Author ORCID Identifier

0000-0002-8984-2663

Document Type

Presentation

Rights

Available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike 4.0 International Licence

Disciplines

5.1 PSYCHOLOGY, 5.2 ECONOMICS AND BUSINESS, 5.3 EDUCATIONAL SCIENCES, Social issues, 5.8 MEDIA AND COMMUNICATIONS, 5.9 OTHER SOCIAL SCIENCES, 6. HUMANITIES

Publication Details

Poster presented in the 11th Annual Graduate Research Symposium 2020 - Technological University Dublin. Research: An investigation of the personality traits that could identify vulnerable young people who will be susceptible to undue influence by social media influencers (SMIs). This study aims to further the overall understanding of social media influencers ( and to specifically predict who will be susceptible to influence by them.

Abstract

This study aims to further the overall understanding of Social Media Influencers (SMIs) and to specifically predict who will be susceptible to influence by them. The main objective of this research relies on to determine whether there is a specific personality profile that predisposes young people to undue influence by social media influencers. Based on previous research published by the journal Frontiers in Psychology titled “The Role of Social Media Influencers in the Lives of Children and Adolescents 1”, a list of potentially harmful content will be compiled. Participants (N=40) in phase one will then be given a standard test of personality and will also complete a short questionnaire asking them about their online browsing habits and to list their top five social media influencers. The content of the most popular influencers will be analysed. Statistical analysis based on personality tests’ results will then be conducted to assess whether there are specific personality traits or personality profiles that are associated with being susceptible to undue influence. The results from phase one will be employed to develop a teaching module that will be delivered to a separate sample of N=40 young people. The purpose of the module will be to develop critical thinking skills and shield against undue influence by SMIs. Finally, post presentation of the module, half of participants (N=20) will be invited to attend a semi-structured interview aiming to understand their perceptions of the module and how effective they believe it was (total sample = 80, 40 males and 40 females).

DOI

10.13140/RG.2.2.10677.29923

Funder

Irish Research Council

Download


Share

COinS