Social Media: Research Area — Prolific Citations Library

Discover 38 peer-reviewed studies in Social Media (2024–2025). Explore research findings powered by Prolific's diverse participant panel.

This page lists 38 peer-reviewed papers in the research area of Social Media in the Prolific Citations Library, a curated collection of research powered by high-quality human data from Prolific.

Papers (20 of 38)

Toxic content and user engagement on social media: Evidence from a field experiment

Authors: G Beknazar-Yuzbashev, R Jiménez-Durán, J McCrosky

Year: 2025

Published in: 2025 - econstor.eu

Institution: Mozilla Foundation, Columbia University, Bocconi University, Stanford University, University of Warwick

Research Area: Social Media, User Engagement, Toxicity

Discipline: Social Science

Reducing exposure to toxic content on social media lowers user engagement but also decreases the toxicity of user-generated content, highlighting a trade-off for platforms between reduced toxicity and increased engagement.

Methods: Pre-registered browser extension field experiment on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube to randomly hide toxic content for six weeks; supplemented with a survey experiment.

Key Findings: Impact of reduced exposure to toxic content on advertising impressions, time spent, engagement, and user-generated content toxicity; explored curiosity and alignment between engagement and welfare.

Citations: 76
The more followers the better? The impact of food influencers on consumer behaviour in the social media context

Authors: A Misra, TD Dinh, SY Ewe

Year: 2025

Published in: British Food Journal, 2024 - emerald.com

Institution: Monash University

Research Area: Consumer Behavior, Social Media Marketing

Discipline: Marketing

The study found that the number of followers and content type of food influencers significantly shape consumer behavior in the social media context, highlighting their role in effective marketing strategies for the food industry.

Methods: Quantitative analysis examining the relationship between influencers' follower counts, content type, and consumer reactions using social media data.

Key Findings: Influencer follower count, type of content communicated by influencers, consumer behavior influenced by these variables.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/BFJ-01-2024-0096

Citations: 30
Consumer engagement with brands' COVID-19 messaging on social media: the role of perceived brand-social issue fit and brand opportunism

Authors: J Mundel, J Yang

Year: 2025

Published in: Journal of Interactive Advertising, 2021 - Taylor & Francis

Institution: Arizona State University, Loyola University

Research Area: Consumer Behavior, Social Media Marketing, COVID-19 Studies

Discipline: Marketing, Social Sciences

Brands with strong perceived fit between their products and COVID-19 messaging showed higher consumer engagement and positive attitudes, while those with lower perceived fit faced negative evaluations due to perceptions of opportunism.

Methods: Analyzed consumer responses to Instagram ads using perceived brand-social issue fit as a determinant of ad evaluations, brand attitudes, and engagement intentions.

Key Findings: Consumer responses, ad evaluations, brand attitudes, engagement intentions, and perceived brand opportunism based on fit between product type and COVID-19 messaging.

DOI: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15252019.2021.1958274#

Citations: 29
Tokenization of social media engagements increases the sharing of false (and other) news but penalization moderates it

Authors: M Alizadeh, E Hoes, F Gilardi

Year: 2025

Published in: Scientific Reports, 2023 - nature.com

Institution: Department of Marketing, University of Amsterdam, Department of Social Sciences, Università Degli Studi di Milano, Department of Political Science and International Relations, Università Degli Studi di Milano

Research Area: Social media, Misinformation, Computational Social Science

Discipline: Computational Social Science

Token-based incentives for social media engagement increase the sharing of misinformation, but implementing penalties for objectionable content can reduce this trend without fully eliminating it.

Methods: Survey experiment analyzing the impact of hypothetical token rewards and penalties on user willingness to share different types of news content.

Key Findings: Effect of token-based incentives and penalties on user engagement and the willingness to share misinformation.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-40716-2

Citations: 20
Engaging with (vs. avoiding) personalized advertising on social media

Authors: SMC Loureiro, L Hollebeek, RA Rather

Year: 2025

Published in: Journal of Marketing ..., 2025 - Taylor & Francis

Institution: Universitário de Lisboa

Research Area: Marketing Communications, Social Media, Behavioral Science

Discipline: Marketing, Behavioral Science

Personalized advertising on social media enhances brand engagement and alleviates privacy concerns, with privacy concerns having no significant effect on consumer-brand engagement.

Methods: Grounded in social exchange theory, the study utilized a quantitative survey to assess relationships between personalized advertising, information control, privacy concerns, advertising avoidance, and brand engagement.

Key Findings: The interplay between personalized advertising, consumer brand engagement, privacy concerns, information control, and advertising avoidance.

Citations: 17

Sample Size: 429
The effect of popularity cues and peer endorsements on assertive social media ads

Authors: A Agarwal, SY Lee

Year: 2025

Published in: Information Systems ..., 2025 - pubsonline.informs.org

Institution: University of Texas

Research Area: Information Systems, Behavioral Economics, Social Media Marketing, Advertising

Discipline: Information Systems Research, Marketing, Behavioral Science

This academic article explores a specific topic within the field of Information Systems Research.

Citations: 14
Assessing credibility factors of short-form social media posts: A crowdsourced online experiment

Authors: J Li, M Kuutila, E Huusko, N Kariyakarawana

Year: 2025

Published in: Proceedings of the 15th ..., 2023 - dl.acm.org

Institution: University of Oulu

Research Area: Social Media Credibility, Crowdsourcing, Human-Computer Interaction (HCI)

Discipline: Human-Computer Interaction (HCI)

Credibility of short-form health-related social media posts is influenced by factors such as author profession and post engagement metrics, with experts being encouraged to actively participate in information correction online.

Methods: Crowdsourced online credibility assessment using health-themed social media posts with varied content features deployed across three platforms; quantitative and qualitative data collection.

Key Findings: Credibility factors like author profession, engagement metrics (likes/shares), and personal strategies influencing perceived trustworthiness of social media posts.

DOI: 10.1145/3605390.3605406

Citations: 11
Community notes vs. related articles: Assessing real-world integrated counter-rumor features in response to different rumor types on social media

Authors: S Kankham, JR Hou

Year: 2025

Published in: International Journal of Human--Computer ..., 2025 - Taylor & Francis

Institution: National Cheng Kung University

Research Area: Social Media and Misinformation Countermeasures in HCI

Discipline: Human-Computer Interaction (HCI)

The study found that integrated counter-rumor features, such as community notes and related articles, reduce users' intentions to believe and spread social media rumors; community notes worked better for 'wish' rumors, while related articles were more effective for 'dread' rumors.

Methods: Conducted an experimental study evaluating the effects of community notes and related articles on online users' intentions to believe and spread two types of rumor tweets: wish and dread rumors.

Key Findings: Online users' intentions to believe and spread rumors on social media with and without integrated counter-rumor features (community notes and related articles).

DOI: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10447318.2024.2400389

Citations: 11

Sample Size: 201
Going viral: Sharing of misinformation by social media influencers

Authors: R Mulcahy, R Barnes

Year: 2025

Published in: Australasian ..., 2025 - journals.sagepub.com

Institution: University of the Sunshine Coast

Research Area: Social Media, Misinformation, Influencer Marketing

Discipline: Social Science

The paper investigates how misinformation shared by social media influencers garners virality and impacts perceived deception, parasocial interactions, and sharing intent, highlighting the role of appraisals and user comments.

Methods: Three online experimental studies grounded in social influence theory and cognitive appraisal theory (CAT), analyzing user behavior in response to influencer posts with varying levels of virality and comment types.

Key Findings: Virality of posts, perceived deception, parasocial interaction, sharing intent, and effects of user comments (critical vs. supportive).

Citations: 9
The Impact of Generative AI on Social Media: An Experimental Study

Authors: AG Møller, DM Romero, D Jurgens

Year: 2025

Published in: arXiv preprint arXiv ..., 2025 - arxiv.org

Institution: University of Copenhagen, University of Michigan, Pioneer Centre for AI

Research Area: Generative AI, Social Media, Human-Computer Interaction (HCI)

Discipline: Computational Social Science

Generative AI tools on social media increase user engagement and content volume but reduce perceived quality and authenticity in discussions, highlighting challenges for ethical integration.

Methods: Controlled experiment with participants assigned to small discussion groups under distinct AI-assisted treatment conditions including chat assistance, conversation starters, feedback on comment drafts, and reply suggestions.

Key Findings: Impact of generative AI tools on user behavior, engagement, content volume, perceived quality, and authenticity in social media interactions.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2506.14295

Citations: 9

Sample Size: 680
Made with AI: Consumer Engagement with Social Media Containing AI Disclosures

Authors: S Carney, I Riveros, S Tully

Year: 2025

Published in: Available at SSRN 4988760, 2025 - papers.ssrn.com

Institution: University of Southern California

Research Area: Consumer Engagement with AI Disclosures, Social Media Marketing, Social Psychology

Discipline: Social Science

AI-generated content disclosures on social media reduce consumer engagement primarily due to a decrease in parasocial connections, as users perceive creators to exert less effort; signaling greater effort can mitigate this effect.

Methods: Analysis of TikTok engagement data following AIGC disclosure implementation, supplemented by six preregistered experiments.

Key Findings: Impact of AIGC disclosures on consumer engagement and the mediating role of parasocial connections.

Citations: 6
Understanding the Role of Social Media Content in Inducing Anxiety: A Qualitative Study

Authors: A Meythaler

Year: 2025

Published in: 2025 - scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu

Institution: University of Potsdam, Weizenbaum Institute

Research Area: Social Media, Anxiety, Qualitative Research, Computational Social Science

Discipline: Psychological Science, Computational Social Science

The study identifies six categories of social media content—negative news, incivility, social comparison content, political content, misinformation, and depictions of dangerous behavior—as triggers for anxiety among users.

Methods: A qualitative study was conducted using interviews or focus groups with 249 social media users to explore the effects of different content types on anxiety.

Key Findings: The role of specific social media content categories in inducing feelings of anxiety.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.24251/HICSS.2025.334

Citations: 4

Sample Size: 249
An experimental online study on the impact of negative social media comments on anxiety and mood

Authors: Y Ai, A von Mühlenen

Year: 2025

Published in: Scientific Reports, 2025 - nature.com

Institution: University of Warwick

Research Area: Social media, Mental Health, Behavioral Science

Discipline: Behavioral Science

Negative social media comments significantly increase anxiety and decrease mood, with younger adults showing heightened sensitivity compared to older adults.

Methods: Participants shared blog posts on a simulated internet forum and were exposed to negative, neutral, or positive comments; mood and anxiety levels were measured using validated scales.

Key Findings: Impact of negative, neutral, and positive social media comments on anxiety and mood across adult participants.

Citations: 3

Sample Size: 128
Credtwi: Investigating Social Media Credibility with a Browser Plugin

Authors: J Li, E Huusko, NN Ahooie, M Kuutila

Year: 2025

Published in: ... Journal of Human ..., 2025 - Taylor & Francis

Institution: University of Oulu

Research Area: Social Media Credibility, Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) in Social Media, Crowdsourcing Research

Discipline: Human-Computer Interaction (HCI)

Credtwi, a browser plugin for assessing tweet credibility, revealed that perceived Twitter credibility declines with use and author verification status heavily influences perceived credibility.

Methods: A browser plugin was used for crowdsourced credibility assessment through participant questionnaires during a week-long field study.

Key Findings: Perceptions of online tweet credibility, factors affecting tweet credibility (e.g., verification status, bio), variations in credibility assessments across genders.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10447318.2025.2480885

Citations: 2

Sample Size: 150
Useful or Creepy? The Effect of Exchanged Benefits and Information Collection in Social Media Advertisements

Authors: S Kwon, NL Kim

Year: 2025

Published in: International Textile and Apparel ..., 2025 - iastatedigitalpress.com

Institution: University of Minnesota

Research Area: Social Media Advertising, Consumer Perception, Information Collection Ethics in Marketing, Social Science.

Discipline: Social Science, Marketing

Consumers are more willing to disclose personal information in social media advertising when they perceive exchanged benefits, such as monetary rewards and personalized recommendations, outweigh the risks; the method of information collection (overt vs. covert) does not significantly affect this decision.

Methods: An online survey was conducted among U.S. Instagram users to assess attitudes toward benefit-risk trade-offs in personal data disclosure for advertising purposes.

Key Findings: Willingness to disclose personal information, click-through intentions, and purchase intentions based on perceived benefits and risks in social media advertisements.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.31274/itaa.18830

Citations: 1

Sample Size: 199
Leveraging Social Media and Crowdsourcing to Recruit and Retain Military Veterans With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder or Experience of Harmful Gambling ...

Authors: C Heath, JM Williams, D Leightley

Year: 2025

Published in: JMIR mHealth and ..., 2025 - mhealth.jmir.org

Institution: Swansea University, King's College London, Reykjavík University

Research Area: mHealth Interventions, Crowdsourcing, Social Media Recruitment, Mental Health Research (PTSD, Harmful Gambling)

Discipline: Digital Health, Mental Health Research

Social media and online platforms like Facebook and Prolific were effective but faced challenges in recruiting and retaining military veterans with PTSD or harmful gambling for a digital mHealth intervention pilot study.

Methods: Multiple recruitment strategies were used, including paid and unpaid advertisements on Facebook, Prolific, direct mailing, event hosting with veterans' charities, snowball sampling, and incentives.

Key Findings: The effectiveness of different recruitment strategies for enrolling military veterans with PTSD or harmful gambling into a digital intervention study.

Sample Size: 79
Do you create your content yourself? Using generative artificial intelligence for social media content creation diminishes perceived brand authenticity

Authors: JD Brüns, M Meißner

Year: 2024

Published in: Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 2024 - Elsevier

Institution: Copenhagen Business School, University of Southern Denmark

Research Area: Generative AI in Social Media Marketing, Brand Authenticity, Consumer Services

Discipline: Marketing

Using generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) for social media content creation diminishes perceived brand authenticity, leading to negative follower reactions unless GenAI is used to assist humans rather than replace them.

Methods: Three experimental studies investigating consumer perceptions and reactions toward brand disclosure of GenAI usage in content creation.

Key Findings: Followers' attitudinal and behavioral reactions, mediated by perceptions of brand authenticity.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2024.103790

Citations: 235
AI can help people feel heard, but an AI label diminishes this impact

Authors: Y Yin, N Jia, CJ Wakslak

Year: 2024

Published in: Proceedings of the National Academy of ..., 2024 - pnas.org

Institution: University of Southern California Los Angeles

Research Area: Human-AI Interaction, Social Perception of AI, Media Effects

Discipline: Social Sciences

AI responses make people feel more heard and are better at emotional support compared to humans, but labeling responses as AI diminishes this effect.

Methods: Experiment and follow-up study to assess recipient reactions to AI vs. human-generated responses and determine emotional support efficacy.

Key Findings: The degree to which recipients feel heard, emotion detection accuracy, and third-party ratings of emotional support quality.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2319112121

Citations: 201
Online images amplify gender bias

Authors: D Guilbeault, S Delecourt, T Hull, BS Desikan, M Chu

Year: 2024

Published in: Nature, 2024 - nature.com

Institution: University of California Berkeley, Institute For Public Policy Research, Columbia University, University of Southern California Los Angeles

Research Area: Gender Bias, Computational Social Science, Online Media, AI Bias

Discipline: Computational Social Science

Online images significantly amplify gender bias compared to text, with biases in visual content impacting societal beliefs about gender roles.

Methods: Analyzed 3,495 social categories using over one million images from platforms like Google, Wikipedia, and IMDb, compared visual content to billions of words from the same platforms, and conducted a preregistered national experiment to assess the psychological impact on participants' beliefs.

Key Findings: The prevalence and psychological impact of gender bias in online images compared to text, including gender associations and representation disparities.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-07068-x

Citations: 72

Sample Size: 3495
Trust, personality, and belief as determinants of the organic reach of political disinformation on social media

Authors: T Buchanan

Year: 2024

Published in: The Social Science Journal, 2025 - Taylor & Francis

Institution: University of Westminster

Research Area: Social Media, Political Communication, Misinformation Research

Discipline: Computational Social Science

The organic reach of political disinformation on social media is driven more by lower conscientiousness and belief in the stories' truth than by trust in the source or agreeableness.

Methods: An online experiment exposed participants to real disinformation stories and asked them to rate their likelihood of sharing and interacting with the content.

Key Findings: The influence of trust in the source, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and belief in the truth of disinformation on likelihood of sharing (organic reach).

Citations: 30

Sample Size: 172