The full transformational effects of Social Media have yet to be understood. Alongside its heavily discussed benefits, a number of potentially harmful effects have become apparent lately. Phenomena such as still increasing information overload, cyber-bullying, or loss of identity have been described in recent research literature from various domains. By means of a literature review our paper aims at reviewing, cataloguing and classifying these psychological and social disorders that have been reported to be related to Social Media engagement. We distinguish between active participation in and mere exposure to Social Media. Using a psychopathological classification scheme, we structure the identified symptoms and syndromes, providing a common language and taxonomy with which the identified disorders can be described and classified accurately. Thus, we are laying out a foundation necessary for the research into and the understanding of the aetiology and eventually the means for the prevention of the negative effects of Social Media usage within individuals in information societies.

This diploma thesis deals with the medial image of civil society and non governmet organisations in three main daily papers in Slovakia(Sme, Pravda, Hospodárske noviny). Thesis tries to answer the question - what kind of medial image were mentioned daily papers forming and publishing. Thesis also deals with the biggest non-governmental organisation in Slovakia - Košice - European capital of culture 2013 and its role and influence in that medial image. Im using method of contentual analysis. Im comparing this media image during two periods - January 2007 and January 2013.

The main topic of this thesis is the role of media in society with respect to the relation between media, society and culture. The thesis aims to reassess selected issues, based on critical theory of media and society, and to verify their relevance in contemporary Czech context. These subjects are theoretically based on several concepts of authors connected with the so called Frankfurt School and on the critical theory developed by their followers. Their opinions are applied on the Czech environment through the perspective of cultural studies because of the shift in social and historical context since the former theories appeared. After media studies left the ideas of technological determinism, their dominant paradigm has changed to social constructivism, being interested in the meaning of media contents. In cultural studies, the meaning is interpreted using tools of structural and semiotic analysis. The same research perspective and method are applied in this thesis. Considering the interpretation of meaning in the representation of art in the program Události v kultuře, we could partly reflect on the mythology and ideology of Czech society in its relation to culture. The primary result of the empirical research is the fact, that media messages about art represent (implicitly or explicitly)...

Social media are common channels for organisational communication the world over. This study explores the perceptions and attitudes towards social media that encourage or impede the effective use of such media in communication departments in Mbabane Eswatini. To ascertain this, the researcher undertakes a robust literature review to determine the sources of these perceptions as encapsulated in the problem statement of the study. Thereafter, the researcher thereby conducts an exploratory study on four regulatory authorities in Mbabane Eswatini and uses an open-ended questionnaire to obtain the qualitative data. Additionally, secondary data sources are analysed which include social media pages of the study population, newspapers, reports, research papers, e-books and journals. Summartively the research finds largely positive perceptions towards social media use in regulatory authorities in Mbabane Eswatini with most communication officers taking part in this study regarding social media as beneficial platforms due to their measurability, affordability and wide reach. Furthermore, the study outlines the theory of social media usage further highlighting the growing importance of social media as salient features in the private and organisational lives of present-day societies. As established from the study, social media can be beneficial as they can foster business relationships sorely through virtual interactions as outlined in the literature review. Additionally, social predispositions and organisational norms can influence perceptions and attitudes towards social media use. Over and above the use of these media for organisational communication, they can promote departmental efficiency as expressed by the respondents in this study. / Communication Science / M.A. (Communication Science)

This thesis is an exploration of tabooed literary creations that it terms carnival literature. To achieve the objective of establishing the effectiveness of posting material on Facebook walls of the selected group and individual accounts to escape censorship, the thesis compared traditional graffiti, particularly latrinalia, to ‗cyber‘ graffiti (social media) with Facebook as a case study. Lev Vygotsky‘s Activity Theory helped the study link graffiti, vulgarities, humour and Facebook to the Ndebele society‘s response to tabooing of carnival literature. The thesis argued that participating in traditional graffiti production and coming up with posts on a Facebook wall is a deliberate effort with a target audience just as other genres of literature have. However, society tends to condemn carnival literature as a rebellious genre that deserves exclusion from ‗normal‘ interaction. Carnival literature is therefore censored through tabooing its themes and language. The term carnival literature is derived from medieval performances that were named the ‗carnivalesque‘ by Bakhtin and have equivalents in Africa as a continent and in Zimbabwe as a nation. The characteristics of carnivality are found in both traditional graffiti and ‗cyber‘ graffiti. These, among others, include sex and sexuality as themes, obscenities, vulgarities, and all language that is considered offensive. Interestingly, these elements of carnivality evoke laughter of one kind or another. Latrinalia from selected public toilets from the city of Bulawayo was photographed and subjected to Critical Discourse Analysis with attention being paid to carnivality, Bakhtinian dialogism and humour and its impact on the interaction process. Posts on walls of the selected Facebook group and individual accounts were subjected to the same treatment that was given traditional graffiti. The thesis argues that social media can perform a similar function to that of traditional graffiti with added advantages. Social media has created world communities that are brought together by common interests and platforms where they meet and share ideas. The study also established that messages have layers of meaning, making it unreasonable to ban certain messages since they serve a particular purpose. Social media, particularly Facebook, provides pockets of privacy for candid and unfettered interaction that service specific audiences among the Ndebele; hence can function as the escape route for carnival literature from cultural censorship in Zimbabwe. / African Languages / D. Phil. (African Languages)