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In the realm of mass communication, there is a strong belief that a person is less likely than others to be influenced by any of the negative effects of mass communication. This phenomenon, called the Third Person Effect, extends beyond the realm of mass communication and was proven through studies to be relevant even in the digital world of social media.
Facebook users see themselves as significantly less likely to be influenced by a post than others
One study found, through a series of surveys, that respondents viewed themselves significantly less likely to be effected than others within the context of Facebook use. This opinion proved consistent across all users, with the exception of close friends. Researchers found that respondents did not believe their close friends had any higher chance of being influenced than the respondents themselves. This may largely be due to the fact that "one's closest friends are a part of the respondent's personal relationship's; thus, if a respondent does not perceive his/her own relationship's as negatively influenced by Facebook, then they have less reason to perceive their friends' relationships as negatively affected" (Paradise and Sullivan).
The study, conducted by Angela Paradise, Ph.D. and Meghan Sullivan, B.S. consisted of 357 undergraduate respondents from the Northeastern part of the U.S. Measurements were taken to gain an understanding of how much time the respondents spent on Facebook to further improve the validity of the respondent's answers. Respondents who did not even have a Facebook profile were omitted from the final results.
The relevancy of a post can influence the perceived effect it has on users
Another similar study was conducted by Valarie Schweisberger, Jennifer Billinson, and T. Makana Chock that proves as well as expands on much of what was discovered in the Paradise/Sullivan study. In this second study, separate variables are added to determine the strength of the Third Person Effect within specific situations on Facebook.
One of the main variables tested is whether or not the relevance of an article effects the chances of influence through the Third Person Effect. Through the research, respondents were found to rate Low Relevant news stories on Facebook to have a greater influence on others rather than themselves.
High Relevance stories on the other hand showed less consistency in ratings for whether or not the stories influenced others more than themselves. Since a story has more relevancy to the user, it makes sense that they may feel more influenced by it, but due to the fact that people perceive others to be more influenced than themselves, the inconsistency of the ratings make sense as well.
The amount of time spent on Facebook increases the influence it has on users
Through these three studies, it is evident that the Third Person Effect is present in the world of social media. All the studies displayed some sort of correlation between the user's perceived effect on themselves versus their perceived effect on others. Each study just investigates a different variable within the context of the Third Person Effect.
The Third Person Effect is very evident in the lives of Facebook users
The first study mainly focused on the Third Person Effect and its correlation to other people. The second study measured the influence of the Third Person Effect based on how relevant the post was to the user. The third study measured the amount of time spent on Facebook and the perceived influence of the Third Person Effect.
Every study has its flaws, from to the way the study was conducted to any unseen bias that may arise, but regardless, each study remained consistent overall to the main question at hand: Do users perceive the effects of social networks to be stronger on others than themselves? Disregarding all variables, bias, and any other differences between the studies, the answer, at its very core, is "yes."
Nothing is ever that simple though. Social media is always changing, along with ideologies, behaviors and other unknown variables. From person to person, post to post, the results of this question will always be slightly different. It is important to remember that at its heart, this is also just a generalization. If people remain educated on the topic, their awareness of the Third Person Effect will help them be more mindful of the actual influence social media truly has in their lives.
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ReplyDeleteOverall, this ePortfolio was extremely well written. It was easy to tell that a lot of research was done on your part and all of the information was conveyed in an easy to read and understandable fashion for all audiences, such as readers and scanners. Your headline was simple and succinct, but it also conveyed the main idea of the post without having to read all of the posts. Your subheadings also conveyed your ideas similarly. This ePortfolio is good for scanners because they don't have to try to quickly go through your post and still be able to understand the main points of your posts.
ReplyDeleteOne of the things that I liked the most about your ePortfolio was that you followed the format that the professor set out in classes very well. In particular, I think your use of the inverted pyramid was put to use well. For example, in your first section you explained the main findings of the survey and then in the second paragraph you gave the less important details such as how the survey was conducted and where it was conducted. The choice to put your embedded link here was also great because this is a point where the reader would probably want to read the research paper if they were really interested and you put the option right there for anyone who wants to read it.
In regards to the third person effect and the studies that you cited, there was a surprising amount of research already done on the third person effect and it must have been difficult to sort through all of the research to build your story, something commendable.
I found an interesting research paper, "Efficacy Beliefs in Third-Person Effects" by Rosenthal, Detenber, and Rojas.
(http://crx.sagepub.com/content/early/2015/02/18/0093650215570657.full.pdf+html)
The researchers studied the third person effect, but instead of viewing things on Facebook, their topic was sexual content in films. Similar to the studies you posted, most people believed that they were better at self-regulation and that others were more likely to be negatively influenced by the sexual content. Then, the researchers brought up the topic of censorship and the government. If the third person effect causes people to believe that other people are more likely to be negatively influenced by this content, then it is more likely that they will support censorship of that content.
The topic you wrote about is very interesting and there are surprising applications to the third person effect, such as the study that I found.