Media and Social Groups

Entertainment and Politics Revisited: How Non-Escapist Forms of Entertainment Can Stimulate Political Interest and Information Seeking

“…The music that was used can be described as “sad” or “moving,” with a minor key, a slow tempo, and high variations in pitch. Similar music manipulations have been used successfully in several recent studies (Bartsch et al, in press; Oliver, Kim, Hoewe, Shade, & Cooke, ) to manipulate the extent to which participants felt moved by a film stimulus, while keeping the cognitive, propositional content of the stimulus versions constant across conditions.…”

More Than Shoot-Em-Up and Torture Porn: Reflective Appropriation and Meaning-Making of Violent Media Content

“…However, it does point to another, underexplored avenue for investigation. As noted in the introduction, research on eudaimonic experiences with other types of media content suggests that viewers' willingness to reflect and engage with the content is associated with a variety of important prosocial outcomes (Bartsch & Schneider, ; Oliver, Dillard, et al, 2012; Oliver & Raney, ; Oliver et al, 2013). Given the positive effects observed in other contexts, it seems plausible to assume that at least some types of thoughts and meanings discussed by our interviewees might likewise contribute to positive outcomes in the context of media violence.…”

“…General research on meaningful, eudaimonic media experiences has linked such experiences to a variety of positive, prosocial outcomes. These include issue interest and information seeking about social and political issues (Bartsch & Schneider, ; Oliver, Dillard, Bae, & Tamul, 2012), and prosocial changes in attitudes and behavioral intentions toward social groups (Oliver, Hartmann, & Woolley, 2012; Oliver, Kim, Hoewe, Shade, & Cooke, 2013). Given this, it seems important to gain a deeper understanding of how audiences use violent media content as an opportunity for meaning‐making.…”

Research Directions in Social Media and Body Image

“…Their socially produced nature has fundamental implications for the uses-andgratifications perspective that Perloff (2014) offers as a foundation for the transactional model of social media. Compared to magazines, television, and movies (regardless of the platform upon which they are viewed), individuals have greater opportunity of being exposed to media messages that they have not sought when others post, tweet, or pin television clips and links to TV episodes (Oliver et al 2014). Social media users further have the chance to view amateur and independently produced content that might not be disseminated through corporate or publicly funded media (Manovich 2009).…”