1. Online News on Social
Networking Sites: The Affect of
SNS on Effortful Thinking
Monica Noriega – Santa Clara University

2. How are social networks
changing news content?
Research Questions:
o Does the shift from print to online media value quantity
over quality news content?
o Does access to more sources of information make us more
informed?
o Are habitual users of SNS more knowledgeable and engaged than
those who do not use SNS?
o Which groups are more affected most by this shift?
o Disadvantaged youth
o Does the immediate availability of information on SNS transcend
social boundaries and digital inequalities?

3. Orienting Points
o 24 out of the 25 largest
newspapers are
experiencing declines in
circulation.
o 46% of Americans
now have a smart
phone
o Smart phone owners
outnumber users of
more basic phones
o 93% of Teens use the
internet
o 80% of time is
spent on SNS

4. Trends in Literature
o Benson, Rodney. Bringing the Sociology of
Media Back In. Political Communication, 2004.
o Kirchoff, Suzanne. The U.S. Newspaper
Industry in Transition. Journal of Current Issues
in Media & Telecommunications. 2010.
o Tsfati, Yarviv. Online news exposure and
trust in the mainstream media: exploring
possible associations. American Behavioral
Scientists. 2010.

5. Main Ideas
o The race to be the first to report breaking news on
SNS has resulted in disparities between print and
online media.
o Research on local newspapers in the U.S. suggests
that increased competition leads to more
sensationalized, superficial news coverage.
o Habitual users of SNS internalize the views of the
social and political world presented by SNS

6. Data Collection
o Wall Street Journal Archival Data
o 18 February 2012 – 12 March 2012
o Total: 24 days
o Wall Street Journal print headlines.
o WSJ main Twitter page (@WSJ)

7. Sociological Theory
o Social impact theory: social influence depends
on:
o Strength– The stronger the source, the greater
the influence.
o When other people view the other members of that
group as competent, they are more likely to
conform to their judgments.
o Immediacy– The closer the source, the greater
the impact
o As the number of sources increases, so
does their influence– up to a point.

8. My Contribution
o Social Impact Theory:
o There should be a less impact on a target who is strong and
far from the source than one who is weak and close to the
source.
o Non-users of SNS = strong and far
o Habitual users of SNS = weak and
close

9. Sociological Theory
o Evolutionary Theory of Stratification
o When no single individual can master all
aspects of a culture, specialization must
occur.
o Individuals will master parts of their
culture and enter into exchanges with
others who have mastered other parts.
o Some aspects of a culture are more
valued than others.

10. My Contribution
o No individual can master all aspects of SNS
culture.
o How do SNS users enter into exchanges
with others?
o 160 characters or less
o Posts/Tweets
o What is valued in SNS culture?
o Immediacy vs. Accuracy
o Quantity vs. Quality

11. Study Population
One-on-one
Interviews with SCU
students
Facebook
Age
80% Active Users
18-22 years
Twitter
Gender 50% Active Users
Male 48%
Female 52%

12. Overview of Interview
Questions
o What do you know about _____ ?
o Not aware
o Aware
o Knowledgeable
o Where did you hear about it?
o SNS (Facebook/Twitter)
o Word of mouth
o Official online news source
o How strongly do you feel about this topic?
o Strongly for
o Strongly against
o Indifferent

13. ―I watched the
#KONY2012 video on
YouTube, let‘s make
kony famous! Obama
needs to step up.‖

14. Joseph Konyis a Ugandan warlord
conscripting child soldiers. I heard about the
Invisible Children Campaign a couple years
ago. The #KONY2012 campaign is
misguidedbecause its more about
marketing image than actual
activism. A Facebook
‗like‘
and buying a wristband isn‘t
going to stop someone
across the world.

15. ―U.S. Warns Apple,
Publishers—Justice ―Afghan Air
Department Threatens Force
Lawsuits, Alleging Probed In
Collusion Over E-Book Drug
Pricing‖ Running‖
Thursday
08 March
2012

16. “Do you know who
Joseph Kony is?
“The #Kony 2012
More on the viral
video has @rihanna,
video that has
@alecbaldwin,
generated 40m+
@justinbeiber& the
views since
White House talking.
appearing on
How it caught fire:
YouTube.
on.wsj.com/yftxgf”
On.wsj.com/yfb6nf”
Thursday
08 March
2012

17. ―Shootings Fray “The Hunger
Afghan Ties—U.S. Games’ held
Army Soldier its premiere
Allegedly Targeted in Los
Civilians in Their
Angeles
Homes; ‗Beyond
Explanation‘ tonight. We
have photos
on.wsj.com”
Monday
12 March
2012

18. ―The reliability of information on social
networks is never questioned. People
post things on Facebook and Twitter that
are popular and catch peoples attention.
The attention span of our generation is
so short that people
don’t
really care if its true, they
just keep on scrolling.‖

19. Digital Divide
o In earlier eras, youth would have to be
privileged to have access to the content
of adult oriented news media.
o Electronic media and SNS has transcended
many social boundaries, but digital
inequalities still exist.

20. Amanda Lenhart, Pew Research Center‘s Internet & American Life
Project. http:/www.pewinternet.org April 13, 2012 at The Annenberg
Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania

21. Conclusions
o People who were more likelyto engage in effortful
thinking used SNS less often.
o We have put a premium on a new set of skills–
skimming and mimicking, rather than
understanding and reflecting
o The ability to concentrate, think seriously, read
deeply are not innate, they must be taught by
engaging with complex ideas and arguments.