"Internet access is exploding around the world. In the 10 years up to 2021, the proportion of people around the world with access to the internet grew from 33 to 63%, and by 2022 the number of active social media users hit 4.62 billion. Policymakers and opinion formers have an opportunity to tap int
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o the wealth of digital media intelligence that is created and to use that intelligence to advance a sustainable development agenda. But like any research practice, gathering digital media intelligence has its challenges. In this briefing we describe some of the pitfalls and how to avoid them, drawing on examples from a partnership between IIED and Marble Global, a digital research consultancy that works with organisations seeking to affect positive change." (Page 1)
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"Während der Corona-Pandemie und der damit verbundenen Einschränkungen des öffentlichen Lebens hat sich der Medienkonsum in allen Bereichen signifikant erhöht. Um auf dem Laufenden und mit anderen in Kontakt zu bleiben, aber auch um sich zu unterhalten und abzulenken, nutzten (und nutzen) die Me
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nschen sowohl die traditionellen Angebote als auch die digitalen Medien- und Kommunikationstechnologien in stärkerem Ausmaß. Medienangebote haben während der Pandemie neben der Informations- auch psychosoziale Funktionen. Die stärker ausgeprägte Nutzung von Medien, die interpersonale Kommunikation und hohe soziale Präsenz ermöglichen (z.B. Video-Calls, Instant-Messenger), ist ein Indikator für das starke soziale Bedürfnis während der Pandemie, das durch den Gebrauch entsprechender Technologien befriedigt werden soll. Neben nützlichen Funktionen können dabei auch eher problematische Folgen der Mediennutzung beobachtet werden. Das Internet wirkt sich beispielsweise in der Krisenzeit positiv als Kommunikationsweg aus, um mit anderen in Kontakt zu bleiben und Informationen zu erhalten. Gleichzeitig berichten die Nutzer aber auch von Überforderung und Erschöpfung sowie negativen emotionalen Auswirkungen durch die Berichterstattung. Mit andauernder Krise zeigen sich zudem Anzeichen dafür, dass weniger Informationen gesucht werden und es bei vielen Menschen zur Informationsüberlastung hinsichtlich des Themas Corona-Pandemie gekommen ist. Wenn subjektiv eine kritische Masse an COVID-19-Informationen erreicht ist, können auch negative Effekte, wie zum Beispiel depressive Symptome, entstehen. Um die psychosozialen Belastungen abzufedern und das Wohlbefinden zu steigern, nutzen die Konsumenten spezifische inhaltliche Medienangebote. So dient zum Beispiel die Rezeption nostalgischer Medieninhalte neben der Unterhaltung auch der Bewältigung von Isolationsbefürchtungen. Als weitere hilfreiche Strategie, um das Bedürfnis nach Zugehörigkeit und sozialen Kontakten zu befriedigen, kann auch die Intensivierung parasozialer Beziehungen mit medialen Charakteren (Prominenten, Personas u.ä.) dienen. Spezifische Medienangebote können somit auch die Funktion haben, einen Ausgleich zur belastenden Situation in der Krise zu bieten." (https://www.ard-media.de/media-perspektiven)
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"Afrobarometer finds that most Africans own a mobile phone and have access to a mobile phone network. However, fewer than half own a mobile phone with Internet access, and even fewer have access to a computer. This translates to low levels of Internet use in many countries. Lack of Internet access a
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nd use is far more common among women and people who are rural, older, less wealthy, and/or less educated. There is also a sizeable gap between LDCs and more developed countries." (Summary, page 1-2)
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"Seit 2016 bietet das öffentlich-rechtliche Content-Netzwerk 'funk' konfektionierte Inhalte für die junge Zielgruppe. Bekanntheit und Reichweite des öffentlich-rechtlichen ContentNetzwerks nehmen seitdem stetig zu. YouTube und Instagram wurden 2021 als Primärplattformen bespielt, da sie von 14-
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bis 29-Jährigen am intensivsten genutzt werden. Bei der Nutzung der funk-Angebote zeigten sich plattformbezogene Unterschiede bei inhaltlichen Präferenzen und Interaktion." (Kurz und knapp, Seite 364)
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"[This book] guides the reader in what different kinds of qualitative research can be applied to social media data. It introduces students, as well as those who are new to the field, to developing and carrying out concrete research projects. The book takes the reader through the stages of choosing d
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ata, formulating a research question, and choosing and applying method(s). Written in a clear and accessible manner with current social media examples throughout, the book provides a step-by-step overview of a range of qualitative methods. These are presented in clear ways to show how to analyze many different types of social media content, including language and visual content such as memes, gifs, photographs and film clips. Methods examined include critical discourse analysis, content analysis, multimodal analysis, ethnography and focus groups. Most importantly, the chapters and examples show how to ask the kinds of questions that are relevant for us at this present point in our societies, where social media is highly integrated into how we live. Social media is used for political communication, social activism, as well as commercial activities and mundane everyday things, and it can transform how all these are accomplished and even what they mean. Drawing on examples from Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Snapchat, Reddit, Weibo and others, this book will be suitable for undergraduate students studying social media research courses in media and communications, as well as other humanities such as linguistics and social science based degrees." (Abstract)
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"WeChat, launched in 2011, has rapidly become the most favoured Chinese social media. Globally available, equally popular both inside and outside China and widely adopted by Chinese migrants, WeChat has fundamentally changed the ways in which Mandarin-speaking migrants conduct personal messaging, en
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gage in group communication and community business activities, produce and distribute news, and access and share information. This book explores a wide range of issues connected to the ways in which WeChat works and is used, across the world among the newest members of the Chinese diaspora. Arguing that digital/social media afford a great degree of individual agency, as well as a collective capacity for sustaining an 'imagined community', the book shows how WeChat's assemblage of infrastructure and regulatory frameworks, technical capabilities, content and sense of community has led to the construction of a particular kind of diasporic Chinese world, at a time marked both by China's rise, and anxiety about Chinese influence in the West." (Publisher description)
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"Les Nigériens sont majoritaires à penser que les politiciens et les partis politiques (63%) et les usagers des réseaux sociaux (57%) diffusent "souvent" ou "quelque fois" des informations qu'ils savent fausses. Des grandes majorites des citoyens nigeriens estiment que le gouvernement devrait pou
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voir limiter ou interdire la diffusion des fausses nouvelles (79%), des discours de haine (75%) et des opinions qui critiquent ou insultent le Président de la République (66%). La moitie (51%) est du meme avis pour ce qui est des nouvelles que le gouvernement désapprouve. Parmi les 59% des Nigériens qui ont entendu parler des reseaux sociaux, une grande majorite (79%) estiment qu'en général l'impact des réseaux sociaux est positif. Ainsi, ils affirment que les reseaux sociaux informent les gens sur l'actualite (88%) et les aident a avoir plus d'impact sur les processus politiques (78%). Mais ils estiment egalement que les reseaux sociaux favorisent les fausses nouvelles (74%) et rendent les gens plus intolerants envers ceux qui ont des opinions politiques differentes (63%)." (Résultats clés)
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"Focusing on the internet as a foundational technology, this paper begins by summarising recent developments in digital inclusion theory, particularly as this relates to developing countries. It sets out a framework of core components of digital inclusion - including access/use, quality of access/us
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e, affordability, and digital skills - and briefly considers policy implications. The paper then surveys the ways these components are currently measured in household and firm surveys and by international organisations, highlighting some of the often-overlooked weaknesses of current measures, and suggesting possible improvements. The paper also reflects on potential applications of (and risks associated with) new ways of measuring digital inclusion using big data. Lastly, building on the framework developed, the paper reviews the empirical literature on ‘digital divides’ in developing countries, and makes suggestions for how future research could become more rigorous and useful." (Abstract)
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"El trabajo investigativo se desarrolla en tres capítulos distribuidos de la siguiente forma: el primer capítulo describe el nacimiento de Internet, su rápido desarrollo y la gran revolución provocada en la sociedad al influir en las formas de comunicarse, relacionarse e interactuar. El impacto
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global de esta tecnología es un hecho nunca antes visto [...] el segundo capítulo identifica el aumento considerable del uso de las tecnologías digitales y en especial el acceso a las redes sociales por parte de menores en América Latina. Por eso, el apartado describe las características de la screen generation de la región según los distintos informes institucionales que profundizan los diferentes riesgos y oportunidades que las generaciones juveniles encuentran en una sociedad altamente digitalizada y circundada de pantallas a pesar del gran problema de la brecha digital [...] Tercer capítulo: inmersos en el mundo de las pantallas, los adolescentes y las familias en general, necesitan de políticas de protección que les permitan una vida digital segura. Por eso, este último punto se concentra en las líneas guías para la educación digital donde se describen las diversas acciones llevadas a cabo por las instituciones encargadas de la alfabetización digital. A su vez, se pone énfasis en la importancia de promover un justo empoderamiento digital de los padres e hijos, generando un ecosistema digital seguro." (Introducción, página 5-7)
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"Using the example of Iraqi refugees in Jordan's capital of Amman, this book describes how information and communication technologies (ICTs) play out in the everyday experiences of urban refugees, geographically located in the Global South, and shows how interactions between online and offline space
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s are key for making sense of the humanitarian regime, for carving out a sense of home and for sustaining hope. This book paints a humanizing account of making do amid legal marginalization, prolonged insecurity, and the proliferation of digital technologies." (Publisher description)
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"Eight in 10 adult Zimbabweans (80%) say they have heard about social media. More than four in 10 (42%) citizens say they get news from social media “every day” or “a few times a week.” Among those who have heard about social media the vast majority (91%) say social media helps keep people i
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nformed about current events. Half (49%) believe that social media helps people have more impact on political processes. But seven in 10 (71%) also see social media as making people more likely to believe false information, and 44% say it makes people more intolerant of opposing views. Overall, six in 10 (61%) say the effects of social media on society are “somewhat positive” or “very positive.” Two-thirds (65%) of Zimbabweans say social media and the Internet help make people more informed and active citizens, and hence unrestricted access to these platforms must be protected." (Key findings, page 1-2)
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"In this book, Leah Komen explores the impact of mobile telephony on the lives of people in rural Kenya. The book analyses the outcomes of complex intersections and interactions between mobile phones, individuals, and the broader society as distinct from the traditional cause-effect relationships in
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the discourse of development in the changing world. It subverts the traditional notion of synchronic development that ignores target populations' involvement in decision-making and sees development from the lens of developed economies where information and communication technologies like mobile telephones have originated. Komen's analysis advances a diachronic type of development that focuses on human technology's interrelationships instead of the synchronic model that privileges technology as engendering social transformations and development. The diachronic model is fundamentally Maendeleo, a Swahili term denoting process, participation, progress, and growth, and views social transformations and development as an interaction between mobile telephony users and their specific contexts. The book argues that the mobile phone has become an increasingly personalised device. It encourages a sense of community through the sharing of the device by multiple users, promotes co-presence and interpersonal communication, enhances kinship ties and social connectedness, and creates new ways of organising and conducting everyday socioeconomic activities. However, it also can disintegrate relationships and remodel some." (Publisher description)
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"Internews’ work on disinformation in the Philippines aims at uniting the strengths of stakeholders in the media community, civil society, academia, private sector, and social media companies, along six axes: factchecking and myth busting, media and information literacy, public policy advocacy, di
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sinformation investigation, investment in trustworthy news and media, and algorithm accountability. The latter requires to understand the role each social media platform plays in the information ecosystem, to tailor specific strategies of engagement on and with these platforms. In that context, the Understudied Digital Platforms in the Philippines (UDPP) research project sought to understand the role of lesser-known digital platforms, such as TikTok and WeChat, in the Philippine information environment and draw out strategies to mitigate disinformation among their users. Internews worked with three researchers Jose Mari Hall Lanuza (University of the Philippines, Manila) and Rossine Fallorina and Samuel Cabbuag (University of the Philippines, Diliman) to conduct an Information Ecosystem Assessment (IEA) to look deeper into the role that these platforms play in the media and digital landscape, what their current and future impact may be, and where information actors need to focus their attention. The research provides an in-depth dive into these platforms, examining their affordances, information flows, user demographics, and disinformative potential. The research also offers preliminary recommendations for platforms, policymakers, and public stakeholders to establish regulated but democratic online public spheres within these platforms." (Publisher description)
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"In a general climate where facts and misinformation blur, and are intentionally blurred, this book asks what determines whether people accept and share (mis)information, and what can be done to counter misinformation? All three of these aspects need to be understood in the context of online social
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networks, which have fundamentally changed the way information is produced, consumed, and transmitted. The contributions within this volume summarize the most up-to-date empirical findings, theories, and applications and discuss cutting-edge ideas and future directions of interventions to counter fake news." (Publisher description)
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"The pandemic marks a new technological milestone in audiences’ media usage and habits, one that has thus far been both positive – through the interconnectedness and agency – and negative – because of a lack of access for some – for cultural diversity and intercultural relations. The adopt
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ion of mobile internet skyrocketed in the region, and some countries, particularly Egypt and Saudi Arabia, have ranked among the countries with the highest penetration rates globally for platforms such as Facebook and YouTube." (Page 1)
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"The primary payment method for mobile internet usage in most developing countries is prepaid, with the amount tied to a specific volume of data usage. Data volume is therefore a useful yardstick to determine how much is needed to carry out important welfare enhancing activities online. For foundati
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onal online activities, which include websites for public services, health information, shopping, learning, and news, we estimate using data from six developing countries that 660MB per month, per user are needed for these welfare-enhancing activities. For common recreational online activities – particularly social media use – we estimate that an additional 5.2GB per month, per user is needed, for a total of approximately 6GB per month, per user. While the cheapest 30-day data packages in most of the countries examined exceed this minimum estimate, the cost of these packages exceeds more than 2% of income for the bottom 40% of the population, which risks widening the digital divide. The COVID-19 pandemic has further increased the demand for data by triggering widespread use of video conferencing for work, learning and health among others. This increased demand, along with the continuous development of more data-heavy content, will continue to inflate the minimum data needed for welfare enhancing activities, which may further exacerbate the digital divide if more affordable packages or other alternatives mechanisms for facilitating connectivity are not provided for the most vulnerable populations." (Key findings)
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"1. Social Media Users in MEA (Middle East and Africa) spend the most time on social networks, averaging over 3.5 hours per day. Internet users in the MEA have an average of 8.4 social media accounts, research reveals. UAE, with an average of 10.5 accounts, has “the highest number of social media
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accounts per person globally. 2. Top TikTok influencers grew their fanbase by an average of 65%, between February and August 2020, with the highest engagement rates in Bahrain, Oman and Saudi Arabia. Few influencers have successfully crossed over from other platforms. 3. Egypt is the 9th largest national market for Facebook in the world, with 44 million users, by October 2020. Turkey is the only other MENA country in the Top 20, with 37 million users. 4. Four MENA Countries, Saudi Arabia (17.9 million users), Turkey (9.7m), Iraq (9.6m) and Egypt (8.9m) are in the 13 largest national markets for Snapchat worldwide. Audiences are continuing to grow, highlighting the importance of the app. 5. 79% of Arab Youth say they get their news from social media. That’s up from 25% in 2015 [...]" (Executive summary)
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"1. Participants used a mix of social media platforms and TV/radio to acquire news. Word of mouth was also a noteworthy source of information. Many participants expressed a distaste for comment sections. It was generally agreed that information found on social media should not be taken as truth.
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The majority of attendees verified information they acquired, especially news from social media platforms. News that was not credible was deemed not worthy of sharing. The participants were scrupulous when it came to cross referencing news.
3. Global news sites were perceived as more trustworthy when it came to international news. The New York Times, for example, was mentioned multiple times.
4. Participants were open to a diverse range of topics including politics, culture, and women’s rights. They felt that education and local tourism as standalone subjects were overused. The integration of mental health resources into the education system sparked discussion and tackled a concept many deemed important." (Findings, page 6)
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