The tourism industry in the United States is constantly changing and being influenced by social media, specifically Instagram. Culinary brands use Instagram to advertise their restaurants and dishes in a creative, visual way. As a result, Instagram is now being used as a tool by tourists and both potential and current customers to share their dining experiences and find these locations based on the visual appeal. This study provides a content analysis of Instagram account information and photo composition within eight popular culinary tourism destinations by examining the strategies used by the accounts. 50 randomly selected photos were used from eight popular culinary tourism locations. Framing, Uses and Gratifications, and Diffusion of Innovation theories were the theoretical framework for the study. The results of this study indicated key characteristics of some of the most popular culinary tourism destinations on Instagram.

Due to increased data caps, revolutions in mobile camera technology and a hyperconnected generation, video-centric social media services are rapidly becoming one of the most popular ways of consuming digital media. These services allow users to view, share and produce short-form media content at any time. The content viewed is provided algorithmically and will adapt based on the user's interactions. The platform will therefore entertain regular users more effectively, further increasing the likelihood of continuous use. This study aims to understand young adults' use, non-use, and attitude towards video-centric social media applications. Further questions regarding risks of addiction as well as possibilities for content creators are also explored. Analyzing the results using the Uses & Gratifications theory, video-centric social media services met "play/fun", "responsiveness", "ownness", "community building", "purpose" and "coolness" gratifications. Furthermore, the study found differences in usage patterns depending on the user's age. Comparably, non-users expressed fear of addiction and low-quality content as the main deterrents for usage.

In times of the pandemic, Facebook has become a virtual space that through e.g.“coronavirus support groups” (Harris, 2020), partially substitutes social interactions and allows its users to better cope with the isolation and social distancing. A public Facebook group “Lappis” established in 2006 is a space facilitating communication for the local community of the biggest student housing in Stockholm “Stora Lappkärrsberget”. Since the outbreak of the pandemic in 2020, Covid-related postings started to emerge in the group’s forum. The study examines Covid-related content in order to define the function of the group through describing the forms of communication around the pandemic, i.e. the themes, the scope and the ways the content is conveyed. In doing so, the model combining the uses and gratifications theory and the theory of affordances is applied, allowing to investigate the motivations and interactivity of the members through Facebook group affordances. In order to encompass the puzzle from multiple angles, an adaptive approach of mixed methods is used by combining: qualitative content analysis and survey. Key finding of the research is that the Covid-related content is a minor part of the content shared in the group, yet that it provokes extensive discussions among the members with both “aggressive” and “unaggressive” responses. Furthermore, it is argued that the group has potential to be a coronavirus support group (Harris, 2020) and a substitute for interpersonal communication (Papacharissi & Mendelson, 2011). Finally, the study identifies possibilities for future research in the further examination of local Facebook groups in the context of pandemic, in order to map the possible changes in Facebook affordances that would lead to higher reliability of those groups as spaces for sharing Covid-related content.

The purpose of this study was to find out if young adults, more specified in the ages between 15-30 years old, are affected by beauty ideals on social media and if so, how they are affected. Furthermore, the study wanted to find out if there are any gender differences and age differences in the matter, and how often an individual person publishes content on social media. The theoretical frameworks we applied and used as support was Uses and gratification theory, Social cognitive theory and Sociocultural perspective on body image. We also applied the research on “Why do people use social media?”. In order to find out the purpose of the study and get statistics we created and used a quantitative poll survey. The survey was made with Google Forms and contained 21 variables with closed-ended questions. A random sample was applied through publishing the survey on Facebook. A total of 146 people answered the survey. To get statistics through diagrams we used Google Forms as well as SPSS Statistics. For example, Google Forms introduced how many out of our total target audience who felt themselves being affected by beauty ideals on social media meanwhile SPSS Statistics introduced results where different variables were merged, e.g. comparing genders and influence of beauty ideals.   The survey results stated that women are affected by social media to a greater extent than men are. According to our results, women generally have a lower self-esteem than men do, and they are also more prone to comparing themselves with others. They also experience a stronger self-esteem when posting on social media. In opposite, according to the survey results, men generally have a higher self-esteem and are less affected by social media than women are. The categories “Body” and “Exercise/diet” is a common denominator for both men and women, as both genders experience themself being most affected by them. However, women proved to be more affected in these categories than men. It was furthermore very common with both genders to be affected both positively as well as negatively by social media.   To summarize, the results we got from the analysis of our empirical material agrees well with the theoretical frameworks we used and the research we found. For instance, the theories bring up that girls from an early age are exposed by unrealistic ideals, which can explain our results. / Syftet med undersökningen var att ta reda på om unga vuxna, som specificeras till 15-30 år, påverkas av skönhetsideal på sociala medier och på vilket sätt de påverkas. Undersökningen ville vidare ta reda på om det fanns en skillnad av påverkan mellan könen och åldersgrupper samt hur ofta en person publicerar innehåll på sociala medier. De teoretiska ramverk vi utgick från och tog stöd av var Uses and gratification theory, Social cognitive theory och Sociocultural perspective applicerat på kroppsbilden. Vi använde oss även av forskningen “Why do people use social media?”. För att ta reda på syftet och få fram statistik användes en kvantitativ enkätundersökning. Enkäten skapades i Google Formulär och innehöll 21 variabler med icke-öppna frågor. Ett bekvämlighetsurval tillämpades genom att enkäten publicerades på Facebook. Enkäten fick in totalt 146 respondenter. För att få fram statistik genom diagram användes Google Formulär samt SPSS Statistics. Google Formulär presenterade exempelvis hur många av vår totala målgrupp som upplevde sig påverkade av skönhetsideal på sociala medier medan SPSS Statistics istället presenterade resultat där variabler kopplats samman, exempelvis för att jämföra kön och påverkan av skönhetsideal.   Utifrån enkätens resultat gick det att anta att kvinnor påverkas i högre grad och i större utsträckning än män av sociala medier. Enligt våra resultat har kvinnor generellt en lägre självkänsla och stor tendens till att jämföra sig med andra, och de får även stärkt självkänsla vid publicering på sociala medier. Män har enligt enkätens resultat tvärtom generellt högre självkänsla och påverkas mindre av sociala medier än vad kvinnor gör. Kategorierna “Kropp” och “Träning/kost” är gemensam nämnare hos både män och kvinnor, då båda könen upplever sig påverkas mest här. Däremot visade resultatet att kvinnor påverkas mer än män inom dessa kategorier. Det var vidare vanligt förekommande att påverkas både positivt och negativt av sociala medier hos båda könen.   Sammanfattningsvis har resultaten vi fått fram via analys av vårt empiriska material stämt bra överens med de teoretiska ramverk som använts och den forskning som hittats. Teorierna tar bland annat upp belöning och att flickor i tidig ålder utsätts för orealistiska ideal, vilket kan förklara vårt resultat.

The main purpose of this essay is to investigate the role of teachers of religious education in the proactive work against violent extremism and radicalization. Furthermore, the ambition is to raise awareness of how these five teachers of religious education in the Swedish upper secondary schools and primary schools in the subject of religious studies work with and implement the school's democratic mission, and to find structures to teach about radicalization,fundamentalism, pro-violence extremism and terrorism. To obtain a result, five semi-structured interviews with active religious education teachers in the upper secondary schools and theprimary schools were conducted. To show the extent to which the school's democratic mission in the proactive work against radicalization and violent extremism is carried out, the collected empirical material has been analyzed based on Paulo Freire's awareness-raising pedagogy as a theoretical framework which indicates whether the interviewed teachers of religious education work according to what Freire calls the bank view or the liberating teaching. The study shows that all interviewed teachers work according to both these models. The teachers believe that it is inevitable to ignore the teaching of facts but prefer the liberating teaching. This is because all interviewed teachers believe that through dialogues and discussions, a critical thinking is created in the students.Furthermore, it appears that all teachers find it essential to create a good and open classroom climate where there is mutual acceptance of dissent. Thus, a long-term effort to create students as source-critical thinkers is fundamental.

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Tournament poker shows have become a leading ratings draw on American television. Since ESPN and the Travel Channel began airing their innovative poker shows in 2003, the game has reached a new following, particularly among college students. There are unique and psychologically significant factors that characterize the college population that make students particularly receptive to popular characterizations in media. This study investigates the potential exacerbating effect that these widely popular poker television shows have on the gambling behavior of college students. 444 college students completed a survey designed to assess gratifications sought through media along with measures of attitudes, gambling behavior, and social systems. Using Social Cognitive Theory as a framework of influence, exposure to these shows – ranging from the individual student to the overall college environment – was assessed and evaluated. Results indicated that student gambling is strongly correlated to viewership of poker shows, particularly among younger students. This was especially seen among students who utilized the online gambling option. Gambling behavior of peers wasn't shown to be a strong influence for student gambling. However, excitement was shown to be a strong variable that should be looked at closer.

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