A Comparative Analysis of the Social Effects of Social Media in the United States, Asia and Europe.

Kyndal Irwin November 25, 2013 Professor Evusa Global Communications Fall 2013

The world is a huge melting pot of different cultures, religions and ways of life. But one thing that most countries have in common is the effects that social media has on their communities and the people of these communities. The focus will be a comparative analysis of the social effects of social media in the United States, Asia and Europe. The analysis will cover these 3 countries because social media influence is a large part in all of their communities, but all possibly in a different way. We will be determining how media influences the people in that country, and the comparing each country to each other. It is no secret that social media has had a major effect on our society today. It has affected our lives in both positive and negative ways. With numerous websites such as Facebook, Twitter and MySpace taking over the social world, there can be positive effects that come from these websites as well as negative issues that spring from these websites. Social media has not only grown over the last couple years, but has become almost a new medium itself on how we get our news and connect with others. When the news broke of the death of Osama bin Laden in May 2011, the social media website Twitter, was what leaked the breaking news. According to The New York Times, speculation was not aired out on television immediately, but it did erupt on Twitter and other social networking sites. Wishful thinking about bin Ladens death ricocheted across the Web and then, at 10:25 p.m., while Mr. Obama was preparing the speech he was going to deliver to the country about Bin Ladens death, one particular tweet seemed to confirm it. Keith Urbahn, the chief of staff for the former defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld, wrote at that time on his twitter, so Im told by a reputable person they have

killed Osama Bin Laden. Hot damn (Stelter p.24). After the statement had been tweeted on the Internet, word spread like wildfire on all the social media websites. It really showed that this generation is all about social media sites and it is becoming a very big part of how we receive our media. However, social media helps many people in many different ways. In my opinion, high school students and college students benefit most from using social media no matter what country that you live in. It is a website to meet new friends and students when moving out of your home and off to college. It is also a way to stay in touch with your family and friends back home. The current study reports on a student-centered social media website designed to enhance students' perceptions of social support prior to their arrival on campus. Results indicated that site usage increased students' perceptions that they would have a diverse social support network during their first semester at college, even when controlling for other potent predictors. The importance of social support perceptions for college adjustment is detailed and the ramifications of the social media intervention are discussed (DeAndera.) The current generation of college students is unlike any other generation before them. The article The Internet Goes To College states that this generation of students started to use the Internet when they were age 5 to 8. And by the time that those students were 16, all of the students were using the Internet. It talks about how college life has been changed by the Internet in so many different ways (Jones.) In the article Media and foreign policy in central and eastern Europe post 9/11 by Ekaterina Balabanova, it shows not only how our media has changed since 9/11 in the US, but how it has affected other countries as well. The tragedy of 9/11 happened in the

United States, and although it changed the way all Americans live, it also changed for many other people in other countries. The article talks about the foreign policy-media relationship pre 9/11 and how it has changed and separated itself from one another post 9/11. Media was not always a 24 hour round the clock thing that we had at our disposal at any time. In fact, even in the early 1990s the Internet news was still a new thing and not near as common and easy to access as it is today. Just like in the US, media has become more censored post 9/11. There are certain things that cant be said or shown on television, radio, or in print media. This article talks about media and the war and how both have been affected and altered between Europe and the western countries. Perhaps the largest change in our globe since September 11th is airline travel. That means longer wait times at airports, body scans, pat downs, and restrictions on what you can carry. Cockpit doors are locked now and there are even air marshals now on some flights. And this isnt just precautions in the U.S., but also in Europe and Asia. In the early 20th century, newspapers and radio was typically how you heard about what all was going on around the world and your country. You couldnt walk over to your computer, or pick up your cell phone or Ipad to find out the latest news. Those electronics were not even fathomable yet. So when it came time for the presidential elections, you found out about whom was running by hearing them come through the speakers on your radio, or read it in the newspaper. Fast-forward to the 21st century, and you can watch the debates between the presidential candidates streaming live from that laptop, cellphone or Ipad. With the growing social media phenomenon, the 2008 election rolled around and we saw a drastic change in candidates participating on these websites.

Media influence is huge in the United States. Between the commercials we see on television, to the outfits we see in the magazines and what we see on the red carpet we are constantly influenced in by the media. Over the last 10 years it has become more influential then ever. So it was no surprise that in the 2008 election, social media in a sense won the voters over for President Obama. In the article The 2008 Presidential Campaign: Political Cynicism in the Age of Facebook, MySpace, and YouTube by Gary Hanson, he points out the advantages and disadvantages of having social media play such a huge role. It shows you how the social media world changed presidential elections from now on. In the study, we examined whether the use of such social media influenced political cynicism. We also considered the influence of user background characteristics (e.g., self-efficacy, locus of control, political orientation, demographics, and influence of family and friends), motives for using social media for political information, and users' elaboration on political content. (Hanson) Hanson also mentions uses and gratifications theory that was used for this study and gives great evidence to support the authors claim that the media did influence the election outcome. The candidates saw that the social media world was so huge and people were logging on to the accounts everyday and knew they had to take advantage of this. But when there is something good, usually something bad follows. Lets say for instance a presidential candidate slips up and says something wrong, or doesnt do as well as he hope in a debate or speech, then what? In a matter of minutes or even seconds, that speech can and will be on YouTube, Facebook, MySpace or Twitter. People all over

the world can instantly start in debates or discussions of their own over what just happened on the television. Across Asia, the past decade or so has been taking over by storm with full force social media, cultural transformation as well as economic change that has both effected society in a positive and negative way. Facebook, the top social network globally, is a classic form of social media that easily induces addiction a phenomenon that affects the lifestyles of individuals (PI-CHU). Games on social media websites have also become very popular in all countries, especially Asia. On Facebook, Farmville was the number one online game in China at one point. These games can and have become a serious addiction to some people. When people are shy and not as outgoing, it is easier for them to come out of their shells and interact with other people. Most people who are interacting in these online games are complete strangers. This allows people to become whomever they want to be when they click online. There was a study done in this journal by Wei-ju Chen and David Machin from 2001-2012 analyzing a popular Chinese womens life advice magazine Rayli. They study this magazine over 11 years and document how the images of women are portrayed in this magazine and how it affects the culture. The magazines talks about issues such as; work, relationship advice, health and weight. The article really focuses on womens media and the affect that it has on them. Europe is a little different from the United States and Asia. Until very recently, the public service of broadcasting had strict controls on the amount of what could and could not be shown on foreign material. They believed that the broadcasting should be what the public wants to see and the political life of their own nation, not what else was

going on in the world. In the words of BBCs first Director General John Reith, it should serve as the integrator of democracy. In the article by Kevin Robins, Media and Cultural Diversity In Europe he explains why their nation believed in this and why they thought it would be a sense of national unity. I somewhat agree with them, but think that they could just be acting nave also. But over the last 20 years that has changed, and most likely for a good reason. Media also affects other countries as well, what his happening in Europe media wise can affect us here in the United States. This is true and very relevant with fashion. It is said that Europe is always years ahead on the fashion trends. People and designers here in the US look to European fashion for inspiration and to see what is up-and-coming. On Yahoos main page today there was an article Dress Like A French Woman suggesting that all the women in Europe dress like this and maybe you should too. It is Paris fashion week and their looks are being seen all over the world. It shows the women as beautiful, and almost always rather skinny. They have that reputation of being rather skinny and instyle. This article was extremely helpful in answering questions I had for the European media and how they have affect or impacted their society. European countries take a different approach when it comes to social media and how it affects the people in Europe. They see it as a learning opportunity and a way to communicate and stay connected with everyone. The Internet has become an important source of information for significant parts of the European population. Studies conducted by the Institute for Prospective Technological Studies (IPTS) suggest that the high take up of social media applications outside of formal educational settings provides new opportunities for innovating and modernizing Education and Training institutions and for

preparing learners for the 21st century. IPTS research demonstrates that social media can contribute to enhancing learning and teaching opportunities in Europe. To assess the current impact and scope of Learning 2.0 a concept that broadly summarizes all opportunities arising from the use of social media for learning and/or education and training two parallel studies were conducted, both of which exploited a vast resource of evidence and used a triangulation method to synthesize findings generated along different research lines (Redecker).

Works Cited:

Balabanova, E. (2011). Media and foreign policy in central and Eastern Europe post 9/11: in from the cold?. Media, War & Conflict, 4(1), 69-82. doi:10.1177/1750635210396124 DeAndera, David C. "Serious Social Media:" On the Use of Social Media for Improving Students' Adjustment to College 15.1 (2012): 15-23. Web. Hanson, G., Haridakis, P., Cunningham, A., Sharma, R., & Ponder, J. D. (2010). The 2008 Presidential Campaign: Political Cynicism in the Age of Facebook, MySpace, and YouTube. Mass Communication & Society, 13(5), 584-607. doi:10.1080/15205436.2010.513470 Jones, Steve. "The Internet Goes to College: How Students Are Living in the Future with Today's Technology." 12.1 (2011): 1-23. Print. Martin, F., Lewis, T., & Sinclair, J. (2013). LIFESTYLE MEDIA AND SOCIAL TRANSFORMATION IN ASIA. Media International Australia (8/1/07-Current), (147), 51-61. Pi-Chu, W. (2013). ADDICTIVE BEHAVIOR IN RELATION TO THE HAPPY FARM FACEBOOK APPLICATION. Social Behavior & Personality: An International Journal, 41(4), 539-553. doi:10.2224/sbp.2013.41.4.539

Redecker, C., Ala-Mutka, K., & Punie, Y. (2010). Learning 2.0: The impact

Of social media on learning in Europe. Policy brief. JRC Scientific and Technical Report. EUR JRC56958 EN, available from: http://bit. ly/cljlpq [Accessed 6 th February 2011] .

Robins, K. (2008). MEDIA AND CULTURAL DIVERSITY IN EUROPE. Changing Media, Changing Europe, 6109-122. Stelter, Ben. "How the Bin Laden Announcement Leaked Out." Media Decoder Blog. N.p., 1 May 2011. Web. 20 Sept. 2012. <http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/05/01/how-the-osamaannouncement-leaked-out/>.

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