Part I: Psychological aspects of the social media
TikTok—opportunities and risks of a new medium
Almost no platform is currently being discussed more than TikTok. From misinformation to addictive potential, TikTok doesn’t always have the best reputation. Nevertheless, TikTok is very popular, especially among young people. But what is actually behind it? What content is distributed on TikTok? Is TikTok really addictive? What other dangers does its use entail? And in contrast: What opportunities can the use of TikTok bring? Prof. Dr. Sabine Trepte and her team answer these questions for you.
Contact:
Prof. Dr. Sabine Trepte, Dept. of Communication Science and Media Psychology, email
B.A. Kerria Drüppel, Dept. of Communication Science and Media Psychology, email
Well-being, loneliness, and body image: Mental health and social media
Online and especially social media can put a lot of strain on people, e.g., through multitasking, techno-stress, binge-watching, bullying, or addiction.
To what extent does social media change our well-being: Does using it make us happier or unhappier? What are the possible effects of social media on our social inclusion: Do they strengthen friendship relationships or instead lead to loneliness? And how does it relate to our body image: Does the idealized portrayal increase the pressure to follow these beauty ideals, or does social media serve as inspiration and incentive to finally become active?
The team at the Media Psychology department will help you to understand the content of these risks and realistically assess their prevalence. What exactly do these risks mean for people psychologically and how likely is it that they will affect us or even make us ill? In addition, the researchers highlight concepts and measures that people can take to use media productively and functionally.
Contact
Prof. Dr. Sabine Trepte, Dept. of Communication Science and Media Psychology, email
M.A. Jana Dombrowski, Dept. of Communication Science and Media Psychology, email
B.A. Kerria Drüppel, Dept. of Communication Science and Media Psychology, email
Privacy and informational self-determination
Social media use brings both gratifications (social sharing, social support) and costs (threats to online privacy). Many people are concerned about this and would like more protection, for example from the Data Protection Regulation or technical intervention measures. Nevertheless, they share personal information about themselves on the Internet. Is that a paradox? Or do we weigh up carefully in individual situations how much we reveal about ourselves and what privacy risks we take? Is this, like other human behavior, related to personality?
Contact
Prof. Dr. Sabine Trepte, Dept. of Communication Science and Media Psychology, email
M.A. Jana Dombrowski, Dept. of Communication Science and Media Psychology, email
Media literacy - protection and resilience
Online and especially social media can put a lot of strain on people, e.g. through multitasking, techno-stress, binge-watching, bullying, addiction, or privacy risks. We help to understand the content of these risks and to realistically assess their prevalence. What exactly do these risks mean psychologically for people and how likely are they to affect us or even make us ill? In addition, we show concepts and measures that people can take to use media productively and functionally.
Contact:
Prof. Dr. Sabine Trepte, Dept. of Communication Science: Media Psychology, email
Children and youth on the Social Web - risks and enjoyment
Social media has an enormous attraction for children and young people. They are the most intensive users of YouTube, WhatsApp, and Instagram. They live their friendship relationships in social media and interact with YouTubers and influencers. Relationships always play a special role. We analyze with you how children and adolescents shape their relationships in social media, what risks emanate from the use of social media, and what skills children and adolescents need to direct their enjoyment of using social media in functional and healthy ways.
Contact:
Prof. Dr. Sabine Trepte, Dept. of Communication Science: Media Psychology, email
Gender research
From the very first second of our lives, gender determines how we are perceived, what expectations are placed on us, and how we want to behave. Gender also plays a role in social media—be it in linguistic expression and self-presentation on social media, in debates about fair pay for new appointments, or with regard to the effects of media representations, for example in music, on one’s own self-image.
Contact
Maike Braun, Dept. of. Communication Science and Media Psychology, email
Prof. Dr. Sabine Trepte, Dept. of Communication Science and Media Psychology, email
Part II: Social media as part of the media landscape
How does fake news spread online?
Some fake news reports sound absurd - but they still often spread like wildfire online. How does that happen? What exactly is fake news and whom does it reach? How dangerous is it? Do they influence opinions and maybe even democracy? Can you recognize fake news? What role do filter bubbles play in the process? Communication scientist Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Schweiger is looking into this topic and can explain the background for you.
Contact:
Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Schweiger, Department of Communication Science: Interactive Media and Online Communication, +49 711 459-24471, email
How do social media work?
Twitter and Facebook, YouTube and Xing - many people are familiar with and use social media. But communication through these channels takes on a dynamic of its own. For example: How do political discussions work online? Who uses the various online services to begin with, and why? And how must an online medium be designed so that users post as many comments as possible? Do identical contents in different online media trigger different responses from users? Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Schweiger, online communication expert at the University of Hohenheim, is happy to answer your questions.
Contact:
Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Schweiger, Department of Communication Science: Interactive Media and Online Communication, +49 711 459-24471, email
"Luegenpresse" (Liar press): Media skepticism in the online discourse
For quite some time, journalism has been under public fire - even the old Nazi-era term "Luegenpresse" (liar press) has made a comeback. This skepticism is expressed in the comments section of news portals, in social networks, and in blogs. How are journalistic media assessed in these comments? What forms are used to express that criticism? What kinds of accusations are voiced, and how do they differ by topic? Does this influence the way people perceive journalistic quality? Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Schweiger and Fabian Prochazka have explored these questions in their research.
Contact:
Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Schweiger, Department of Communication Science: Interactive Media and Online Communication, +49 711 459-24471, email
Does quality journalism have a chance in the social media age?
Social media help increase competitive pressure on traditional news providers. The budget cuts resulting from that pressure may lead to a loss of quality. But to what extent can users actually judge the quality of media contents? How does this affect the image of a media brand? Is this a trend that may in the medium term undermine readers' loyalty and their willingness to use and pay for quality journalism? Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Schweiger is happy to explain.
Contact:
Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Schweiger, Department of Communication Science: Interactive Media and Online Communication, +49 711 459-24471, email
Politicization, polarization, and mobilization in social media
Social media has taken social exchange to an unprecedented level. People from different areas of society and with different attitudes enter into discourse with each other and negotiate current trends and topics using a wide variety of communication elements. Whether it’s about lifestyle, politics, or their connection: the effects of these interactions can be felt far beyond the network. They influence what we eat, how we travel, who we network with, create new forms of solidarity and violence, and shape the political climate. Social psychologist and head of the junior research group “Digital Transformation and Social Change” Dr. Adrian Lüders will explain the connections.
Contact:
Adrian Lüders Junior Research Group “Digital Transformation and Social Change,” +49 711 459-24797, email
How can we measure success in social media communication?
User-generated contents in news, blogs, forums, and reviews reflect the success of online communication and social media. How can this success be measured in quantitative terms? What are social media charts, and which social media strategies can be derived from them? For research findings on these issues, contact Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Schweiger.
Contact:
Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Schweiger, Department of Communication Science: Interactive Media and Online Communication, +49 711 459-24471, email
Part III: Social media and the economy
Cross-media advertising and its effects
Cross-media advertising: What exactly is that? What is the effect of a coordinated and cross-linked advertising campaign channeled through different advertising media? What are the goals behind this approach? What are the benefits for providers, considering the possibility to use the same contents multiple times, for example? Does the audience benefit as well? Online communications expert Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Schweiger is happy to explain.
Contact:
Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Schweiger, Department of Communication Science: Interactive Media and Online Communication, +49 711 459-24471, email
Social media marketing
Social media increasingly become part of marketing strategies. For which purposes can social media be used? How can social media be used to acquire new customers or to keep existing customers happy? May they be used for market research as well? And what about B2B services? Marketing expert Prof. Dr. Markus Voeth will answer your questions.
Contact:
Prof. Dr. Markus Voeth,
Dept. of Business Administration: Marketing and Business Development, +49 711 459-22925, email
Management of services and social media
Social media have great business potential. Companies and customers can interact to exchange opinions and experiences. How does that change the way companies manage customer relations and services? And how does it affect complaint management, a key instrument for customer retention? Prof. Dr. Karsten Hadwich explains the potential of social media in this area.
Contact:
Prof. Dr. Karsten Hadwich, Dept. of Business Administration: Service Management and Service Markets, +49 711 459-24461, email
Employer brading using social media
Employer branding is used to present a company as an attractive employer and to make it stand out positively in the labor market. To this end, social media are becoming more and more important as a means of communication. Do they matter for employer branding? How can companies use them? Are social media helpful for researching independent information about potential employers? Prof. Dr. Marion Büttgen shows you the possibilities.
Contact:
Prof. Dr. Marion Büttgen, Dept. of Business Administration: Corporate Management, +49 711 459-22909, email
How should tomorrow's banks use social networks?
Digital natives – that is, those under the age of 35 – have grown up with the Internet and use different sources of information than previous generations. What do younger people expect of their bank? And what role do social networks play in this?
Contact:
Prof. Dr. Frank Brettschneider, Dept. of. Communication Science: Communication Theory,
+49 711 459-24030, email
Part IV: Other areas where social media are used
Social media in election campaigns
Barack Obama is said to be the first US President whose victory in the elections was also a result of his online campaign. What about online campaigning in Germany? Today, every election campaign uses online tools. What are the functions of online campaigns in elections? What is the role of issue management, negative campaigning, posters, and online campaigns? Feel free to discuss these issues with political scientist and communication scientist Prof. Dr. Frank Brettschneider.
Prof. Dr. Markus Voeth offers the point of view of a marketing expert. The political parties are wooing young voters via Twitter, Facebook, and the like - after all, they are potential core voters and tomorrow's opinion leaders. But do these marketing strategies actually reach their target audience? What could be improved? What are the online opportunities for politicians?
You can contact Prof. Dr. Sabine Trepte and her team if you are interested in the topic of political microtargeting. Voters are addressed with targeted advertising messages on social media. Various types of data are used by the advertising campaign offices to tailor election advertising: user behavior (surfing, liking, commenting), their geo-location, or login data provided when registering for social media. Thematic interests or party-political inclinations are derived from this, and the election advertising is adapted accordingly and targeted at these user groups.
Contact:
Prof. Dr. Frank Brettschneider, Dept. of. Communication Science: Communication Theory,
+49 711 459-24030, email
Prof. Dr. Markus Voeth, Dept. of. Business Administration: Marketing and Business Development,
+49 711 459 22925, email
Prof. Dr. Sabine Trepte, Dept. of Communication Science and Media Psychology,
+49 711 459 22654, email
Science in the social media
Unlike in the United States, social networks in Europe are still hardly relevant as sources of scientific information. And yet, scientific organizations want to use social media to communicate with their audience directly. What motivates the audience to use social networks to collect information about research topics? What are the composition, expectations, and motivations of Facebook users? Prof. Dr. Jens Vogelgesang will provide you with information on these topics.
Contact:
Prof. Dr. Jens Vogelgesang, Dept. of. Communication Science: Media Research and Media Use,
+49 711 459-23428, email