Motives of Sharing Fake News and Effects on Mental Health of Social Media Users: A Meta-analysis
Abstract
After the outbreak of COVID-19, the world faced various economic, health, and social challenges alongside terror from fake news and posts on social media. There has been a significant impact from the spread and sharing of fake news on the mental health of social media users. Henceforth, this study examined this issue within the context of uses and gratification theory. In doing so, the study performed a meta-analysis using cross-sectional studies regarding social media usage and the association between use and gratification among social media users. Fifteen articles from 2010 to 2020 were retrieved and finalised through strict selection criteria from Google Scholar, PubMed, and Web of Science. A random effect model was deployed to estimate the uses and gratification achieved from social media usage and the motivation behind sharing specific posts. The selected articles suggested a positive and significant role of the uses and gratification perspective in motivating users to select specific social media platforms to create and share posts. It was also identified that gratification can result from the performance of both positive and negative actions on social media by social media users. This study offers new insights into social media usage from the uses and gratification perspective during health crises, shedding light on its impact on fake news dissemination and suggesting practical algorithmic control measures.
Keywords: Uses and gratifications, meta-analysis, fake news, mental health, social media.
Full Text:
PDFReferences
Apuke, O. D., & Omar, B. (2021). Fake news and COVID-19: Modelling the predictors of fake news sharing among social media users. Telematics and Informatics, 56, 101475.
Basilisco, R., & Cha, K. J. (2015). Uses and gratification motivation for using Facebook and the impact of Facebook usage on social capital and life satisfaction among Filipino users. International Journal of Software Engineering and Its Applications, 9(4), 181-194.
Becker, L. M. (1997). The effects of exercise versus methylphenidate on attention and behavior in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, predominantly inattentive type (Dissertation, The University of Alabama at Birmingham).
Borenstein, M., Hedges, L. V., Higgins, J. P., & Rothstein, H. R. (2021). Introduction to meta-analysis. John Wiley & Sons.
Bui, T.-V. (2014). Social media on a stick: A uses and gratification approach toward helping mobile food vendors engage consumers on Instagram (Master project, University of Minnesota).
Chandler, J., Cumpston, M., Li, T., Page, M. J., & Welch, V. (2019). Cochrane handbook for systematic reviews of interventions. Hoboken: Wiley.
Chen, C.-P. (2018). Understanding mobile English-learning gaming adopters in the self-learning market: The Uses and Gratification Expectancy model. Computers & Education, 126, 217-230.
Dessart, L., & Veloutsou, C. (2021). Augmenting brand community identification for inactive users: a uses and gratification perspective. Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing, 15(3), 361-385.
Di Domenico, G., Sit, J., Ishizaka, A., & Nunan, D. (2021). Fake news, social media and marketing: A systematic review. Journal of Business Research, 124, 329-341.
Egger, M., Schneider, M., & Smith, G. D. (1998). Meta-analysis Spurious precision? Meta-analysis of observational studies. BMJ, 316(7125), 140-144.
Eginli, A. T., & Tas, N. O. (2018). Interpersonal communication in social networking sites: An investigation in the framework of uses and gratification theory. Online Journal of Communication and Media Technologies, 8(2), 81-104.
Fernández-Torres, M. J., Almansa-Martínez, A., & Chamizo-Sánchez, R. (2021). Infodemic and fake news in Spain during the COVID-19 pandemic. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(4), 1781.
Figueira, Á., & Oliveira, L. (2017). The current state of fake news: Challenges and opportunities. Procedia Computer Science, 121, 817-825.
Froget, J. R. L., Baghestan, A. G., & Asfaranjan, Y. S. (2013). A uses and gratification perspective on social media usage and online marketing. Middle-East Journal of Scientific Research, 15(1), 134-145.
Gupta, A., Bansal, A., Mamgain, K., & Gupta, A. (2022). An exploratory analysis on the unfold of fake news during COVID-19 pandemic. Paper presented at the Smart Systems Innovations in Computing (Proceedings of SSIC 2021).
Heravi, A., Mubarak, S., & Choo, K.-K. R. (2018). Information privacy in online social networks: Uses and gratification perspective. Computers in Human Behavior, 84, 441-459.
Hosain, S. (2020). The role of social media on talent search and acquisition: Evidence from contemporary literature. Journal of Intercultural Management, 12(1), 92-137.
Hua, J., & Shaw, R. (2020). Corona virus (Covid-19) “infodemic” and emerging issues through a data lens: The case of China. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(7), 2309.
Iezadi, S., Gholipour, K., Azami-Aghdash, S., Ghiasi, A., Rezapour, A., Pourasghari, H., & Pashazadeh, F. (2021). Effectiveness of non-pharmaceutical public health interventions against COVID-19: A systematic review and meta-analysis. PloS One, 16(11), e0260371.
Jiang, M., Gao, Q., & Zhuang, J. (2021). Reciprocal spreading and debunking processes of online misinformation: A new rumor spreading–debunking model with a case study. Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, 565, 125572.
Kane, G. C., Alavi, M., Labianca, G., & Borgatti, S. P. (2014). What’s different about social media networks? A framework and research agenda. MIS Quarterly, 38(1), 275-304.
Kasirye, F. (2021). The importance of needs in uses and gratification theory. Advance. https://doi.org/10.31124/advance.14681667.v2
Katsarov, J., Andorno, R., Krom, A., & Van den Hoven, M. (2022). Effective strategies for research integrity training—A meta-analysis. Educational Psychology Review, 34(2), 935-955.
Kaur, P., Dhir, A., Chen, S., Malibari, A., & Almotairi, M. (2020). Why do people purchase virtual goods? A uses and gratification (U&G) theory perspective. Telematics and Informatics, 53, 101376.
Korhan, O., & Ersoy, M. (2016). Usability and functionality factors of the social network site application users from the perspective of uses and gratification theory. Quality & Quantity, 50(4), 1799-1816.
Kossmeier, M., Tran, U. S., & Voracek, M. (2020). Charting the landscape of graphical displays for meta-analysis and systematic reviews: A comprehensive review, taxonomy, and feature analysis. BMC Medical Research Methodology, 20, 1-24.
Lee, K. S., Zhang, J. J., Nga, V. D. W., Ng, C. H., Tai, B. C., Higgins, J. P., & Syn, N. L. (2022). Tenets for the proper conduct and use of meta-analyses: A practical guide for neurosurgeons. World Neurosurgery, 161, 291-302. e291.
Lin, L., & Xu, C. (2020). Arcsine‐based transformations for meta‐analysis of proportions: Pros, cons, and alternatives. Health Science Reports, 3(3), e178.
Liu, X., Min, Q., & Han, S. (2020). Understanding users’ continuous content contribution behaviours on microblogs: An integrated perspective of uses and gratification theory and social influence theory. Behaviour & Information Technology, 39(5), 525-543.
Malloli, S. (2020). Unit-3 uses and gratification theory (Master dissertation, Indira Gandhi National Open University, New Delhi).
Marušić, M. F., Fidahić, M., Cepeha, C. M., Farcaș, L. G., Tseke, A., & Puljak, L. (2020). Methodological tools and sensitivity analysis for assessing quality or risk of bias used in systematic reviews published in the high-impact anesthesiology journals. BMC Medical Research Methodology, 20, 1-10.
Meel, P., & Vishwakarma, D. K. (2020). Fake news, rumor, information pollution in social media and web: A contemporary survey of state-of-the-arts, challenges and opportunities. Expert Systems with Applications, 153, 112986.
Mobarhan, R., Alhazmi, A. K., Rahman, A. A., & Majidi, M. (2014). Why students use electronic portfolio: from uses and gratification perspective. Pacific Asia Conference on Information Systems (PACIS) 2014 Proceeding, 112.
Mohammed, F., Al-Kumaim, N. H., Alzahrani, A. I., & Fazea, Y. (2023). The impact of social media shared health content on protective behavior against COVID-19. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(3), 1775.
Moola, S., Munn, Z., Tufanaru, C., Aromataris, E., Sears, K., Sfetcu, R., . . . Lisy, K. (2017). Systematic reviews of etiology and risk (2020). In Aromataris, E., Lockwood, C., Porritt, K., Pilla, B., Jordan, Z. (Eds.), JBI manual for evidence synthesis (Chap. 7). JBI. https://doi.org/10.46658/JBIMES-24-06
Mpofu, F. Y. (2021). Review articles: A critical review of the pitfalls and guidelines to effectively conducting and reporting reviews. Technium Social Sciences Journal, 18(1), 550–574.
Munn, Z., Moola, S., Lisy, K., Riitano, D., & Tufanaru, C. (2015). Methodological guidance for systematic reviews of observational epidemiological studies reporting prevalence and cumulative incidence data. JBI Evidence Implementation, 13(3), 147-153.
Oliveira, T., Araujo, B., & Tam, C. (2020). Why do people share their travel experiences on social media? Tourism Management, 78, 104041.
Page, M. J., Sterne, J. A., Higgins, J. P., & Egger, M. (2021). Investigating and dealing with publication bias and other reporting biases in meta‐analyses of health research: A review. Research Synthesis Methods, 12(2), 248-259.
Parums, D. V. (2021). Review articles, systematic reviews, meta-analysis, and the updated preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) 2020 guidelines. Medical Science Monitor, 27, e934475-934471.
Pigott, T. D., & Polanin, J. R. (2020). Methodological guidance paper: High-quality meta-analysis in a systematic review. Review of Educational Research, 90(1), 24-46.
Pustejovsky, J. E., & Tipton, E. (2022). Meta-analysis with robust variance estimation: Expanding the range of working models. Prevention Science, 23(3), 425-438.
Ray, A., Dhir, A., Bala, P. K., & Kaur, P. (2019). Why do people use food delivery apps (FDA)? A uses and gratification theory perspective. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 51, 221-230.
Roux, T. (2020). Users’ experience of digital wayfinding screens: A uses and gratification perspective from South Africa. Advances in Human‐Computer Interaction, 7636150.
Samani, M. C., & Guri, C. J. (2019). Revisiting uses and gratification theory: A study on visitors to Annah Rais Homestay. Jurnal Komunikasi: Malaysian Journal of Communication, 35(1).
Sampat, B., & Krishnamoorthy, B. (2016). Motivations for social network site (SNS) gaming: A uses and gratification & flow perspective. Journal of International Technology and Information Management, 25(3), 75-98.
Santos, Z. R., Cheung, C. M., Coelho, P. S., & Rita, P. (2022). Consumer engagement in social media brand communities: A literature review. International Journal of Information Management, 63, 102457.
Schmidt, L., Mutlu, A. N. F., Elmore, R., Olorisade, B. K., Thomas, J., & Higgins, J. P. (2021). Data extraction methods for systematic review (semi) automation: Update of a living systematic review. F1000Research, 10, 401.
Shin, D.-H. (2011). Understanding e-book users: Uses and gratification expectancy model. New Media & Society, 13(2), 260-278. https://doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.51117.2
Smock, A. D., Ellison, N. B., Lampe, C., & Wohn, D. Y. (2011). Facebook as a toolkit: A uses and gratification approach to unbundling feature use. Computers in Human Behavior, 27(6), 2322-2329.
Solanki, S., Fitzpatrick, D., Jones, M. R., & Lee, H. (2020). Social-psychological interventions in college: A meta-analysis of effects on academic outcomes and heterogeneity by study context and treated population. Educational Research Review, 31, 100359.
StataCorp, L. (2020). Stata statistical software: Release 16 College Station. TX: StataCorp LLC.
Stogiannis, D., Siannis, F., & Androulakis, E. (2024). Heterogeneity in meta-analysis: A comprehensive overview. The International Journal of Biostatistics, 20(1), 169-199.
Talwar, S., Dhir, A., Singh, D., Virk, G. S., & Salo, J. (2020). Sharing of fake news on social media: Application of the honeycomb framework and the third-person effect hypothesis. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 57, 102197.
Tandoc Jr, E. C., Lim, D., & Ling, R. (2020). Diffusion of disinformation: How social media users respond to fake news and why. Journalism, 21(3), 381-398.
Tanta, I., Mihovilović, M., & Sablić, Z. (2014). Uses and gratification theory–why adolescents use Facebook? Medijska Istraživanja: Znanstveno-Stručni Časopis Za Novinarstvo i Medije, 20(2), 85-111.
Tierney, J. F., Fisher, D. J., Vale, C. L., Burdett, S., Rydzewska, L. H., Rogozińska, E., . . . Parmar, M. K. (2021). A framework for prospective, adaptive meta-analysis (FAME) of aggregate data from randomised trials. PLoS Medicine, 18(5), e1003629.
Tran, L. T. T. (2021). Managing the effectiveness of e-commerce platforms in a pandemic. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 58, 102287.
Usher, K., Durkin, J., & Bhullar, N. (2020). The COVID‐19 pandemic and mental health impacts. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, 29(3), 315.
Xu, C., Ryan, S., Magro, M., & Wen, C. (2012). Why do people stick with a specific social networking site? An integrated relationship and uses gratification perspective. AMCIS 2012 Proceedings, 24.
Zhang, X., & Ghorbani, A. A. (2020). An overview of online fake news: Characterization, detection, and discussion. Information Processing & Management, 57(2), 102025.
Refbacks
- There are currently no refbacks.
e-ISSN: 2289-1528