A Multidimensional Approach for Evaluating Reality in Social Media: Mixed Methods Study.

Abstract

Misinformation is a threat to public health. The effective countering of misinformation may require moving beyond the binary classification of fake versus fact to capture the range of schemas that users employ to evaluate social media content. A more comprehensive understanding of user evaluation schemas is necessary. The goal of this research was to advance the current understanding of user evaluations of social media information and to develop and validate a measurement instrument for assessing social media realism. This research involved a sequence of 2 studies. First, we used qualitative focus groups (n=48). Second, building on the first study, we surveyed a national sample of social media users (n=442). The focus group data were analyzed using the constant comparison approach. The survey data were analyzed using confirmatory factor analyses and ordinary least squares regression. The findings showed that social media reality evaluation involves 5 dimensions: falsity, naturality, authenticity, resonance, and social assurance. These dimensions were differentially mapped onto patterns of social media use. Authenticity was strongly associated with the existing global measure of social media realism (P<.001). Naturality, or the willingness to accept artificiality and engineered aspects of social media representations, was linked to hedonic enjoyment (P<.001). Resonance predicted reflective thinking (P<.001), while social assurance was strongly related to addictive use (P<.001). Falsity, the general belief that much of what is on social media is not real, showed a positive association with both frequency (P<.001) and engagement with (P=.003) social media. These results provide preliminary validity data for a social media reality measure that encompasses multiple evaluation schemas for social media content. The identification of divergent schemas expands the current focus beyond fake versus fact, while the goals, contexts, and outcomes of social media use associated with these schemas can guide future digital media literacy efforts. Specifically, the social media reality measure can be used to develop tailored digital media literacy interventions for addressing diverse public health issues.