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The Social Ties That Bind Us

Social Media Connections

 Since we frequently socialize with and hear from people that are similar to us on social media, it significantly affects the enjoyment we receive from it. Homophily, which means "love of the same," is the term for this phenomena (McPherson et al., 2001). De Choudhury (2011) has demonstrated on Twitter that several forms of homophily are applicable to various user groups. For instance, regular users with about equal numbers of followers and followers have location and emotion homophily, meaning they typically react similarly and live and work close to one another. https://www.tumblr.com/wendys84-blog/743892134467436544/my-ig-connection?source=share

Risks of Homophily and Social Media

Along with the benefits of social media use researchers have also explored the risks and negative impact it has on users. Malak et al (2022) conducted a study that identified a correlation between collegiate mental health disorders and social media use. The main issue observed was in the obsessive use of social media. College students obsessed with these platforms exhibited heighted stress and were depressed. Students who specifically used the platform Facebook showed more of these negative effects. Data results revealed that the stressors were linked to peer pressure and having to share personal information on user profiles. Depression amongst this group was high as well because users felt a sense of hopelessness and feeling of disconnection. With homophily large groups with like minded thoughts can spread negativity and target other users. Some negative outcomes of this phenomena are cyberbullying, hate speech, and religious/political extremism.

Preventing Potential Risks

One psychological benefit to using social media is the boost it has on prosocial behaviors (when following accounts/profiles that spread positivity and are openminded). Prosocial behavior shows empathy, interacting with individuals and society in a healthy way, and social motivation (University of Texas at Austin, 2024). According to Bhadra and Kumar (2023) social media is a key role in nourishing prosocial behavior in users. Their research results exhibited that social media aided in the following: search for information, the development of individuality, goal setting, and social interaction. Their data shows that people are prone to act prosocial are more positive, have good mental balance, and are healthier physically. These positive effects of prosocial behavior due to social media use leads to longer life.

References

Bhadra, S. & Kumar, S. (2023, June). Impact of Social Media on Forming Individual’s Prosocial Behavior and Related Challenges among Youths in College. Indian Journal of Social Psychiatry, 39(2). Retrieved from

De Choudhury, M. (2011). Tie Formation on Twitter: Homophily and Structure of Egocentric Networks. SocialCom/PASSAT, 465–470.

Malak et al. (2022). Correlation between psychological factors, academic

performance and social media addiction: model-based testing. Behaviour & Information Technology, 41(8). Retrieved from

McPherson, M., Smith-Lovin, L., & Cook, J. M. (2001). Birds of a Feather: Homophily in Social Networks. Annual review of sociology, 27, 415–444.

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My IG Connection

Social Connection

The definition of social connection includes possibilities for sharing personal information, building relationships, and the feeling of belonging to a group or closeness to others. Social media use can help with the development and expression of social identities. By stimulating a sense of belonging, social media sharing activities including chatting, watching movies on TikTok with friends and family, and co-producing material have been shown to increase emotions of connectedness (Winstone et al., 2021).

Homophily in Social Media

According to McPherson et al. (2001) homophily is the tendency for similar individuals to associate with one another in social groupings and this is one of the key findings made by social scientists. Due to the fact that we frequently engage with and hear from like-minded individuals on social media, it significantly affects the value we derive from it. One benefit from this phenomenon is building real life friendships through these shared interests through social media interaction.

IG Algorithms

My favorite social media platform is Instagram (IG) and my feed is flooded with memes about coffee, anime edits (mostly Jujitsu Kaisen and my fav character from JJK, Gojo), and Bookstagram posts. Since these are the things, I research the most that’s what the IG algorithm will continue to add/suggest. I joke with my friends that IG amps up my book obsession because I have accounts promoting new books constantly. “It’s the IG algorithm, its why I keep buying more books!” I will say that I appreciate this benefit (homophily) because I have found a whole group of readers who are as dedicated to the reading genre I enjoy as I am. We share our excitement over new books, fun edits, recs, and reviews.

References

Winstone et al. (2021, September 24). Social media use and social connectedness among adolescents in the United Kingdom: a qualitative exploration of displacement and stimulation. BMC Public Health.

McPherson, M., Smith-Lovin, L., & Cook, J. M. (2001). Birds of a Feather: Homophily in Social Networks. Annual review of sociology, 27, 415–444.

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Hooking Social Media Users

Capturing Attention in Social Media

Capturing the attention of social media users is vital. This means you’ll engage users, keep them scrolling through your content, and have them excited about content to come. Seizing a user’s attention is especially important if you’re trying to advertise, market, and/or sell a product or service through social media.

The main challenge to keeping the attention of social media users is shorter attention spans. With the availability and limitless content users have shorter attention spans. According to Okello (2023) there are seven proven strategies for capturing the attention of social media users. Three of these strategies are: creating interesting headlines, using alluring visuals, and writing fascinating narratives.

Maintaining Engagement in Social Media

Engagement is another key facet to a successful social media account. Engagement refers to how users correspond with content on social media sites. This is necessary for businesses and individuals so they can assess what their users connect with and how well the brand is being received. This engagement can aid the company or individual tailor their content to their users and gain/retain customers and followers. Three tips to growing engagement are: utilizing hashtags, provide giveaways, and ardently engaging with followers (Connect 365 Social, 2023).

References

Connect 365 Social (2023, February). 6 Tips for Increasing Social Media Engagement. Linkedin, Pulse. Retrieved from

Okello, E. (2023, August). Seven Proven Strategies for Creating Attention-Grabbing Social Media Content. Linkedin, Pulse. Retrieved from