and replies with their consumer base, sparking various competitions with prizes, launching new products or services, and gaining and offering white glove service are all vital to gaining the attention of the general public (Tsimonis & Dimitriadis, 2014).
The next time you scroll through your social media platform of choice, take a moment and observe what you see on the page. Do you see bright, appealing colors and images? Are there influencers offering reviews for various goods through paid promotional content? Do you see multiple brands posting engaging content of all types? Take note of what gains your attention from all of these, and consider your motivations for using and what holds your attention on social media. You might be surprised by what you learn about yourself!
References
Longe, J. L. (Ed.). 2016. Motivation. In J. L. Longe (Ed.), The Gale encyclopedia of psychology (3rd ed., Vol. 2, pp. 778–780). Gale.
Lee, E., Lee, J-A., Moon, J. H., & Sung, Y. (2015). Pictures speak louder than words: Motivations for using Instagram. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 18(9), 552–556.
Brady, W. J., Gantman, A. P., & Van Bavel, J. J. (2019). Attentional capture helps explain why moral and emotional content go viral. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 1–11.
Tsimonis, G., & Dimitriadis, S. (2014). Brand strategies in social media. Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 32(3), 328–344.
1 note
·
View note
I haven't seen anybody post the full Riddle Chain yet (including Silas Birchtree) so here you go :)
I didn't find any of these codes myself by the way! I'm not sure who to credit for the rest of them, but I did get the Silas Birchtree code from @dismissivedestroyer (sorry for tagging you ^_^" if you don't want to be tagged let me know and i can edit the post). You can also get the answer using the code "STOD EHT TCENNOC"
(SPOILERS BELOW)
RIDDLE (would you like to play a game) > YES (what's Mcgucket's favorite soda?) > MOUNTAIN DONT (what's a medieval homonym?) > LYRE LIAR (the 20th ingredient of Anti-Cipherzing Tonic?) > HAROLDS RAMBLINGS (how is clown repellant made?) > UNION MADE (Bill's govt file number?) > 29121239168518 (who comes from Zimtrez 5?) > GREBLEY HEMBERDRECK (what's on Bill's flag?) > 3466554 (what leaves a thin line in the snow?) > TINSEL SNAKE (the 6th option on Bill's editing software?) > TORTURE MENTALLY (name an unpronouncable wizard) > XGQRTHX (where do Tri Angels come from?) > 333SUNDAPPLELANECOZYCREEKIL6071494611 (Bill Cipher's Lawyer?) > CAESARATBASHVIGNERE [or] MULTI LEVEL MARK (who defeated Silas Birchtree--?) > EMMALINE BUTTERNUBBINS (you've earned a treat! enter 'DISPENSE MY TREAT' to download) > DISPENSE MY TREAT
The 'treat' you get is under the cut
"BILL FILES DO NOT OPEN"
babydonthurtme.png
billcithescienceguy.png
chernobogwithablog.png
cheshire.png
epacsdnim.png
hiya.png
irrational treasure 2 - the trembley supremacy.png
octobillfest.jpg
remember the bermuda triangle.png
scrapdoodle.png
seeyouinmydreams.png
seeyounextsummer.png
snakeyes.png
trustme.png
xwhyz.png
456 notes
·
View notes
Hiiiii how have you been love bug? (Please tell me if your uncomfortable with that term since you are non-binary and they/them I’m not sure what nicknames you are uncomfortable with it’s just what I call my friends and just a nickname I have for people in general🫶🏻🫶🏻 ) so I’d like to to request farah with a adhd reader who is hyper forgetful and sometimes has meltdowns ( as someone with adhd)🧡🧡🧡
Hey! I'm fine! Bought some more yarn for my leftover blanket today, which I'm excited to work on! And don't worry, I think love bug is really cute! I don't mind most nicknames, but thank you for being considerate, I really do appreciate it! Hope you're doing well as well ^^
I don't have ADHD, so I don't know at all what it's like for someone with it! I had to do some research on it, so I don't know if these are actually viable methods of helping, but I tried! Please do correct me with something that might help and I'll add it in this post afterwards! I hope this is enjoyable to you regardless! Thank you for the request!
Farah with a Reader with ADHD
Farah doesn’t particularly know a lot about mental illnesses. She may be traumatized, yes, but that doesn’t mean she ever had the time to research any of them. So she’s definitely not the best person to go to when it comes to things like these, but she tries, even if she can’t always understand everything that’s going on. You’re suffering, and that’s enough for her to know she should do something to help you.
You being this forgetful may be a cause of concern for her, though. It’s not every day she meets someone who forgot what they did five minutes prior. It’s especially concerning when it’s something important, though, like seeing a doctor. Although she may be worried for you potentially developing something as severe as dementia eventually, she’ll try to push her worries aside and help you to the best of her abilities. If you ever need reminders, she can help you. Farah remembers and retains things very well, she’s never had any issues with it since she had to in order to get by. If you need to remember something, she’ll remind you a few times a day. You have an appointment? Don’t forget about it tomorrow, I’ll tell you again then. However, she’s also a big fan of post its and will write down whatever it is you may need and place it somewhere she knows you’re going to see it. I know, out of sight, out of mind, but she’ll also text you and have you make reminders on your phone for important things so you don’t forget. Won’t get mad at you for forgetting your anniversary, she can see that it’s hard for you to remember things and won’t yell at you or anything either. However, she will mention that it was your anniversary, or maybe her birthday. For the most part she just wants to spend those days with you, if she can, and will thus remind you. Again, you don’t need to feel ashamed for forgetting, she’ll tell you that it’s quite alright and that you shouldn’t worry. She’s patient like that.
If you have a meltdown in front of her, she definitely would not know what to do at first. Depending on what kind of meltdown it is, she’ll react differently. If it creeps up on you, slowly making you irritated, then she’ll ask you what’s wrong. Regardless of your answer, she’ll ask you how she can help you, if you would like to be left alone or if you would like to take a small break in any way. She gets it and she’ll get you away from whatever is stressing you out so you can slowly recharge. If you really do want to be left alone for a while, she will comply, but will knock on your door to check up on you every once in a while and will bring you some food as well. Farah just wants you to be well, so she’ll take care of you how she thinks might help. Food is always good, food usually helps her, so she hopes it’ll do the same for you as well.
If it’s a sudden meltdown where you don’t know where left and right are anymore, then she’ll get you away from everyone else at first. While she can’t imagine what it’s like for you, it likely isn’t very pleasant for you to be crying and screaming in front of other people. Hoping that you trust her, she’ll try to ground you, asking you how you’re feeling, what you’re feeling and how she could help you. What happened is also another question she would ask you. Again, she won’t really know what to do on her own, but she tries her best. Farah will talk to you in a soothing tone and try to distract you at first so you can calm down a bit. Whether it be cracking a joke or asking you about your top five favorite reptiles. Even if you can’t answer her properly, she’ll just reassure you that it’s okay, that everything is just bad in this moment and that it’ll pass. She’s with you this entire time and won’t leave you unless you want her to. Asks you to breathe a bit with her. In all your time being together, she’s likely learned a breathing technique or two that might help you.
Once your meltdown is over, she’ll be very gentle with you, especially if she can see you’re beating yourself up over it. You really shouldn’t feel ashamed for something that you can’t help, it’s not your fault. If you feel especially down, she’ll give you a kiss on the forehead and get some ice cream with you. Something like a meltdown seems exhausting to her. While she doesn’t want to seem like she’s rewarding you for having a meltdown, she does want you to be kind to yourself afterwards, that’s what the ice cream is for. And if you don’t want ice cream, then some berries, fruits or a small snack will suffice as well. Either way, she’s there for you the entire time until you feel better.
28 notes
·
View notes