Research on the Impact of Social Networks on News Spread
Abstract
The selected topic of this paper is to use the theories of social networks to explain how the news spread among people and how the digital technologies have changed the ways for the news to spread. This topic is selected when it is meaningful and valuable as the findings will be beneficial for studying interpersonal relations and psychological well-being, political participation and civic engagement This paper tries to conduct a preliminary research to understand this topic, and it finds out that social network could promote the dissemination of news when people are connected in a social network and they exchange messages and news. The results show that online social network will promote the spread of fake news, which will cause big negative impacts on the society. Therefore, the arguments relevant to the selected topic have been surrounding the negative and positive roles of social network for social learning and the spread of news. This paper also calls for actions from individuals to act as moral polices, and stop the spreading of fake news, and promote healthy social learning, when individuals are the gatekeepers for fake news.
References
- Zareie, A. & Sakellariou, R. (2021). Minimizing the spread of misinformation in online social networks: A survey. Journal of Network and Computer Applications, 186, 103094.
- Verweij P. (2012). Twitter links between politicians and journalists. Journalism Practice, 6, 680–691.
- Weeks B. E., Holbert R. L. (2013). Predicting dissemination of news content in social media: A focus on reception, friending, and partisanship. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 90, 212–232.
- Muro, M., & Jeffrey, P. (2008). A critical review of the theory and application of social learning in participatory natural resource management processes. Journal of environmental planning and management, 51(3), 325-344.
- Edinyang, S.D. (2016). The significance of social learning theories in the teaching of social studies education. International Journal of Sociology and Anthropology Research, 2(1), 40-45.
- Kümpel et al. (2015). News Sharing in Social Media: A Review of Current Research on News Sharing Users, Content, and Networks. Social Media + Society. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
- Doleck, T., Lemay, D.J., & Brinton, C.G. (2021). Evaluating the efficiency of social learning networks: Perspectives for harnessing learning analytics to improve discussions. Computers & Education, 164, 104124.
- Humayun, M.F. & Ferrucci, P. (2022). Understanding Social Media in Journalism Practice: A Typology. Digital Journalism, 10(9), 1502-1525.
- McGregor, S. C. (2019). Social media as public opinion: How journalists use social media to represent public opinion. Journalism, 20(8).
- Olan et al. (2022). Fake news on Social Media: the Impact on Society. Information Systems Frontiers.
- Rocha et al. (2023). The impact of fake news on social media and its influence on health during the COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic review. Journal of Public Health, 31, 1007–1016.