An Examination of the Impact of Information Utility on PSA Social Media Message Perception

Abstract

Social media messaging is rife with credibility concerns, misinformation, and a crowded online space. How can communicators effectively create messages for public good to lead to behavior changes within the groups using such platforms for news and information? Studies have examined successful campaigns to see which message characteristics make for effective public service announcements (PSA) (e.g. Noar, Palmgreen, Zimmerman, Lustria, & Lu, 2010). Within these, a variety of characteristics have been found to affect the processing of PSAs (e.g. sensation value, individual differences, base-rates vs. exemplars, utility, etc.). This study examines the extent to which information utility can influence perceptions and behavior intentions via social media. Information utility will also be examined as a possible moderator in the relationships between the requested behavior change and the participants intention to change their behavior. This is done by looking at anxiety/stress amongst young adult populations in two countries (the United States and Dubai, UAE). Young adults in both countries are using social media between 2-3 hours per day on average. These populations also report significant amounts of anxiety and stress in their daily lives. One little known side effect of stress is hair loss. This study creates messages high and low on information utility within PSAs to determine whether a novel side effect presented on social media will lead to behavior intentions to engage in activities to reduce stress.