1. THE RISE AND IMPACT
OF YOUTH CITIZEN
JOURNALISM
A SECOND-YEAR DMC RESEARCH PROJECT
MASS MEDIA RESEARCH (SC7738)
CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR(SB0076)
A quantitative research report into the effect of
citizen journalism on youth purchasing behaviours
and political opinions
2. DMC 2A 01
Calista Goh 1041774
Desiree Ann Wee 1000494
Karmaine Tan 1041790
Nureen Hanisah 1041758
Shane Tan 1058976
Yuling Tan 1041336
3. Table of Contents
..3
8
1.1 ..8
1.2 8
Introduction .. ..
2.1 9
2.2 Literature Review ..11
Research Methodology .20
3.1 Research design .20
3.2 ....20
3.3 Questionnaire design ..20
3.4 Fieldwork and Data Preparation 20
3.5 Analysis Techniques ..21
Consumer Profile ...22
4.1 Analysis of Demographic Factors ...22
4.2 Analysis of Psychographics Factors ...26
4.3 Decision- 33
4.4 Attitude Formation and ..37
Findings 42
5.1 Examining the impact of Citizen Journalism on youth political
participation .42
5.2 How Citizen Journalism has shaped youth political opinions ... .45
5.3 The impact of Citizen Journalism on the awareness of opposition
..46
5.4 The influence Citizen Journalism and traditional media has on youth
.47
5.5 The Rise of Citizen ..48
5.6 ...50
5.7 Rate of Usage of Citizen Journalism VS Traditional Media amongst
..
5.8 The influence of age on preferred medium for ....56
4. 5.9 ..57
Conclusion and Recommendations 59
6.1 Conclusion 59
6.2 Recom
Limitations of Study ..61
References .64
5. List of Illustrations
Figures
(Source: The Nielson Company)
Fig. 2: Overall cumulative newspaper coverage of the political parties a during 2011
Election Campaign period (Source: MARUAH, Media Monitoring English language
print media, 2011)
Fig. 3. Sentiment of netizens on political parties in the 4 weeks leading up to the
election (Source: Grayling, Plugged-in Report, 2011)
Fig. 4. Total English newspaper coverage of political parties in column inches
(Source: MARUAH, Media Monitoring English language print media, 2011)
Fig. 5. World Press Freedom index 2010 ranking of various countries (Source:
Reporters Without Borders: 2010 World Press Freedom Index)
Fig. 6 Sites which mention the PAP and WP most frequently
Fig. 7 Citizenship status of respondents
Fig. 8 Age groups
Fig. 9 Gender percentages
Fig. 10 Marital Status
Fig. 11 Ethnic Groups
Fig. 12 First Language of respondents
Fig. 13 Professional Status
Fig. 14 Education levels of respondents
-time jobs
Fig. 16 Current Work Status of respondents
Fig. 17 Income of non-students
Fig 18. The average number of hours spent on the Internet daily and the number of
hours spent on citizen journalism platforms by heavy users who use them every day
Fig. 19 Reasons why people view citizen journalism content
Fig. 20 Percentage of youths who own smart devices
Fig. 21 Percentage of respondents who view, provide or share CJ content with their
smart devices
Fig. 22 Reasons why people view content with their smart devices
6. Fig. 23 Percentage of respondents who purchased products/services after obtaining
information from citizen journalism sites
Fig. 24 Factors that influence youth purchasing habits
Fig. 25 Percentage of respondents who use pseudonyms online
Fig. 26 Why respondents use pseudonyms
Fig. 27 Frequency of STOMP usage on a weekly basis as a place for Singaporeans to
contribute news tip-offs, photos or videos
Fig. 28 Percentage of respondents who agree
acceptable to capture and publicise information, photos or videos of others on citizen
journalism websites without their approval
Fig 29. Stages that consumers go through in their decision making process.
Fig. 30 Reasons why youths use smart devices to view, provide or share content
Fig. 31 Evaluation and Selection of Alternatives
Fig. 32 Top 5 factors that influence youth purchasing decisions
Fig. 33 The frequency and rate of usage of Twitter by survey respondents
Fig 34. Competence of CJ vs TJ
Fig. 35 The top three social media sites used for citizen journalism
Fig. 36 Percentage of respondents who agreed and disagreed that citizen journalism
has increased their interest in Singapore politics
Fig. 37 Percentage of respondents that agreed or disagreed that citizen journalism had
shaped their opinion on the 2011 GE
journalism websites are not
Fig. 39 Percentage of respondents who voted whom agreed that citizen journalism has
played an important role in the 2011 GE
Fig 40. Extent of influence citizen journalism and traditional media has on youth
purchasing habits
Fig.41 Top 3 reasons that motivate youths to share citizen journalism content
Fig. 42 World Press Freedom index 2010 ranking of various countries (Source:
Reporters Without Borders: 2010 World Press Freedom Index)
Fig. 43 Comparing the competence of Citizen Journalism with Traditional Journalism.
Fig 44. Usage of Citizen Journalism Platforms and Traditional Media
7. Fig. 45 Average number of hours a person spends on Citizen Journalism Platforms
and Traditional Media Platforms
Fig. 46 The weekly average usage of each medium by age group
Fig. 47 Top 5 reasons why youths view citizen journalism
Fig. 48 Top 5 reasons why youths share citizen journalism
Fig. 59 Percentage of respondents who agree that they are more willing to
view/participate in CJ websites that coincide with their personal views
8. Executive Summary
1.1 Research Objective
To explore the rise of citizen journalism in Singapore, and to examine its impact
(social and political) on the attitudes, perceptions, and behaviours of Singapore youth.
1.2 Objectives
The objectives of the report are to:
1. Examine the different definitions of citizen journalism in Singapore and globally.
2. Examine the ways in which people all over the world perceive and consume citizen
journalism.
3. Examine the ways in which Singapore youth perceive and consume citizen
journalism (eg. Usage patterns, habits etc.).
4. Understand how citizen journalism has impacted traditional media: has citizen
journalism overtaken the role of traditional media in providing information?
5. Understand the social impact of citizen journalism on Singapore youth:
a. Has citizen journalism changed the lifestyle (eg. Entertainment;
purchasing/communication habits etc.) of Singapore youth?
b. Has citizen journalism changed the way Singapore youth learn or acquire
information?
6. Examine the profile of youth who engage in citizen journalism and their
motivations for doing so.
7. Explore the topics/products/services that youth write about online.
8. Understand how Singapore youth define opinion leaders
a. What makes someone an opinion leader?
9. In line with the upcoming general elections in Singapore, examine the impact of
citizen journalism on:
a. Youth political knowledge
b. Youth political participation
Students from the Diploma in Media and Communication at Singapore Polytechnic
conducted Quantitative Research by carrying out survey questionnaires on a total of
801 respondents in Singapore of between 18 35 years of age. Interviews were
conducted by person-administered questionnaires. Interviewers were required to
conduct the interview face-to-face and read out the questionnaire to the respondent
and to record their answers.
9. Introduction
2.1 Background
According to the Oxford Dictionary, the definition of Citizen Journalism is the
collection, dissemination and analysis of news and information by the general public,
especially by means of the Internet. It may be on a newsworthy event, or commenting
on an ongoing issue, which may or may not have received coverage in the mainstream
widespread and often without barriers.
The main reason for the conception of citizen journalism is the realization that
traditional media sources such as reporters and broadcasters are no longer the
exclusive supplier of information. The reliance on traditional media outlets for first
hand information has gradually diminished. Now, many of these Big Media outlets
are trying to harness the knowledge of their audience either through comments at the
end of stories they post online or by creating citizen journalist databases of
contributors or sources for stories. This allows for a greater public involvement
towards the discourse of the public sphere (Glaser, 2006).
The main feature of Citizen Journalism is that it is usually found online. There are
two broad categories of Citizen Journalism Semi-Independent Citizen Journalism
and Independent Citizen Journalism.
Semi-Independent Citizen Journalism is where citizens contribute in some way to a
professional publication. For example, posting comments alongside stories done by
professional reporters, which can be sai
not involve traditional or professional news outlets.
How Citizen Journalism Started
The emergence of modern day citizen journalism began after journalists began to
question the predictability of their coverage. Citizens began to look for news coverage
outside the traditional media. With the rise of the World Wide Web in the 90s,
information became easily accessible. A decade later, social networking sites and
online news reporting made easy to express opinions and report information to the
public.
In our local context, Citizen Journalism in Singapore comprises mainly of Indepently-
owned blogs and Semi-Independent Citizen Journalism sites such as STOMP. In
-based
became the first blogger to be threatened with a defamation lawsuit by the Singapore
government (Lee & Kan, 2008, p.8)
Later in June 2006, The Straits Times launched STOMP (Straits Times Online Mobile
the audience, delivered by mobile phone or email. A team of a dozen journalists select
11. 2.2 Literature Review
The Rise of Citizen Journalism on the Internet
In recent years, the usage of citizen journalism as an outlet to share information has
become a reality for an
contributed to the rise of citizen journalism.
Citizen Journalism and its Impact on Youth Purchasing Habits
(Source: The Nielson
Company)
According to Fig. 1, 70% of respondents from 50 different countries trust consumer
opinions posted online. This large percentage beats out traditional forms of
advertising like TV advertisements, print advertisements and radio advertisements.
Since citizen journalism is defined as the collection, dissemination and analysis of
news and information by the general public, especially by means of the Internet,
online consumer opinions are considered a form of citizen journalism. The trust the
70% of respondents have in online consumer opinions can be translated to citizen
national study, we wanted to
find out if citizen journalism has the same impact on Singaporean youth purchasing
habits.
12. Citizen Journalism in Relation to Social Media
freedom of expression by declaring, broadcasting, and amplifying their own
Arturo Valenzuela in a statement
social media tools to benefit civil society by adding transparency to elections,
allowing citizen journalists to report on otherwise under-covered stories, and
overcoming repressive media environm
(Martinelli, 2011, para. 3) Social media is therefore a part of citizen journalism.
inspiring readers to become citizen journalists by enabling them to easily publish and
share information on a greater scale
contributed to the rise of citizen journalism as it serves as an additional platform for
people to express their views and opinions and enables easy sharing of information.
-eight percent of youth
in Singapore are engaged wi
The significant percentage of youths that are engaged in social media helped us derive
our findings as it is social media is closely related to citizen journalism.
Media Coverage of Political Parties during the 2011 General Elections
There was a lot of media coverage on the political parties during the 2011 GE.
However, the amount of coverage the different political parties received
differed from one another.
Fig. 2: Overall cumulative newspaper coverage of the political parties a during 2011 Election
Campaign period (Source: MARUAH, Media Monitoring English language print media, 2011)
13. Looking at Fig. 2, the party that received the most newspaper coverage was the
he PAP received over 4500 column inches in coverage
1000 column inches. The difference between coverage received by the two political
parties is a substantial amount. From this graph, it can be deduced that newspaper
coverage during the election campaign period was not equal. From the data we
gathered about coverage, we decided to examine if citizen journalism played a part in
to offer alternative viewpoints.
Advantages & Disadvantages of Citizen Journalism & Traditional Media
Both citizen journalism and traditional media have their strengths and weaknesses
when it comes to reporting information and news.
Firstly, social media, which is a citizen journalism platform, is able to give one access
to raw journalism that is usually not available to mainstream media outlets, give one
access to information faster, easier and in real time and makes it easier to share
information with different networks (Finch, 2009, para. 4). Secondly, according to
Alderman (2008, para. 4),
Thirdly, Hogg (2009, para. 3) states that, "We know there are many issues and
communities we have not been able to fully cover within the confines of a newsroom
budget, and we are excited to empower citizens within those communities to provide
us news that will interest all our readers." Lastly, Mainwaring (2009, para. 2) writes
Citizen journalism has its dr
journalism really isn't journalism, says Prof. Hazinski. It's gossip. Where's the
training, experience, standards and skills essential to gather and report news? It opens
up the news flow to the stro
that news reported by citizen journalists might not be accurate as they are not trained
journalists. Another drawback of citizen journalism is the accountability of the news
reported; Alderman (2008, However, with a story generated by
Everyman, where's the protection, the accountability? Where are the professionals to
Therefore, citizen journalism is a platform that enables access to news that is usually
not reported in traditional media, is able to give people fast and easy access to
information and is an outlet that allows people to express their views and opinions
more freely, as compared to traditional media. Other benefits include the wider
coverage that citizen journalism allows and that it is a low cost way to share
information and get your opinions or views heard. However, its greatest drawbacks
are accountability and credibility. Accountability as there is no organization to
account for the information reported and professionals to validate the facts. It also
falls short on credibility because of the lack experience and training citizen journalists
have.
On the other hand, traditional journalism is said to be more competent in the areas
that citizen journalism falls short in. First of all, traditional journalism is reliable; it is
14. true journalism with reliability as its soul, as journalists devote their time in working
for their stories. (Rosan, 2010, para. 3) Secondly, professional journalists have been
trained to report the news; their training makes the information they report more
dependable as compared to citizen journalists. "Learning how to use tools is different
from saying everyone is a reporter. Anyone can make bread, but it's lousy bread. You
need to spend time like a true, professional baker to learn to make good bread."
(Krotoski, 2011). Another advantage of traditional journalism comes in the form of
accountability. Traditional journalists work in professional news organizations that
are able to account for the information that is reported and work with professionals
who are able to validate the facts.
Despite being more reliable and accountable, traditional journalism does not enable
the immediacy citizen journalism allows. In some cases, news breaks out on social
media sights before it is reported in the mainstream media. Secondly, traditional
media does not allow for alternative viewpoints and opinions like some citizen
journalism platforms (social media sites, forums etc.), as there are more gatekeepers
and restrictions in traditional media.
Impact of Citizen Journalism on the Singapore General Election 2011
The Singapore General Election (GE) 2011 has seen more people turning to online
Citizens utilized social media and citizen journalism platforms for access to a wider
range of views and news on the general election. Here, we examine the impact of
citizen journalism on the GE 2011.
Fig. 3. Sentiment of netizens on political parties in the 4 weeks leading up to the election (Source:
Grayling, Plugged-in Report, 2011)
Fig. 3 compares the online sentiment of
netizens toward each political party.
he PAP
was the party mentioned most
good news. While more supportive
comments were made about the PAP
than any other party, the incumbents
were actually mentioned negatively
Conversely, opposition parties were
15. Fig. 4. Total English newspaper coverage of political parties in column inches (Source: MARUAH,
Media Monitoring English language print media, 2011)
Compared to the coverage of the political parties by the mainstream media (Fig. 4), it
is evident that traditional media sources are biased toward coverage on the ruling
party, whereas citizen journalism platforms encompass more diverse views and
opinions of the various political parties.
A survey commissioned by Today newspaper also found
per cent) of the respondents felt that the Internet increases the reach and influence of
the Opposition, and 69.4 per cent felt the Internet offers a wider range of political
Additionally, an article from the citizen journalism site Temasek Review stated,
ear, about half
years old as compared to only 42 percent among those aged 60 and above
In summary, citizens, especially younger citizens, feel that the Internet offers a
platform for the Opposition, and provides a more diverse range of political viewpoints
than traditional media. The issue of limited press freedom in Singapore is discussed
below.
16. traditional media
Fig. 5. World Press Freedom index 2010 ranking of various countries (Source: Reporters Without
Borders: 2010 World Press Freedom Index)
Reporters Without Borders, the organization that conducted the World Press Freedom
Index study, considers the number of journalists murdered, expelled or harassed, and
the existence of a state monopoly on TV and radio, as well as the existence
of censorship and self-censorship in the media, and the overall independence of media
as well as the difficulties that foreign reporters may face when calculating the
rankings. A total of 178 different countries and territories were included in the ranks.
As shown in Fig. 5, Singapore is ranked at 137th
. The other countries we decided to
highlight are reflected in yellow. We picked out these countries as we felt that the
comparison of rankings amongst them were more significant. Other first world
countries with comparable economies to Singapore like the USA, Switzerland, Japan
and Hong Kong have considerably higher Press Freedom rankings. Countries like
Haiti and Indonesia, despite being less developed are still ranked above Singapore. In
addition, countries like Egypt, Israel and Iraq that have experienced conflict and
political instability, still experience higher Press Freedom levels than Singapore.
This suggests that while Singapore enjoys economic and technological progress, it
lacks relatively in freedom of speech and true democratic governance.
17. Citizen Journalism and Election Results
Fig. 6 Sites which mention the PAP and WP most frequently.
name as shown in Fig. 6. Sizes are determined in relevance to the most frequent
poster, or largest name. (Source: Grayling, Plugged-in Report, 2011)
n all cases, parties were mentioned most frequently by the online portals of
traditional media outlets. Only the two parties who ultimately entered parliament
received similar levels of conversation outside of news sites, accurately demonstrating
Grayling 2011, p.7)This suggests that citizen
journalism might be a truer reflection of the beliefs and political stance of the average
citizen, as opposed to traditional media outlets.
Citizen Journalism and Selective Exposure
In this section, we examine the concept of selective exposure, the concept that
sistent with their
(Fischer et al, 2008) and its relation to citizen journalism.
individuals tend to consume and share information online
when i .
In the age of the Internet, youths increasingly rely on social media for news and
information. However, social media sites are progressively making use of algorithms
and data to create a more personalized experience.
For example, the Facebook news feed is
The user can change the settings of his or her news feed to hide particular photos,
links, status updates or all activities from a particular friend without the need to
18. . (Brach, 2011).
calculates Suggestions based on the networks you are a
part of, mutual friends, work and education information, contacts imported using the
Moradpour (2010) calls it the : No need to crawl yourself through the
repost, and you are guaranteed to find news relevant to your interests.
In the past, people relied on mainstream media to present us with an assortment of
news. Online, especially with the usage of social media, news that we receive is now
filtered and personalized to fit our interests, opinions and behaviour.
The vast amount of information on the internet leads people to increasingly rely on
tools that already know what we like to see. This reliance is one of the reasons the
information streams within Facebook and Twitter now serve as the main news source
for many of its users (Moradpour, 2010).
In conclusion, when compared to traditional media, citizen journalism is more
personalized and selective. Youths, whether consciously or on a behavioural level,
select the information that they view, share, and receive.
Uses and Gratification Theory and Citizen Journalism
Although the mass media landscape has changed drastically in the past 50 years, Uses
and Gratification and its application to mass media research has experienced a revival
in the Internet age.
Kokenge (2010, p.7) classified Web users into two basic categories: goal directed and
experiential. A goal directed user specifically chooses certain content over other
competing forms of content, while an experiential user simply surfs the Web with no
specific goals or purpose in mind.
These two categories are not mutually exclusive and a single user might move along a
continuum between being a wholly experiential user and a wholly goal-directed user
all within the same online session.
19. As people have little or no control over the content in traditional media, they are more
experiential users than goal-directed users. However, as discussed in the above
section, citizen journalism offers a more personalized and individually selective
source than traditional media. Despite the wider array of information and opinions
available online (as opposed to traditional media), the use of social media and other
similar tools might filter information to only that which is relevant to the user and
which the user is interested in.
Hence, when viewing citizen journalism, users are more likely to be goal-directed
and information seeking, as opposed to when using traditional media. This is in
accordance with the Uses and Gratification Theory, which states that people
specifically seek out information to suit their needs.
20. Research Methodology
3.1 Research design
There was not much of an exploratory design as there was prior knowledge on the
given subject. Similar surveys conducted by students in the past were used as sources
and references to aid our research design.
3.2 Sampling
Year 2 DMC students set out throughout the whole of Singapore on a given a task to
survey people at random. With a given quota and a sampling size of 801, each group
was to target only the youths, specifically ranging from the ages 15 to 35. This large
sampling size allowed increased precision when estimating unknown parameters.
Also, an equal number of male and female respondents were surveyed.
Probability sampling was used in this survey. This is because participants surveyed
were at random, without taking into account anything other than the specific gender
and age group required.
3.3 Questionnaire design
The questionnaire used was designed in such a way that it would receive information
and answers needed from the respondents without being too literal and obvious. The
questions used were brief and focused on the given issue. Simple language was used.
A pre-test of the questionnaire was done in order to determine if the questions asked
were suitable and met the time limit. It was also to further improve the questionnaire
to ensure that respondents would be comfortable with opening up.
Nominal measurements were included in the questionnaire. Labels for each level of a
characteristic is to a distinct category. The numerical value
attribute uniquely. No ordering of the case is implied. It is therefore not an assumed
example, 1 stands for Male and 2 stands for Female, there is no one being better than
the other.
Forced-choice questions were used to identify how respondents make choices. From a
series of questions on the same topic, a pattern of behaviour or attitude develops when
the respondent was given 2 statements, one of which they had to make a choice.
Open-ended questions were also used to allow respondents to include more
information such as feelings, attitudes and understanding of the subject. That allowed
for better access to the respondents' true feelings on the issue.
3.4 Fieldwork and Data Preparation
The survey done was person-administered to the participants. Questions in the
21. platforms of acquiring information. That included both online platforms and
traditional media platforms. That was later related to the factors that influence their
purchasing behavior and their political views on the 2011 General Election.
3.5 Analysis Techniques
Results were obtained from cross-tabulations between answers of certain aspects of
the questionnaire we wanted to focus. Percentages and statistics were also obtained
from the answers given by the respondents through descriptive statistics from the
questionnaire.
22. Consumer Profile
4.1 Analysis of Demographic Factors
Fig. 7 Citizenship status of respondents
Citizenship
As shown in Fig. 7, Out of
the 801 youths surveyed,
91.3% are Singaporeans
whereas the remaining
8.7% are permanent
residents.
Age Groups Fig. 8 Age groups
According to Fig. 8, all
801 respondents surveyed
are youths ranging from
the ages of 15-35.
Majority of the
respondents fall in the age
category of 30-35. That
makes up 27.5%.
Fig. 9 Gender percentages
Gender
49.1% of our youths are males while 50.9% are
females.
23. Fig. 10 Marital Status
Marital Status
Illustrated in Fig. 10 shows
that respondents who are
single fall under the
majority, which makes up
82.4%. Those who are
married came in second with
a percentage of 16.7%. 0.9%
is divorced, which is the
minority.
Fig. 11 Ethnic Groups
Ethnic Groups
Majority of our surveyed respondents
are Chinese, which makes up a
percentage of 69.5% as shown in Fig.
11.
Fig. 12 First Language of respondents
First Language
Fig. 12 shows that the main language
spoken among the youths is English, and
that makes up 76.7%.
24. Fig. 13 Professional Status
Professional Status
Most of our respondents are non-
students, with less than 50% being
students.
Educational Levels
Fig. 14 Education levels of respondents
According to Fig. 14, most of the respondents, who are students, are currently
pursuing a diploma. This makes up 46.3%. The minority of respondents have higher-
level qualifications.
-time job income)
44.1% of the students receive a monthly allowance ranging from $201 to $400. The
second highest monthly allowance that the students receive is $200 and below. The
minority, 2.32%, receives an allowance of $1001 and above.
25. -time job income)
-time jobs
Fig. 15 shows that 44.1% of the students receive a monthly allowance ranging from
$201 to $400. The second highest monthly allowance that the students receive is $200
and below. The minority, 2.32%, receives an allowance of $1001 and above.
Non-
Fig. 16 Current Work Status of respondents
According to the percentages
shown in Fig.16, the bulk of
our consumers are currently
working full-time. They make
up 81.5% of the respondents.
A small minority is still
serving the nation whilst some
are either unemployed or are
working part-time.
Fig. 17 Income of non-students
Fig. 17 shows that most of the employed
youths generally earn between $2001 and
$4000. This makes up 52.07% of the
representative sample. Minority are earning
above $6001 per month.
26. 4.2 Analysis of Psychographic Factors
Social Networking Sites and Consumers
From the survey, we found out that majority of our consumers (Singaporean youths)
want to keep up with the latest news and fast, easily available information.
We found this by analyzing the average number of hours consumers spend on citizen
journalism platforms and the reasons as to why they view, provide or share citizen
journalism content on their smart devices.
Fig 18. The average number of hours spent on the Internet daily and the number of hours spent on
citizen journalism platforms by heavy users who use them every day
As seen in Fig 18, the average number of hours spent by the average respondent on
the Internet daily is 5 hours. Consumers do spend quite some time on various citizen
journalism platforms.
We focused on heavy users of social networking sites, individuals who used specific
social networking sites every day. As shown in the chart, the respondents spent 2-4
hours on platforms like Twitter (3.9hrs), Facebook (2.7hrs) and Youtube (2.5hrs).
27. Fig. 19 Reasons why people view citizen journalism content
Through further analysis, we derived that the majority view citizen journalism content
to keep updated with current affairs and for entertainment/to pass time with a
percentage of 76.4 and 73.8 respectively.
Fig. 20 Percentage of youths who
own smart devices
A majority of the youths, with a percentage of
77.2%, own a smart device.
Fig. 21 Percentage of respondents who view, provide or
share CJ content with their smart devices
Of this number, 63.2% use their smart device
to view, provide or share content on citizen
journalism platforms.
28. Fig. 22 Reasons why people view content with their smart devices
As shown in Fig. 22, most of them do
this because it is convenient (90.7%),
accessible (78.1%) and immediate
(63.6%).
Twitter receives the highest usage
among respondents because it caters
to both current affairs and
entertainment for our consumers.
For example, According to Atelier Seo Studios, (2011), on the day of the Japanese
earthquake and tsunami there were 177 million tweets shared, from an average of 140
million. Following up, Twitter Media, (2011),many news organizations ABC
News, CNN, BBC, ITV, Sky amongst others used the royal wedding as an
opportunity to launch new Twitter integrations and to experiment with novel reporting
approaches.
Using the same article of Atelier Seo Studios, entertainment-wise, as youths can
choose who they want to follow on Twitter, they select a base of their friends,
interest-related, humour and celebrities to follow, based on their preferences. This
allows them to personalize their Twitter feed to content that they find stimulating.
Twitter has raised the profile of a number of celebrities and politicians, at present the
top five most followed on Twitter are:
1. Lady GaGa 11,689,056 followers
2. Justin Bieber 11,091,926 followers
3. Barack Obama 9,151,165 followers
4. Britney Spears 8,526,399 followers
5. Katy Perry 8,365,550 followers
Another reason to why Twitter is the highest ranked, or why consumers spend the
consumers can post updates throughout the day and get in touch with their network of
followers. Twitter has now over 275 applications.
Consumer Purchasing
Through our analysis, we found out that majority of the youths are most influenced by
recommendations of family or friends as they have a direct influence to them. People
trust their family and friends as they know them well and place more validity on their
opinions.
29. Fig. 23 Percentage of respondents who purchased products/services after obtaining information from
citizen journalism sites
As shown in the chart above, nearly half of our consumers have purchased a product
or service after obtaining information from citizen journalism websites. This makes
up 46.7%.
Out of the 46.7%, the majority is also more influenced by recommendations by family
or friends when deciding to purchase a product or service.
30. Fig. 24 Factors that influence youth purchasing habits
W
reference group is those groups that have a direct (face to face) or indirect influence
peer groups, status and role in society, play an import
purchasing behavior.
As seen in Fig. 24, family and friends have direct influence on a consumer because
consumers have a direct contact with them for considerable time. Because of this
directness, youths are to believe more of what their family and friends have to say due
to trust and personal affection.
Privacy
Further analysis suggests that majority of respondents have strong opinions towards
privacy and do not treat their privacy lightly and take measures to ensure that their
31. information is private and safe. This shows that the majority of respondents are
concerned over their personal security and their personal information.
Fig. 25 Percentage of respondents who use pseudonyms online
Out of 801 respondents surveyed, the
majority does not use pseudonyms when
participating in citizen journalism.
However, for those who do (41.3%),
Fig. 26 Why respondents use pseudonyms
they choose to remain anonymous
online because they are concerned
about their privacy, as illustrated in Fig.
26.
Fig. 27 Frequency of STOMP usage on a
weekly basis
We delved further into our
analysis and compared it to the
p. We
chose Stomp because it is known
as a place for Singaporeans to
contribute news tip-offs, photos
or videos. Some of these
comprise of controversial topics
where acts of display by the
public are deemed as
unacceptable. Some call it an
intrusion of their privacy.
As seen in Fig. 27, we found out that more than half, or 57.4% of the youths do not
use Stomp at all.
32. capture and publicise information, photos or videos of others on citizen journalism websites without
their approval.
To support this finding, we established that 72.9% do not find it acceptable to capture
and publicize information, photos or videos of others on citizen journalism websites
without their approval, as illustrated in Fig. 28.
We can further conclude that our consumers strongly believe in privacy. Our
hypothesis was further supported in our secondary research.
The majority of teens actively manage their online profiles to keep the information
they believe is most sensitive away from the unwanted gaze of strangers, parents and
other adults. While many youths post their first name and photos on their profiles,
they rarely post information on public profiles they believe would help strangers
actually locate them such as their full name, home phone number or cell phone
number.
At the same time, nearly two-thirds of youths with profiles (63%) believe that a
motivated person could eventually identify them from the information they publicly
provide on their profiles.
For example, a new report, based on a survey and a series of focus groups conducted
by the Pew Internet & American Life Project examine how youths, particularly those
with profiles online, make decisions about disclosing or shielding personal
information (Lenhart & Madden, 2007).
Some 55% of online youths have profiles and most of them restrict access to their
profile in some way. Of those with profiles, 66% say their profile is not visible to all
33. Internet users. Of those whose profiles can be accessed by anyone online, nearly half
(46%) say they give at least some false information. Teens post fake information to
protect themselves and also to be playful or silly.
4.3 Decision-making process
Based on a book by Schiffman & Kanuk (2010)
There are 4 views in the consumer decision-making process, namely, economic view,
passive view, cognitive view and emotional view. Consumers are commonly viewed
as cognitive. This means that they are thinking problem solvers and information
processors. They actively search for products that fulfill their needs and enrich their
lives.
When making a decision, consumers go through 3 main stages, which are, input,
process and output as shown in Fig. 29 below.
Fig 29. Stages that consumers go through in their decision making process.
Input
The input component of our consumer decision-making model draws on external
influences that serves as sources of information about a particular product and
-related values, attitudes and behavior. External
Marketing Efforts
that are used to reach, inform and persuade
consumers to buy and use its products. An example would be that Facebook and
34. create and account and join their networks.
Sociocultural Environment
This is a non-commercial influence, such as influences by family, friends and
neighbours. These inputs are internalized and affect how consumers evaluate and
ultimately adopt (or reject) products.
As seen in one of the psychographic factors for purchasing, we found out that
majority of our consumers are most influenced by recommendations by family or
friends when deciding to purchase a product or service.
In a study by Harris Interactive (June 2010), 71% of the consumers claimed that
reviews from family members or friends exert a great deal or fair amount of influence
when asked what sources influence their decision to use or not use a particular
company, brand or product.
Process
The process component of the model is concerned with how consumers make
decisions. To understand this process, the influence of psychological concepts should
be considered. The psychological field represents the internal influences (motivation,
perception, learning, personality and attitudes) that affe -
making process. This includes what they need or want, their awareness of various
product choices, their information-gathering activities and their evaluation of
alternatives. The act of making a consumer decision consists of 3 stages (1) need
recognition, (2) pre-purchase search and (3) evaluation of alternatives.
Need Recognition
The recognition of a need is likely to occur when a consumer is faced with a
and
desired state types. For actual state types, problems will arise when product fails to
perform satisfactorily. As for desired state type, it means a desire for something new.
Fig. 30 Reasons why youths use smart devices to view,
provide or share content
As shown in Fig. 30 on the left, the top
reason for using smart devices to view,
provide or share content on citizen journalism
platforms is convenience (90.7%). As smart
devices offer new functions, consumers will
tend to switch a product that provides them
with something fresh and current. Comparing
this to the non-smart devices, consumers are now able to download applications
linking to social networking sites. Hence, this is convenient, as consumers do not
have to gain access to the Internet solely by using computers.
Pre-purchase search
Pre-purchase search begins when a consumer perceives a need that might be satisfied
by the purchase and consumption of a product. The recollection of past experiences
35. (drawn from storage in long-term memory) might provide the consumer with
adequate information to make the present choice. On the other hand, when the
consumer has had no prior experience, he or she may have to engage in an extensive
search of the outside environment for useful information on which to base a choice.
The consumer usually searches his or her memory (psychological field) before
seeking external sources of information regarding a given consumption-related need.
Past experience is considered as an internal source of information. Many consumer
decisions are based on a combination of past experiences (internal sources) and
marketing and non-commercial information (external sources).
The degree of perceived risk can also influence the decision process. In high-risk
situation, consumers are likely to engage in complex and extensive information search
and evaluation. In low-risk situation, they are likely to use very simple or limited
search and evaluation tactics.
When a consumer finds a product/service that he or she perceived to be satisfactory,
the consumer is more receptive and inclined to try it. From our survey, we found out
that consumers are most influenced by recommendations by friends and family,
information from official product/service websites and reviews published on citizen
journalism websites.
Recommendations from friends and family are the highest ranked because consumers
trust their views and opinion when deciding to purchase a product. Consumers, too,
view these recommendations as a reliable source of information.
Information from official product/service websites came in second as consumers are
more exposed when searching for information about the product/service. When
consumers look up these websites, they will be more inclined to believe that the
product will meet their expectations.
Reviews published on citizen journalism websites gives consumers a wider
perspective of what the product/service offers. According to Econsultancy (July
2009), 70% trust opinions of unknown users.
Fig. 31 Evaluation and Selection of Alternatives
When evaluating potential alternatives, consumers tend to use two types of
information: (1) a list of brands from which they plan to make their selection. And (2)
36. the criteria they will use to evaluate each brand. Making a selection from a sample of
all possible brands is a human characteristic that helps simplify the decision making
process.
Consumers will go through the awareness stage where they will differentiate the
known and unknown brands. This awareness includes the evoked set specific brands
a consumer considers while making a purchase choice, inept set unacceptable
brands and inert set indifferent or overlooked brands.
Consumers choose different citizen journalism platforms that caters to their needs and
wants. Also, consumers would look out for benefits, which they believe would solve
their problems. A consumer will then settle for that particular platform which closely
ties to his or her satisfaction.
Looking at the previous case, Twitter, Facebook and Youtube are the top 3 sites by
which consumers spend most of their time on. This shows that these platforms are the
ones that consumers are the most satisfied with and perceived to benefit them.
Output
The output portion of the consumer decision-making model concerns two closely
associated kinds of post-decision activity: purchase behavior and post-purchase
with his or her purchase.
Purchase behavior
Consumers make 3 types of purchases: trial purchases, repeat purchases and long-
term commitment purchases. When a consumer purchases a product for the first time
and buys a smaller quantity than usual, this purchase would be considered a trial.
Thus, a trial is the exploratory face of purchase behavior in which consumers attempt
to evaluate a product through direct use.
When a consumer first tries out a product and finds that the product is beneficial and
meet his or her needs and wants and of satisfactory value, the consumer will be more
inclined to repeat the purchase of the product/service again.
There are times when a consumer directly progresses from the evaluating stage to a
long-term commitment purchase.
Post-purchase Evaluation
As consumers use a product, particularly during a trial purchase, they evaluate its
performance in light of their own expectations. There are three possible outcomes of
this evaluations: (1) actual performance matches expectations, leading to a neutral
feeling; (2) performance exceeds expectations, causing what is known as a positive
disconfirmation of expectations (which leads to satisfaction); and (3) performance is
below expectations causing negative disconfirmation of activities in dissatisfaction.
and satisfaction are
closely linked; that is, consumers tend to judge the experiences against the
expectations when performing a post-purchase evaluation.
37. An important component of post purchase evaluation is the reduction of any
uncertainty or doubt that the consumer might have had about the selection. As part of
their purchase analysis, consumer try to reassure themselves that their choice was a
wise one and they attempt to reduce post purchase cognition dissonance.
They do this by adopting one of the following strategies. They may rationalize the
decision as being wise they may seek advertisements that support their choice and
avoid those of competitive brands. The degree of post purchase analysis that
consumers undertake depends on the importance of the product decision and the
experience required in using the product. When a product lives up to expectation, the
customer will usually repurchase it.
previously included in pre-purchase search, consumers tend to evaluate a
product/service based on different sources of information.
Recommendations from friends and family are most influential as consumers are
closely tied and related to them. Hence, developing a direct influence when evaluating
a purchase on a product. Because of this directness among consumers and their family
and friends, consumers are likely to be satisfied with their purchases. This happens
when performance exceeds expectations, causing what is known as a positive
disconfirmation of expectations.
As for information from official product/service websites and reviews published on
citizen journalism websites, which is the next most influential sources of information,
post-purchase evaluation may vary from consumer to consumer. This is because
official product/service websites only informs the consumer about the positive points
about the product/service. Depending on the consumer, this may or may not meet
their expectations of the product. Likewise, reviews on citizen journalism websites
may or may not provide consumers with product satisfaction. This is because the
reviews done by people online have different perceptions and expectations of the
product itself.
In conclusion, the decision making process as a whole describes how consumers
purchase a product/service based on the influences and information they gather.
4.4 Attitude Formation and Change
Sources of Influence
According to Schiffman & Kanuk (2010), attitude formation is divided into three
areas: how attitudes are learned, the sources of influence on attitude formation, and
the impact of personality on attitude formation. There are 5 main sources of influence
on attitude formation. They are personal experience, the influence of family and
friends, direct marketing, mass media, and the Internet.
were asked to rank on a scale of 1 to 5, 1 being not at all and 5 being extremely
influenced, the following factors: reviews published on citizen journalism sites,
comments by other netizens, information from official product websites,
38. recommendations from friends and family, brand loyalty, reviews published on
traditional media platforms, online advertisements and offline advertisements.
Fig. 32 Top 5 factors that influence youth purchasing decisions
As shown in Fig. 32, recommendations by friends and family has the most influence
on youth purchasing habits, official product/service websites is second and reviews
published on citizen journalism platforms is next. Following that is comments by
netizens and brand loyalty.
When crossed with the 5 main sources of influence on attitude formation,
recommendations by friends and family has the most influence, and is related to the
influence of friends and family in attitude formation. Secondly, 3 of the top 5 factors
fall under the influence of the Internet, they are reviews published on citizen
journalism sites, official product/service websites and comments by netizens.
Lastly, the personal experience of consumers is related to the their brand loyalty as
the level of loyalty they have towards a brand has to do with the past experience they
had with the brand. This demonstrates that when youths purchase products or
services, it is mostly due to their personal experience, influence of family and friends
and the Internet.
Impact of personality on attitude formation
In addition, 3 out of the top 5 factors require consumers to seek out information about
the product on their own. The factors are official product/service websites, reviews
published on citizen journalism platforms and comments by netizens. These mediums
require consumers to seek out the information they want on their own. Since 3 out of
the 5 top factors require that, we can infer that majority of the respondents have a
relatively high need for cognition in relation to personality factors, because they crave
for information or seek out product-related information.
How attitudes are learned Cognitive Component
Social media and networking sites make up a large part of citizen journalism and is
therefore closely related to citizen journalism as shown in our Literature Review. We
39. sites. Since youths used Twitter the most (on average 3.90 hours), we decided to focus
on it.
According to Silverthorne (2009), who reported about a study done by Harvard
Business School professor, Mikolaj Jan Piskorski in 2009, he states that when people
are on social networks, they enjoy looking at pictures and that 70% of all actions are
related to viewing pictures or viewing other people's profiles. In addition he found
many other findings about the various social networking sites.
However, his findings did not apply to one site and that was Twitter. He attributes that
to Twitter restricting users to 140-character messages. Corresponding to his finding
where 70% of people on social networks look at pictures, we can see why Twitter is
different from other sites because of its primary feature that allows users to only
post 140-character messages.
Also, it was found that there are more women on Twitter than men but rate of usage is
equal between both sexes, women create fewer links in their tweets than men because
"Women actually say things, guys give refere In line with
to Singaporean youths and their perceptions.
In order for us to analyse the results,
we only selected respondents who
used Twitter. Out of the 801
surveyed, 340 used twitter for citizen
journalism purposes. We looked at
how many males and females were
using Twitter, the frequency of their
usage and the rate of usage.
Fig. 33 The frequency and rate of usage of
Twitter by survey respondents
twitter as compared to males. Out of
the 340 respondents who use twitter,
187 are female and 153 are male.
Although more women use Twitter
as compared to males, both genders
spend an equal amount of time on
the site. When analysed against the
study mentioned earlier,
the results are significant and
accurate.
In relation to attitude formation, we
can infer that the difference in
Twitter usage has to do with their
genders, which in turn affects their
attitudes. Based on the Tricomponent
40. They are, the cognitive component, the affective component and the conation
component.
Our finding about gender relating to usage falls under the cognitive component that
do with how males and females perceive themselves, in other words, their self-
concept.
Communication principles cite gender expectations as an influence on communication
as it makes males and females see themselves differently and as such they
communicate and react differently. This could possibly be due to the fundamental
representation of the role of men and women in society. Women are seen as more
emotionally expressive and open about their feelings, whereas men are more private
and less inclined to communicate their thoughts. This is in line with the secondary
research that stated "Women actually say things, guys give references to other
things
In conclusion, the different choices of social media between males and females have
to do with their attitudes, in this case, the cognitive component, which involves the
way individuals see themselves.
Attitude Change
There are 5 strategies to atti
motivations function, associating the product with an admired group or event,
resolving two conflicting attitudes, altering components of the multi-attribute model,
and changing consumer beliefs about com
When the competence of citizen journalism and traditional media were measured, the
options that were used for the comparison were, timeliness of content, credibility of
content, accuracy of content, variety of topics, variety of viewpoints and objective
reporting.
Fig 34. Competence of CJ vs TJ
According to the results we received, for most
of the factors, there were landslide victories
and a clear winner. However, one factor stood
out and that was objective reporting. It was the
only aspect that won with a percentage below
80% unlike all the other factors. From here, we
decided to analyse if there was any change in
Professional journalists who make up
traditional journalism have a code in which
they have to abide by that defines their work.
According to the Statement of Shared Purpose,
provide citizens with accurate and reliable
41. hat
objective reporting is needed in order for news to be reliable. Also, according to the
same purpose, it is not the journalist that has to be objective, but the method of
reporting.
Whereas, when the objectivity of citizen journalism is scrutinized, professionals claim
that it opens up the news flow to the strong possibility of fraud and abuse. This can in
turn affect the objectivity of reporting. However, some argue that the openness of
citizen journalism allows for greater objectivity as it is an open source and more
people are monitoring the accuracy and reliance of the reports.
From what we have gathered, we can apply it to changing consumer beliefs about
results
The trust respondents have in traditional journalism to report news objectively may be
quavering due to the how citizen journalism can offer equal or increased objectivity.
42. Findings
5.1 Examining the impact of citizen journalism on youth political participation
One of the forms of citizen journalism is social media. Due to the increased number
of people turning to social media and other citizen journalism platforms for
information about the GE 2011, we examined the impact citizen journalism had on
politics.
Fig. 35 The top three social media sites used for citizen journalism
From our survey, we found that the top three social media sites used for citizen
journalism were, Facebook, Youtube and Twitter, respectively. This is illustrated in
Fig. 35.
As we wanted to attribute the increase in youth political participation to citizen
journalism and social media, we selected participants who used both any top three
social media sites, and also participants who used all three top social media sites to
get information on the General Election. We did this to negate the effect of other
citizen journalism platforms on their answers, and concentrated on those who used
social media for a significant amount of their information.
43. Fig. 36 Percentage of respondents who agreed and disagreed that citizen journalism has increased their
interest in Singapore politics
Out of all the respondents, 77.8% agreed that citizen journalism had increased their
interest in Singapore politics.
However, out of the 801 respondents, 594 people used at least 1 of 3 social media
sites to keep updated about the GE. Of these 594 respondents, 83.2% agreed that
citizen journalism had increased their interest in Singapore politics.
61 respondents out of the total participants had used all three top social media sites for
information on the GE. Out of these 61 people, 86.9% agreed that citizen journalism
had increased their interest in politics.
In addition, of those who had not used social media at all (182 participants), only
59.5% agreed.
From our findings, we can isolate the cause of the increased interest in politics to
social media. As Fig 36 illustrates, the more we limit the results to respondents who
use a significant amount of social media, the more people agree that citizen
journalism has increased their interest in Singapore politics.
Hence, we can infer that social media, when used for citizen journalism, has led to an
increase in youth political participation in the form of their growing interest in
politics.
44. Fig. 37 Percentage of respondents that agreed or disagreed that citizen journalism had shaped their
opinion on the 2011 GE
To further confirm our results, we did the same for another question that asked
all respondents, only 65% agreed. However, 72.4% of participants who used at least
one of the three top social media sites and 85.2% of respondents who used all top
three social media sites agreed that citizen journalism had shaped their opinion on the
GE.
In contrast, out of participants who had not used social media at all, only 42.3%
agreed while more than half disagreed.
Therefore, our findings show that social media has led to an increase in youth
political participation. After isolating participants that used social media to keep
updated on the GE, we can attribute that social media was one of the significant forms
led to increased youth political participation.
45. 5.2 How citizen journalism has shaped youth political opinions
Fig. 38 ical viewpoints on citizen journalism websites are not based on fact and
We wanted to examine the effect that citizen journalism had on youth political
opinions. From our secondary research, we hypothesized that youths felt that citizen
journalism offered alternative viewpoints as opposed to traditional media, which was
biased toward the dominant party, the PAP. We wanted to find out whether citizen
journalism shapes youth political opinions because it offers alternative viewpoints.
From all of our participants, we selected those who had disagreed with the question,
fact and do
. This meant that the selected
respondents thought that the content on citizen journalism websites was not untrue,
and that it reflected the true sentiment of Singaporeans. Then, out of these 504
participants, we analyzed their answers to the question
We found that 341 people, or 67.7%, agreed that
citizen journalism had shaped their opinion on the GE. Hence we can conclude that,
to a certain extent, citizen journalism shaped their opinion because it reflected the true
sentiment of Singaporeans.
Previously in our secondary research, we discussed the issue of press freedom in
Singapore and the bias of the media. As mentioned in our secondary research, an
article from the citizen journalism site Temasek Review stated,
conducted by the Institute of Policy Studies last year, about half the number of
46. televi
These findings show that Singaporeans feel traditional media sources in Singapore are
a biased source of political information due to censorship and self-censorship in
media. This has led to more people, especially youths, turning online to citizen
journalism for alternative viewpoints and political opinions.
This can be seen in our secondary research, where the results show that the online
sentiment of Singaporeans of the dominant party was primarily negative, compared to
Freedom ranking on the World Press Freedom Index 2010 was a dismal 137 out of a
total of 178 countries.
This suggests that Singapore has a monopolized media and that reported information
is widely censored and controlled. A survey of Singaporeans by Today newspaper
also found that 57.2% of respondents felt that the Internet increased the reach and
influence of the Opposition, and 69.4% felt that Internet offered a wider range of
political views than the traditional media.
Consequently, we can safely surmise that citizen journalism shapes youth political
opinions because it offers alternative political viewpoints from traditional media
sources.
5.3 The impact of citizen journalism on the awareness of opposition parties
As we have previously covered, our research finds that traditional media is biased
toward the ruling party PAP.
Fig. 39 Percentage of respondents who voted whom agreed that citizen journalism has played an
important role in the 2011 GE
Out of 420 respondents who had
voted, 89.5% agreed that citizen
journalism had played an
important role in the 2011 GE.
As we cited in the previous
section, citizen journalism
sources on the 2011 GE were
significantly more pro-opposition
and negative toward the PAP
than traditional media.
The 2011 GE was a landmark
election in the Singapore
political scene as it was the first
time that an opposition party (the
Group-Represented Constituency
(GRC) (Aljunied section).
47. In an article by Channel Newsasia on 13th
May 2011, Arun Mahizhnan, Deputy
Director, Institute of Policy Studies, is qu
the internet and the ground sentiment that made the final impact. Whether Aljunied
would have been won without the internet, I still feel it would have been very close,
but the internet certainly put it over the
Hence, we can conclude that citizen journalism played an important role in the GE as
it gave opposition parties a platform to reach out to the public, for example through
social media (e.g. their Twitter and Facebook pages). It also allowed ordinary citizens
to share their opinions and their personal interpretations of events or political plans
(e.g. blog posts on political rallies, articles on party policies.)
Therefore, from our survey findings and additional research, we have found that
citizen journalism is one of the factors that have led to greater awareness about the
opposition parties.
5.4 The influence citizen journalism and traditional media has on youth
purchasing habits
Fig 40. Extent of influence citizen journalism and traditional media has on youth purchasing habits
To find out what factors influence youth purchasing habits, respondents were asked to
rank the extent the different factors had on their purchasing decisions. There were two
48. other factors (Recommendations by family/friends and Brand Loyalty) that were
included in the survey; however, they did not fall under the categories of traditional
media or citizen journalism. That led us to omit the influence those two factors have
on youth purchasing habits as we did not need to analyse the results.
We then compared whether citizen journalism or traditional media has a greater
influence on youth purchasing habits by looking at the different extents of influence
each of the factors had. We grouped the various factors into citizen journalism and
traditional media and from there, analysed the extent. Fig 41 shows what we classified
under traditional media and citizen journalism. In order for a fair comparison to be
made, we took the overall average of the factors.
According to Fig 40, it was found that on a scale of 1 to 5, 1 being of no influence at
all and 5 being extremely influenced, traditional media only has a 2.78 influence on
youth purchasing habits whereas citizen journalism has a greater influence of 3.34.
This means that citizen journalism has a greater impact on youth purchasing habits as
compared to traditional media.
From the classification of the factors, we can assume that citizen journalism has more
influence than traditional media as citizen journalism takes on a more trustworthy
form of persuasion. The factors that are categorized under citizen journalism involve
reviews and opinions from parties that have no vested interest in the sale of the
product, whereas for traditional media, 3 out of 4 factors, which are offline
advertisements, online advertisements and information from official product or brand
website take the form of advertiser-led advertising a less trustworthy form of
persuasion that is directed by the companies. According to Oxford Dictionaries, to
advertise is to describe or draw attention to (a product, service or event) in a public
medium in order to promote sales or attendance.
Therefore, citizen journalism has a greater influence on youth purchasing habits as it
allows for a more objective projection of a product unlike traditional media where the
sole purpose is to promote sales of a product where the projection of a product would
usually take on a more biased approach to promote sales.
5.5 The Rise of Citizen Journalism
Fig.41 Top 3 reasons that motivate youths to share citizen journalism content
49. Out of the 801 participants who took part in the survey, 528 youths answered what
motivates them to share citizen journalism content. As shown in Fig. 41, 84.4% of
those who answered utilize citizen journalism as it allows them to share or express
their viewpoints. 62.3% use citizen journalism for entertainment purposes or to pass
time and 58% use it to provide information about a current topic of interest.
Citizen journalism allows for the expression of personal viewpoints and allows people
to provide information about their current topic of interest, areas that traditional media
does not. We can therefore infer that the increasing usage of citizen journalism as
opposed to traditional media amongst youths is attributed to the characteristics of
citizen journalism as being an outlet for personal expression and people to share
information about their current interest, both of which traditional media restricts.
Fig. 42 World Press Freedom index 2010 ranking of various countries (Source: Reporters Without
Borders: 2010 World Press Freedom Index)
as illustrated in Fig.
42, out of 178 different countries and territories, Singapore is ranked 137th
. However,
other first world nations like the USA, Japan and Hong Kong, are ranked 20th
, 12th
and 34th
Despite being politically unstable, countries like Iraq, Israel and Egypt, are still
ranked higher than Singapore when it comes to press freedom. When calculating
world press freedom, Reporters Without Borders considers the number of journalists
murdered, expelled or harassed, and the existence of a state monopoly on TV and
radio, as well as the existence of censorship and self-censorship in the media, and the
overall independence of media as well as the difficulties that foreign reporters may
face all of which are in relation to traditional media.
Being ranked 137th
news contents by censorship and we are not free to report whatever we want.
environment is highly regulated where censorship is common, Internet access is
regulated and private ownership of satellite dishes is not allowed. Also, the article
states that the government vigorously punishes the press for perceived personal
50. attacks on officials, says Freedom House. "As a result, the vast majority of print and
broadcast journalists practice self-censorship."
In addition, the existence of state monopoly on TV and radio, adds to the validation of
our low rank.
media scene in Singapore. Singapore Press Holdings, which has close links to the
ruling party, has a virtual monopoly of the newspaper industry. MediaCorp, owned by
of state monopoly on TV and radio.
traditional media in Singapore. With that said, it supplements our inference that youth
turn to citizen journalism platforms as it allows for personal expression and people to
share information about their current interest, both of which traditional media
restricts.
In conclusion, the increase in usage of citizen journalism platforms can be attributed
to the extent of participation citizen journalism allows as compared to traditional
media. The limited participation allowed in traditional media is the main reason why
youths are turning to citizen journalism platforms as an outlet to express their views
and to share information about their interests.
5.6 Competence of Citizen Journalism and Traditional Media
Fig. 43 Comparing the competence of Citizen Journalism with Traditional Journalism
51. Respondents were asked to compare the competence of citizen journalism against
traditional journalism using six factors, which were: timeliness, credibility and
accuracy of content, variety of topics, variety of viewpoints and objective reporting.
We hypothesized that citizen journalism and traditional journalism would be
competent in different areas. Citizen journalism is timelier and provides a wider
variety of topics and viewpoints than traditional media, while traditional media is
more credible, accurate and objective.
We assessed this hypothesis by calculating the percentages that respondents picked
for each factor of competency in comparing citizen journalism and traditional
journalism.
As illustrated in Fig 43, respondents found citizen journalism more competent than
traditional media in the aspects of timeliness of content, variety of topics and variety
of viewpoints. Conversely, they found traditional media more competent than citizen
journalism in the factors of credibility of content, accuracy of content, and objective
reporting. This corresponds with our hypothesis.
Furthermore, almost every factor of competency led by a significant advantage in the
results. For example, in the area of variety of viewpoints, 92.8% of respondents found
citizen journalism more competent as opposed to Traditional Journalism while only
7.2% believed Traditional Journalism to be more competent in that area. These strong
numbers in the statistics further confirmed our hypothesis.
Interestingly, the only one that did not have a landslide victory was objective
reporting. This speaks of the sentiments of Singaporeans towards the traditional
media in Singapore.
Before examining the results, we had the preconceived notion that the vast majority of
people would believe the traditional media to be more objective than citizen
journalism. Traditional media would be more objective in their reporting as they are
Citizen journalists are not upheld to the same standards as journalists from the
traditional media. The Internet is not highly censored and people mostly have free
reign of speech.
However, the results in the survey did not support our belief. Only 67.4% believed
that traditional media was more competent than citizen journalism, while 32.6%
believed citizen journalism was more competent.
The traditional media may not be completely objective. For example, it is widely
known that Fox News is biased in their reporting. They are infamous for favoring the
right wing and Republican Party. President Obama has even boycotted a debate to be
broadcasted by Fox News Channel.
According to Tancredo, (2007), Obama and Fox News Channel have had frosty
relations ever since January, when the channel hyped and repeated untrue allegations
that Obama had attended an extremist Islamist madrassa as a child living in Indonesia.
52. In a local context, while we might not have traditional media sources that are as
extremist, we cannot safely say that the traditional media in Singapore is absolutely
objective in their reporting either.
only two players
dominate the media scene in Singapore. Singapore Press Holdings, which has close
links to the ruling party, has a virtual monopoly of the newspaper industry.
MediaCorp, owned by a state investment agency, operates TV and radio stations.
Having a monopoly of media ownership prevents having a diversity of viewpoints
and opinions presented in the media. Having the traditional media monopolized is
dangerous, as they may be biased in their reporting. Pushing certain political or social
agendas would be made easier to get away with if there is a media consolidation.
The low advantage that traditional media had over citizen journalism can be linked to
respondents who are aware of these issues. It would affect their perception of the
objectiveness of traditional media outlets in Singapore. As such, the percentage of
respondents who believe traditional media to be more objective would not be as
strong.
As shown in Fig. 43, people find citizen journalism and traditional journalism
competent in different areas. Though the usage of citizen journalism is on the rise, it
does not necessarily mean people solely use one or another. They may not get all of
their news as a whole from either citizen journalism or traditional journalism, but
possibly also from each for its areas of perceived competence.
Nic Newman, journalist and ex-Digital Strategist and Consultant for BBC concurs,
le going on between new media and old
media, people arguing that walls should come tumbling down and journalism and
journalism needed re-inventing. But I think now there is the recognition that citizen
53. 5.7 Rate of Usage of Citizen Journalism VS Traditional Media amongst youth
Fig. 44 Usage of Citizen Journalism Platforms and Traditional Media
In order for a fair comparison of the rate of usage of citizen journalism platforms and
traditional media amongst youths to be made, we took the average ranks of the
different traditional and citizen journalism mediums. However, some mediums did
not have any significant results and that led us to consider only the ranks of the top
three mediums of traditional media and citizen journalism. For traditional media, we
calculated the average usage ranks of the Newspaper, Television and Online News
Websites. For citizen journalism, we looked at Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. All
of which were the top three platforms for both categories.
The results, portrayed in Fig. 44, show that youths use traditional media more as
compared to citizen journalism platforms. Traditional media has a standing of 2.86 on
the scale while citizen journalism stands at 2.79. Although citizen journalism has a
lower rank, the rate of usage of both media platforms amongst youths is about equal.
Therefore, we can conclude that youths use traditional media slightly more than
citizen journalism platforms. In addition, we can see that although citizen journalism
is used less, its usage is on the rise as its rank is almost equal to traditional media.
54. The usage of citizen journalism and traditional media can be analysed in relation to
the 2011 GE. In an online a
future elections, observers say they expect voters to turn to both traditional and new
media will be used more but suggests that both mediums will be used. We can see that
this trend has already started to emerge during the 2011 GE from our findings the
usage of traditional media and citizen journalism platforms are about equal.
People are turning to both forms of media for information. Traditional media might
have been the primary source of information in the past but with the introduction of
citizen journalism, people are looking to it for alternative views and opinions for a
wider perspective on issues that might have been covered in the traditional media and
coverage on issues that have not.
From our original analysis of which medium youths utilize more, we decided to go
one step deeper and find out the average time youths spend on each medium.
Fig. 45 Average number of hours a person spends on Citizen Journalism Platforms and Traditional
Media Platforms
55. The results we got were interesting as shown in Fig. 45; youths spend 30 minutes
more on citizen journalism platforms than traditional media despite the fact that they
use the latter more often. This shows that while youths use citizen journalism
platforms less often than traditional media, when they actually use it, they spend more
time on citizen journalism platforms. And, that although they use traditional media
more often, they spend less time on it.
This directed us to infer why that was the case. From our analysis of citizen
journalism platforms and traditional media, we can attribute the greater time spent on
citizen journalism platforms to the characteristics of citizen journalism. Citizen
journalism offers alternative viewpoints, provides coverage of news that traditional
media did not cover, allows readers to select what they want to read and is found
mainly on the Internet. The vastness of the Internet adds to the time youth spend on
citizen journalism platforms because there is a never-ending flow of information that
can be found online.
Traditional media when compared to citizen journalism has limits to the amount of
information it can report. Especially in Singapore, where only two key players
dominate the media scene, news reported in the different traditional mediums (i.e.
TV, radio and Newspaper) may be similar. Therefore, that might be a reason why
youths are spending more time on citizen journalism platforms as the information
they can get from traditional sources is limited and citizen journalism is able to
provide more extensive coverage.
In addition, unlike traditional media, citizen journalism allows readers to select what
they are interested to read about or seek out information they deem as relevant.
Hence, youths spend more time on citizen journalism platforms reading about what
they find worthy of note.
The conclusion we can draw is that youths are using citizen journalism platforms and
traditional media almost equally. Nonetheless, there is indeed a rise in the usage of
citizen journalism. Citizen journalism has not overtaken traditional media as a
primary source of information but in the future, both forms of media might be used
equally.
56. 5.8 The influence of age on preferred medium for information
Fig. 46 The weekly average usage of each medium by age group
The age range of our respondents was 15-35. We hypothesized that there would be a
difference in their preferred medium for information, namely, whether they favoured
using forms of citizen journalism versus traditional media to stay up-to-date.
We separated our respondents into two age groups, age 15-24 and age 25-35. As
shown in Fig 46, the younger respondents prefer citizen journalism, using it
approximately 1-2 times a week. In comparison, the older age group uses citizen
journalism an average of less than once a week.
The older age group also uses traditional journalism more as compared to the younger
age group. This supports our hypothesis. However, the differences between the two
age groups are still fairly narrow. We expect that if the difference between ages was
greater, e.g. 15-24 versus 55 and above (senior citizens), the results would be more
evident, but we could not investigate this further as our survey only focused on
youths.
In summary, as source of information, younger people tend to use citizen journalism
more whereas older people tend to use traditional media more.
57. 5.9 Why youths consume citizen journalism
Fig. 47 Top 5 reasons why youths view citizen journalism
When asked why they view citizen journalism, 612 of 801 people, or 76.4% of
To keep updated with current affairs
followed close for entertainment/pass time with 73.8% of respondents selecting
to gain new perspectives to explore an area of
interest .6%), as shown in Fig. 47.
Fig. 48 Top 5 reasons why youths share citizen journalism
Conversely, the top reason youths provided or shared citizen journalism content was
to share or express my viewpoints , with 84.8% of the applicable 531 respondents
choosing it as an optio for entertainment/pass time
(62.3%) while third was because the content they provided or shared was about a
current topic of interest to promote/advocate a cause
because people around me are doing so in Fig. 48.
As seen in our secondary research, youths use citizen journalism because it is more
personal and selective than traditional media. (In accordance with the Uses and
Gratification Theory, which states that people specifically seek out information to suit
their needs.)
Our survey results that youths view citizen journalism to keep up with current affairs.
Youths both view and share citizen journalism for entertainment or to pass time.
These are benefits that traditional media also provides.
58. When using citizen journalism, people are more likely to practice selective exposure,
whether consciously or unconsciously. They are able to filter information that
interests them more, and selectively take in information. Traditional media mainly
does not allow for active participation by users and offers a more passive experience
than citizen journalism.
Hence, the reasons why youths might use citizen journalism over traditional media is
because citizen journalism provides an outlet for them to express their viewpoints,
It also allows them to seek out specific information on their interest, and promote
things they believe in.
Fig. 49 Percentage of respondents who agree that they are more willing to view/participate in CJ
websites that coincide with their personal views
As mentioned in our
secondary research,
individuals tend to
consume and share
information online
when it is directly
relevant to them .
Kokenge (2010, p.7)
classified Web users
into two basic
categories: goal
directed and
experiential. A goal
directed user
specifically chooses
certain content over
other competing forms
of content, while an experiential user simply surfs the Web with no specific goals or
purpose in mind.
In our survey, we found that out of the respondents that shared content on citizen
journalism platforms, 85.3% agreed that they are more willing to view or participate
in citizen journalism websites that coincide with their personal views. In contrast, of
those who did not provide citizen journalism content, only 65.9% agreed, as
illustrated in Fig. 49.
This suggests that people who participate more in citizen journalism are more likely
to seek out information that is relevant or of interest to them, that is, they are more
goal-directed when looking for information.
Hence, when viewing citizen journalism, users are more likely to be goal-directed
and information seeking, as opposed to when using traditional media.
59. Conclusion and Recommendations
6.1 Conclusion
For Mass Media Research
The following is a list of conclusions we have drawn from our findings:
The top three social media sites used for citizen journalism are Facebook, Twitter
and YouTube.
Higher usage of social media sites are linked with an increase in interest in
Singapore politics.
- Our initial hypothesis was proven to be true as the more social media sites
respondents use, the percentage that agreed that citizen journalism increased their
interest in politics increases as well.
Higher usage of social media sites are linked with an increased impact on youth
political opinions proven to be true as
- Our hypothesis was proven to be true as the more social media sites respondents
use, the percentage that agreed that citizen journalism shaped their opinion on the
General Election as well.
Social media use has led to an increase in youth political participation.
Citizen journalism shapes youth political opinions because they believe it reflects
the true sentiment of Singaporeans.
- Our hypothesis was true as out of all respondents who felt that the political
viewpoints on citizen journalism websites are based on fact and reflect the true
sentiment of Singaporeans, the majority agreed citizen journalism has shaped their
opinion on the General Elections.
Youths turn to citizen journalism sites because it offers alternative viewpoints.
- Citizen journalism shapes youth political opinions because it offers alternative
political viewpoints
Citizen journalism had led to greater awareness about the opposition parties.
- Citizen journalism sites were significantly more pro-opposition and negative
toward the PAP than traditional media.
Citizen journalism has a greater influence on youth purchasing habits as compared
to the traditional media.
- Citizen journalism has a greater influence on youth purchasing habits because it
offers a more objective projection of a product
The rise of citizen journalism is linked to it being an outlet for expression and to
share information.
Youths visit citizen journalism sites less regularly than traditional media but spend
more time on citizen journalism sites on each visit.
Younger people use citizen journalism more than older people while older people
use traditional journalism more.
Citizen journalism users are goal-directed and seek specific information.
People believe citizen journalism and traditional journalism to be competent in
different areas.
- Our hypothesis is correct as respondents found Citizen journalism is timelier and
provides a wider variety of topics and viewpoints than traditional media, while
traditional media is more credible, accurate and objective.
60. For consumer behavior
Psychographic: (1) Consumers spend more time in twitter and facebook as they
are able to keep updated with current affairs and for entertainment/to pass time.
(2) Consumers are most influenced by recommendations by friends and family
when deciding to purchase a product/service as they have a direct influence. (3)
Our consumers believe that privacy is something very important when using
social networking sites.
Decision-making process: Consumers decide to purchase a product through
different sources of information. Generally, the most influential source is
recommendations from friends and family.
Attitude formation and change: More female consumers use twitter as compared
to males. Although more women use Twitter, both gender spends an equal amount
of time on the site.
6.2 Recommendations
For Mass Media Research
1. We recommend that more local studies regarding citizen journalism in
Singapore be conducted
journalism.
2. We recommend that research be done on local opinion leaders and the extent
of their influence, particularly on Singaporean politics.
3. Studies can be done to determine whether the objectivity of traditional media
affects the way people perceive the objectivity of citizen journalism.
4. More research can be done about whether the increasing usage of citizen
journalism might bring about privacy issues.
For Consumer Behaviour
1. More studies can be done on the effectiveness of citizen journalism versus
traditional forms of advertising on consumer purchasing behavior. This will
allow for researchers to examine the changing media age and enable marketers
to better reach out to their target markets.
2. Also, research can be done regarding the influence opinion leaders have on
61. Limitations of Study
There were several limitations of the study that hindered us from reaching our full
potential in writing our research.
Questionnaire Questions
In the process of writing our report, we discovered the questionnaire was flawed.
Some of the survey questions were not well formed, unclear or not suited for our
research purposes. In addition, we felt that certain questions in the questionnaire were
unnecessary and did not aid us in our research findings. These questions could have
been replaced with questions of more relevance or simply taken out to shorten the
length of the survey.
An example of a question that could have been better utilized in the survey was
question B4. It asked respondents to rate the extent of factors when deciding to
purchase a product or service.
they had purchased a product or service after obtaining information from Citizen
Journalism sites before could answer B4. If all respondents could have answered
question B4, we believed that we could have gained a better insight into the
purchasing psyche of consumers.
An example of a question that we felt could have been made clearer was question A4.
It asked respondents to rank the top three topics they are the most interested to read
from, for both online platforms and traditional media platforms.
was used. This means that the terms used in the survey was not kept consistent.
ld mean any type of online portal or site, the
to citizen journalism platforms that respondents use online.
Respondents might have also misunderstood the questions in the questionnaire. They
may have simply misunderstood what it meant. For example, in question A2, it asked,
However, we believed that respondents might have answered it according to how
often they use the different online platforms in general, but not specifically for the use
of Citizen Journalism.
All these various limitations in the questionnaire questions limited the findings that
we could delve into, which prevented us from realizing our full capability in writing
this research report.
62. Time
We were bound by a tight time constraint that was a major limitation in our study. We
faced an urgent deadline, which was extremely challenging for us, as we had to finish
learning how to use SPSS in order to make sense of our data, before starting to work
on our study. With additional time, we would be able to examine our data in a more
comprehensive manner. By doing so, it would provide us with fresh perspectives on
our data and more in-depth findings.
Inexperience
It was our very first time doing a research study on such a complex level. We had no
prior professional training or experience and we did not know of the proper standards
that a research report required of us.
Our inexperience in doing a research study also intensified the challenge of our time
constraint. Analyzing the findings during the beginning was especially grueling for
us. It was a laborious task and extremely mind boggling to properly organize and
collate the vast amount of information to form interesting focuses. We were not
experienced in extracting and spotting findings, so it took up the bulk of our time in
the early stages of our study to come up with interesting focuses for our report.
Survey Methods
The method in which we carried out the survey was another limitation we faced.
There were two main issues regarding the methods that the surveys where carried out
which may have affected the quality of our answers.
Firstly, we were required to read out all of the survey questions to the respondents.
Many respondents wished to read the survey instead of having it read out to them.
Conducting the surveys by having it read out to them slowed down the process
significantly. Respondents tended to get bored or restless halfway through the survey
because of the time consuming process and the lengthy questions.
They might have answered some questions without much consideration, simply to get
the survey over and done with. This is crucial to the accuracy of our survey findings,
Secondly, conducting face-to-face interviews might have also affected the accuracy of
our answers. Respondents may not have wanted to answer certain questions truthfully,
in fear of judgment by the person carrying out the survey. Furthermore, the tone in
which people conducting the survey used on the respondents could have steered them
to a specific answer, which is not in line with their true sentiments.
Lastly, Human errors also might have occurred in the process of conducting the
survey. They might have been made by the respondents because of a different
interpretation they might have of the questions when it was explained it to them.
Conversely, the person administering the survey might have made them. They might
have filled out the survey wrongly simply because of a human error or by
misunderstanding the respondent.
63. If other research methods such as focus groups or indirect observation were used,
perhaps additional insights or more accurate information could be gained.
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