TRUST BUILDING AND FAKE NEWS ON SOCIAL MEDIA FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF UNIVERSITY STUDENTS FROM FOUR VISEGRAD COUNTRIES

• Authors: EGER Ludvík , EGEROVÁ Dana , MIČÍK Michal , VARGA Erika , CZEGLÉDI Csilla , TOMCZYK Lukasz , SLÁDKAYOVÁ Michaela
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

There is an important need in the literature to explore the effects of social media use on young people’s behaviour. The main purpose of this research is to explore which factors of users’ gratifications are associated with using social media by university students from four Visegrad countries in Central Europe. Online communication on social media may be affected by a variety of factors that affect the development of mutual relationships. Thus, research is also focused on trust building on social media. The research team conducted qualitative research aimed at the deeper understanding of students’ opinions on trust and social media and their view on the phenomenon of “fake news”. Conducted focus groups in four countries showed that university students, who are frequent users of social media, are inclined to trust certain pages they like but generally, they do not trust social media. They use social media primarily for maintaining relationships and they believe people who are connected to their network. It is obvious that students use social media to satisfy their needs, especially in the field of entertainment, partly also for obtaining information. The findings show that expected gratifications of students are built on their practical experience with media.

Keywords

EN

FOCUS GROUPS; SOCIAL MEDIA; TRUST BUILDING; UNIVERSITY STUDENTS; VISEGRAD COUNTRIES

• Publisher: Fakulta masmediálnej komunikácie Univerzita sv. Cyrila a Metoda
• Journal: Communication Today
• Year: 2020
• Volume: 11
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 70 – 88

Contributors

author

EGER Ludvík

• Faculty of Economics, University of West Bohemia in Pilsen, Univerzitní 8, 301 00 Pilsen, CZECH REPUBLIC

author

EGEROVÁ Dana

author

MIČÍK Michal

author

VARGA Erika

author

CZEGLÉDI Csilla

author

TOMCZYK Lukasz

author

SLÁDKAYOVÁ Michaela