Social Change and Role of Media

CHAPTER NO.1

INTRODUCTION

1.1 INTRODUCTION

Social awareness or social change means that you should know what is socially

acceptable from you in society and you should act in that manner. Mass media has a

prominent role to play in modern society. It can bring about radical changes and

improve social situation as it influences our social, civil, cultural, political, economic

and aesthetic outlook. Modernization has converted media into an indispensable

feature of human activity. However, factors like age, education, economic condition,

personal needs and availability of proper components decide the quantum and

frequency of media use. This is evident from the fact that most media centres are

located in urban areas. The majority of consumers of media products are also

concentrated in and around cities and towns. Scientific literacy is the knowledge and

understanding of scientific concepts and processes required for personal decision

making, participation in civic and cultural affairs, and economic productivity. It

involves the negotiation of socio-scientific issues and requires ability to make

informed decisions regarding these issues as they have moral and ethical implications

too. We confront issues with a scientific dimension on a daily basis through the media.

If the idea of scientific literacy is to have relevance for situations where students

encounter science, it has to include the ability to engage constructively in socio-

scientific issues in examining a variety of real world issues and grounding scientific

knowledge in such realities. In today's world, such issues might include the impact on

society of: global warming, genetic engineering, animal testing, deforestation

practices, nuclear testing and environmental legislations.

1.2 EFFECT OF MASS MEDIA

The influence of media on society has been growing fast renewals in the community.

Renewal of the intangible changes nothing and there are negative toward the positive

direction. Media influence is related to other aspects such as the nature of a

Social Change & Role of Media 1 | P a g e

communicator, the content / information from the media itself, as well as responses

from the community.

Consciously or unconsciously, people are often influenced by mass media, such as

persuading the media to use a particular product or indirectly persuaded to support a

particular political ideology or political party. In connection with this matter, there are

some contemporary theories related to the influence of mass communication which

has been classified into four sections, namely:

Individual Differences Theory:

According to this theory there is a new trend in the formation of a person’s character

through the learning process. The big difference in mindset and motivation based on

the experience of learning. Individual differences due to environmental differences

resulting in different views in the face of things. Environment will influence the

attitudes, values and beliefs that underlie their personalities want to respond to

incoming information. Thus the influence of media on

individuals will vary from one another.

Social Categorization Theory:

Social classification is based on income level, sex, education, residence or religion. In

this theory says that people who have certain traits that tend together will form the

same attitudes in the face of certain stimuli. This equation affects their responses to

receive the messages conveyed in the mass media.

Theory of Social Relations: According to this theory most of the people receiving the

messages conveyed in the media many obtained through relationships or contacts with

others rather than accept direct from the mass media. In this case, inter-personal

relationships have a strong influence on the delivery of information by the media.

Theory of Cultural Norms:

This theory assumes that the message / information conveyed by the mass media in

certain ways can lead to different interpretations by the public in accordance with the


culture. This implies that the media influence individual attitudes. There are several

ways by the mass media in influencing cultural norms. First, the information conveyed

to strengthen the cultural patterns prevailing and convinces people that culture is still

valid and must be obeyed. Second, the mass media to create a new culture that can

complement or improve the old culture that is not contradictory. Third, the mass

media can change the cultural norms that already exist and are valid for a long time

and the changing attitudes of society itself.

1.3 THE ORIENTATION OF THE MASS MEDIA

Social change is a symptom of the changing social structure and cultural patterns

within a society and is a general phenomenon that happens all the time in every

society. Social change in the community includes several orientations, including

1. Changes with the orientation in an effort to leave the factors or elements of

social life that must be abandoned or changed.

2. Changes with the orientation in some form or element or elements that do form

new.

3. Change-oriented forms, elements, or values that have existed or exist in the

past.

In establishing the orientation of a change process, there are several factors that

give strength to the orientation of these changes, among others, are as follows:

1. Attitude, in this case both the scale and the scale of groups of individuals who

are able to appreciate the works of others, without being seen from the large-

scale or small labour productivity itself,

2. The ability to tolerate some deviation from the forms or elements of routine,

because in fact one of the drivers of change in the individuals who deviate from

the routine things, creatures who like to deviate of the elements of routines,

3. Establish a habit or a mental attitude, which could give an award (reward) to

other parties (individuals, groups) who excel in innovation, both in the field of

social, economic, and science and technology.


4. Availability of facilities and education and training services that have the

specifications and qualifications progressive, democratic, and open to all

parties who need them.

A process of social change is not always oriented to the advancement alone. A setback

and the degradation (fade or loss of a degree or qualification forms or Nial-values in

society), not only in one direction or orientation changes linearly, but also had the

residual effect of the success of a change process. For example changes in science and

technology, from science and technology that earthy to modern science and

technology (forward), may lead to jiggle-jiggle on the elements or the values

prevailing in society was concerned, which is often referred to as culture-shock.

1.4 ROLE AND FUNCTION OF NEWS MEDIA AS SUPPORTING CHANGE

Consciously or unconsciously the mass media has become an important part of

community life.

Through media we can learn many things that can be made a lesson. News

about the events that occurred abroad and domestic to know quickly and easily

through the mass media. This is because the mass media have the ability to deliver

information effectively.

The roles of mass media are:

Firstly, the media can expand the horizons of thought. Most people who live in

traditional societies consider the media have supernatural powers when you first knew

him because the media can make a person see and know the places that have never

visited and know people who have never met. The media has helped people recognize

the developing countries of other people’s lives so that they gain a new outlook in life.

The mass media can be a bridge between traditional societies transition toward a

modern society.

Secondly, the mass media to focus attention. Traditional society moving toward

a modern little by little began to hang up his knowledge on the mass media so that the

things about what’s important, which is dangerous, what is interesting and forth from


the media. As a result, over time people began to leave the customs or culture and

assume that culture as something ancient and modern. Therefore, the mass media

should be able to decide exactly what information or rubric that will be delivered

because the media can influence in public mindset and raise people’s aspirations.

Thirdly, able to raise the aspirations of the mass media. Indirectly growing

community aspirations through broadcasts or information delivered media. Many new

things are delivered by media, for example of the style of dress or hairstyle that makes

people compelled to make or use the same things as their views through the media.

The important thing to realize and note that sometimes excessive aspirations will take

the risk and bad things will not be considered as a fault.

The function of the mass media as a supporter of social changes:

First, as a giver of information. In this case the function of information delivery

can be done alone by the media. Without the media, it is unlikely the information can

be delivered accurately and quickly.

Second, as decision-making. In this case the mass media play a role as a

support which requires discussion groups that will take a decision, besides that it

expected a change in attitudes, beliefs and social norms. This means that mass media

play a role in delivering information as a discussion, to convey the message of

community leaders and clarify the issues that it conveys. Third, the media serve as

educators. In this case, the media can increase the level of public knowledge

1.5 EFFECT OF MASS MEDIA ON SOCIAL CHANGE

Rapid development of information and communication technologies such as

mass media, causing rapid changes occur everywhere. The mass media gradually

bringing in community into a new cultural patterns and begin to determine the cultural

mindset and people’s behaviour. Without realizing the mass media have helped set the

schedule of our lives and create a number of needs.

Existence of mass media in presenting the information tends to trigger a change

and an impact on determining the pattern of community life. Various information


presented is considered to give a tangible influence positive and negative. Slowly but

effectively, the media shape public views on how a person sees his own and how one

should relate to the everyday world.

The media shows the public how the standard of living worthy of a human

being, thus indirectly causing the community to assess whether their environment is

feasible or whether it has met these standards and this figure is heavily influenced

from what’s seen, heard and read from the media.

Message / information conveyed by the media can be a supportive community

for the better, making people feel good about themselves, feel fairly or otherwise

restore trust him or feel low than the other.

The shift pattern of behaviour that resulted from the mass media can occur in a

family environment, school, and in social life. Lifestyle changes in terms of mimesis

or imitation excessively against themselves a figure that was idolized based on

information obtained from the media. Usually someone will imitate everything

connected with her idol was both in terms of dress, look, cut her hair or the way of

speaking that reflects his idol . The above tends to be more influential on the younger

generation.

The socio-psychological, information flows that continue to hit our lives will

cause various effects on mental development, especially for children and adolescents.

The pattern of their behaviour, little by little influenced by what they receive that may

deviate from the stage of mental development as well as the norms and regulations.

This can happen when watching or information that should be consumed by adults

was watched by children (Amini, 1993).

The impact of mass media can include a wide range of behaviours that deviate

from social norms or cultural values. In modern times the public generally assumes it

is not something that violates the norm, but considered part of a mass trend now. In

addition, the development of mass media is very fast and can be enjoyed easily

because people tend to think practically.Social Change & Role of Media 6 | P a g e

With the development of mass media especially with the advent of electronic

mass media (the modern mass media) to make people more or less constantly

overwhelmed felt not satisfied and life-style instant-paced lifestyle like this without

any conscious will kill the creativity that is in us in the future.

Social change refers to any significant alteration over time in behavior patterns and

cultural values and norms. By “significant” alteration, sociologists mean changes yielding

profound social consequences. Examples of significant social changes having long‐term

effects include the industrial revolution, the abolition of slavery, and the feminist movement.

In today’s modern world, media has a great role spreading awareness among the

masses. Whether its television, radio or the Internet, have a great role in enhancing the

general knowledge of the people. News, telefilms and documentaries revolving around social

issues increase a social awareness in children and develop their concern towards society. The

media has played a major role in positive developments like the fight against racism, gender

bias, poverty, and spreading awareness about the need for a peaceful world.

However, with its many positive aspects, the negative role of media seems to be

rapidly increasing. In its fight for higher ratings media’s, media seems to have forgotten its

true role. Glamour has taken over substance. They cross all limits and its difficult to see TV

programs with family. Simplicity is diminishing due to more materialism. Generation gap is

increasing. Our religious and cultural values are being corrupted due to over excessive

coverage of the foreign content on our national media.

Conversely, Pakistani media has a much bigger responsibility than any other media in

the world. It has to work and educate the masses about the importance of religious harmony

and the concept of coexistence. It has to inculcate the importance of pluralism in the minds of

the people. Media could easily achieve this goal and bring this social change provided that it

directs its full attention towards this issue.

Today's sociologists readily acknowledge the vital role that social movements play in

inspiring discontented members of a society to bring about social change. Efforts to

understand the nature of long‐term social change, including looking for patterns and causes,

has led sociologists to propose the evolutionary, functionalist, and conflict theories of change

(discussed in the next few sections). All theories of social change also admit the likelihood of


resistance to change, especially when people with vested interests feel unsettled and

threatened by potential changes.

Social change is related with Social media now permeates almost every aspect of our

lives, from how we manage relationships to the way we shop and work. It is not surprising,

then, that the private sector has long recognised it’s potential as a route for influencing

consumers. Campaigners, too, are beginning to recognise its power as an advocacy tool.

Social media offers much more than traditional media; it is free, allows campaigners

and marketers to reach far more people and gives a voice to those that otherwise might not

have one. In addition, platforms such as Twitter enable direct engagement with individuals

and groups who have the power to effect change.

Despite these advantages, the third sector has been slow to harness the full potential

of social media. For many this is due to a lack of knowledge, perhaps even a fear, about

social media tools. Furthermore, many small organisations simply haven’t had the time or

resources to develop these skills. In response to this reality, this report offers an account of

social media and its potential use by campaigners: social media for social good. It contains

the results of background research, findings from a series of expert workshops and the trial of

an experimental social media campaign aimed at tackling homophobia, which acted as a

piece of action research to establish the potential of social media and the most effective ways

to put it to use to tackle intolerance.


CHAPTER NO.2

METHOD OF STUDY

2.1 CASE STUDY:

Sociologists use many different designs and methods to study society and social

behavior. Most sociological research involves ethnography, or “field work” designed

to depict the characteristics of a population as fully as possible.

Three popular social research designs (models) are:

Cross‐sectional in which scientists study a number of individuals of different ages

who have the same trait or characteristic of interest at a single time.

Longitudinal in which scientists study the same individuals or society repeatedly

over a specified period of time.

Cross‐sequential in which scientists test individuals in a cross‐sectional sample

more than once over a specified period of time.

Six of the most popular sociological research methods (procedures) are the case study,

survey, observational, correlational, experimental, and cross‐cultural methods, as well

as working with information already available.

2.2 Case study research:

In case study research, an investigator studies an individual or small group of

individuals with an unusual condition or situation. Case studies are typically clinical

in scope. The investigator (often a clinical sociologist) sometimes uses self‐report

measures to acquire quantifiable data on the subject. A comprehensive case study,

including a long‐term follow‐up, can last months or years.

On the positive side, case studies obtain useful information about individuals

and small groups. On the negative side, they tend to apply only to individuals with

similar characteristics rather than to the general population. The high likelihood of the

investigator's biases affecting subjects' responses limits the generalizability of this

method.


2.3 SURVEY RESEARCH:

Survey research involves interviewing or administering questionnaires, or

written surveys, to large numbers of people. The investigator analyzes the data

obtained from surveys to learn about similarities, differences, and trends. He or she

then makes predictions about the population being studied.

As with most research methods, survey research brings both advantages and

disadvantages. Advantages include obtaining information from a large number of

respondents, conducting personal interviews at a time convenient for respondents, and

acquiring data as inexpensively as possible. “Mail‐in” surveys have the added

advantage of ensuring anonymity and thus prompting respondents to answer questions

truthfully.

Disadvantages of survey research include volunteer bias, interviewer bias, and

distortion. Volunteer bias occurs when a sample of volunteers is not representative of

the general population. Subjects who are willing to talk about certain topics may

answer surveys differently than those who are not willing to talk. Interviewer bias

occurs when an interviewer's expectations or insignificant gestures (for example,

frowning or smiling) inadvertently influence a subject's responses one way or the

other. Distortion occurs when a subject does not respond to questions honestly.

2.4 OBSERVATIONAL RESEARCH:

Because distortion can be a serious limitation of surveys, observational

research involves directly observing subjects' reactions, either in a laboratory (called

laboratory observation) or in a natural setting (called naturalistic observation).

Observational research reduces the possibility that subjects will not give totally honest

accounts of the experiences, not take the study seriously, fail to remember, or feel

embarrassed.

Observational research has limitations, however. Subject bias is common,

because volunteer subjects may not be representative of the general public. Individuals


who agree to observation and monitoring may function differently than those who do

not. They may also function differently in a laboratory setting than they do in other

settings.

2.5 CORRELATION RESEARCH:

A sociologist may also conduct correlational research. A correlation is a

relationship between two variables (or “factors that change”). These factors can be

characteristics, attitudes, behaviors, or events. Correlational research attempts to

determine if a relationship exists between the two variables, and the degree of that

relationship.

A social researcher can use case studies, surveys, interviews, and observational

research to discover correlations. Correlations are either positive (to +1.0), negative

(to −1.0), or nonexistent (0.0). In a positive correlation, the values of the variables

increase or decrease (“co‐vary”) together. In a negative correlation, one variable

increases as the other decreases. In a nonexistent correlation, no relationship exists

between the variables.

People commonly confuse correlation with causation. Correlational data do not

indicate cause‐and‐effect relationships. When a correlation exists, changes in the value

of one variable reflect changes in the value of the other. The correlation does not

imply that one variable causes the other, only that both variables somehow relate to

one another. To study the effects that variables have on each other, an investigator

must conduct an experiment.

2.6 EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH:

Experimental research attempts to determine how and why something happens.

Experimental research tests the way in which an independent variable (the factor that

the scientist manipulates) affects a dependent variable (the factor that the scientist

observes).

A number of factors can affect the outcome of any type of experimental

research. One is finding samples that are random and representative of the population Social Change & Role of Media 11 | P a g e

being studied. Another is experimenter bias, in which the researcher's expectations

about what should or should not happen in the study sway the results. Still another is

controlling for extraneous variables, such as room temperature or noise level, that may

interfere with the results of the experiment. Only when the experimenter carefully

controls for extraneous variables can she or he draw valid conclusions about the

effects of specific variables on other variables.

2.7 CROSS-CULTURAL RESEARCH:

Sensitivity to others' norms, folkways, values, mores, attitudes, customs, and

practices necessitates knowledge of other societies and cultures. Sociologists may

conduct cross‐cultural research, or research designed to reveal variations across

different groups of people. Most cross‐cultural research involves survey, direct

observation, and participant observation methods of research.

Participant observation requires that an “observer” become a member of his or

her subjects' community. An advantage of this method of research is the opportunity it

provides to study what actually occurs within a community, and then consider that

information within the political, economic, social, and religious systems of that

community. Cross‐cultural research demonstrates that Western cultural standards do

not necessarily apply to other societies. What may be “normal” or acceptable for one

group may be “abnormal” or unacceptable for another.

Research with existing data, or secondary analysis:

Some sociologists conduct research by using data that other social scientists have

already collected. The use of publicly accessible information is known as secondary

analysis, and is most common in situations in which collecting new data is impractical

or unnecessary. Sociologists may obtain statistical data for analysis from businesses,

academic institutions, and governmental agencies, to name only a few sources. Or

they may use historical or library information to generate their hypotheses.

Basic Sociological Research Concepts

An investigator begins a research study after evolving ideas from a specific

theory, which is an integrated set of statements for explaining various phenomena. Social Change & Role of Media 12 | P a g e

Because a theory is too general to test, the investigator devises a hypothesis, or

testable prediction, from the theory, and tests this instead. The results of the research

study either disprove or do not disprove the hypothesis. If disproved, the investigator

cannot make predictions based on the hypothesis, and must question the accuracy of

the theory. If not disproved, the scientist can make predictions based on the

hypothesis.

A goal of sociological research is to discover the similarities, differences,

patterns, and trends of a given population. Members of a population who participate in

a study are subjects or respondents. When the characteristics of a sample of the

population are representative of the characteristics of the entire population, scientists

can apply, or generalize, their findings to the entire population. The best and most

representative sample is a random sample, in which each member of a population has

an equal chance of being chosen as a subject.

In quantitative research, information collected from respondents (for example,

a respondent's college ranking) is converted into numbers (for example, a junior may

equal three and a senior four). In qualitative research, information collected from

respondents takes the form of verbal descriptions or direct observations of events.

Although verbal descriptions and observations are useful, many scientists prefer

quantitative data for purposes of analysis.

To analyze data, scientists use statistics, which is a collection of mathematical

procedures for describing and drawing inferences from the data. Two types of

statistics are most common: inferential, used for making predictions about the

population, and descriptive, used for describing the characteristics of the population

and respondents. Scientists use both types of statistics to draw general conclusions

about the population being studied and the sample.

A scientist who uses a questionnaire or test in a study is interested in the test's

validity, which is its capacity to measure what it purports to measure. He or she is also

interested in its reliability, or capacity to provide consistent results when administered

on different occasions.


Scientific Method for Sociology

An area of inquiry is a scientific discipline if its investigators use the scientific

method, which is a systematic approach to researching questions and problems

through objective and accurate observation, collection and analysis of data, direct

experimentation, and replication (repeating) of these procedures. Scientists affirm the

importance of gathering information carefully, remaining unbiased when evaluating

information, observing phenomena, conducting experiments, and accurately recording

procedures and results. They are also skeptical about their results, so they repeat their

work and have their findings confirmed by other scientists.

Is sociological research scientific? Yes! By definition, sociological research is

the scientific means of acquiring information about various aspects of society and

social behavior. Sociologists use the scientific method. Like other scientists, they

stress the accurate and unbiased collection and analysis of social data, use systematic

observation, conduct experiments, and exhibit skepticism.

Ethics in Sociological Research

Ethics are self‐regulatory guidelines for making decisions and defining

professions. By establishing ethical codes, professional organizations maintain the

integrity of the profession, define the expected conduct of members, and protect the

welfare of subjects and clients. Moreover, ethical codes give professionals direction

when confronting ethical dilemmas, or confusing situations. A case in point is a

scientist's decision whether to intentionally deceive subjects or inform them about the

true risks or goals of a controversial but much‐needed experiment. Many

organizations, such as the American Sociological Association and the American

Psychological Association, establish ethical principles and guidelines. The vast

majority of today's social scientists abide by their respective organizations' ethical

principles.


A researcher must remain mindful of her or his ethical responsibilities to

participants. A researcher's primary duty is to protect the welfare of the subjects. For

example, a researcher whose study requires extensive questioning of volunteers'

personal information should screen the subjects beforehand to assure that the

questioning will not distress them. A researcher should also inform subjects about

their expected roles in the study, the potential risks of participating, and their freedom

to withdraw from the study at any time without consequences. Agreeing to participate

in a study based on disclosure of this type of information constitutes informed

consent. After the study is finished, the researcher should provide subjects with

complete details about the study. Providing details at the conclusion of an experiment

is called debriefing.

Many critics believe that no experiment justifies the intentional use of

deception, or concealing the purpose and procedures of a study from participants. Not

only does deception carry the risk of psychologically harming subjects, it reduces the

general public's support for research. Proponents, however, view deception as

necessary when prior knowledge of a study would sway a subject's responses and

invalidate the results. If subjects learn that a study measures attitudes of racial

discrimination, they may intentionally try to avoid appearing prejudiced.

Even the most ethical and cautious researcher cannot anticipate every risk

associated with participating in a study. But by carefully screening subjects, informing

subjects of their rights, giving them as much information as possible before the study,

avoiding deception, and debriefing following the study, the researcher can at least

minimize the risks of harm to the subjects.


CHAPTER NO.3

MATERIAL AND DATA

3.1 Research Analysis

This project aimed to understand whether and how social media could be used for

social good to influence attitudes, inspire action and create change, whether through

promoting positive messages or taking on negative ones, and specifically in tackling different

forms of intolerance. Given that this field of work is in its infancy and the technology is

changing constantly, there is a lack of expert knowledge about how social media works and,

by extension, how it could be used by campaigners.

Where this knowledge is advancing, it is mostly held within the private sector or

special interest groups, and academic research is lacking and woefully out of date.

As a result, the project adopted an action research methodology, learning through the

running of a social media campaign.

‘Listening exercise’ to determine the focus of the social media campaign In the first

instance, ISD commissioned a ‘listening exercise’10 over an eight-day period around three

potential areas of focus: homophobia and faith, Islamophobia and the English Defence

League

(EDL), and intergenerational and class issues. This shortlist of issues was prepared in

consultation with the Phoenix Group,11 based on an assessment of terest areas, timeliness

and opportunities for public intervention. The exercise used a bespoke application that

browses the Internet and social media platforms to collect online mentions in websites, news

articles, blogs, tweets or other publicly-available online content within parameters set by the

user. It uses sentiment analysis to categorise meaning as positive, negative or neutral and

collates a range of statistics that inform campaign choice and strategy:

Frequency, timing and volume of discussions

Where discussions are taking place across the

Internet and social media platforms.

Whether content is positive, negative or neutral

Who are the main influencers, content creators and contributors


Which are the most mentioned key words and phrases.

On the basis of the results of the listening exercise, further consultation with Phoenix Group

members, and an assessment of the UK political context, it was decided to focus the social

media campaign on tackling homophobia. This listening exercise focused on conversations

about the UK government’s consultation on extending civil marriage laws to include same-

sex couples. (referred to as ‘equal marriage’), searching specifically for the reference terms

Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, Sikh and Buddhist. It was conducted using the following

3.2 BOOLEAN SEARCH:

("gay marriage" OR "same sex marriage" OR "same-sex marriage" OR "homosexual

marriage") AND (faith OR religion OR Christian OR Catholic OR religious OR Muslim OR

Islam OR Islamic OR Jew OR Jewish OR Judaism OR Hindu OR Hinduism OR Buddhism

OR Buddhist OR Sikh OR Sikhism) AND location: UK Results of the listening campaign on

homophobia and faith Of the three themes monitored, homophobia and faith received the

most mentions, with 763 online mentions over the eight days (see Figure 1, below).

Figure 1: Volume of online mentions of the homophobia and faith related search during the eighty-day listening exercise, analysed over time.

Most conversations took place during the week, with over 100 mentions per day from

Tuesday to Friday, dropping to about half this amount over the weekend. This contrasted with

conversations around the EDL and Islamophobia, where peaks occurred during the weekend

and around key events, such as street marches and rallies. This implied that faith and gay

rights was a consistently popular issue online, especially among those who use social media


perhaps through or while at work. This suggested that our campaign should share its content

during the week, but be ready to compete with a high level of ‘noise’.

Faith communities were particularly vocal in the blogosphere (see Figure 2), with almost

two-thirds of the mentions occurring on blogs, suggesting a willingness and desire to engage

in lengthier debate.

Figure 1: Media by volume, illustrating the categories of internet site on which online

mentions of the search topic were more or less common during the listening exercise.

The key blogs used included mainstream sites like the Student Room and TES for teachers,

and faith-based blogs, such as Anglican Mainstream, Premiere Community (Christian radio)

and Atheist Forums (see Figure 3)

Figure 2: Top site showing the website with the largest volume of mentions during the listening exercise.



Figure 3: top authors by number of posts per individual relating to the search topic during

the listening exercise

The exercise also highlighted a number of authors who were particularly vocal

in this debate, and who were therefore potential starting points for engagement on the

campaign (Figure 4). There was a significant amount of news content concerning the

government’s consultation (nearly 100 mentions), including some criticism of

religious responses to it within gay press sites such as Pink News. There were only a

small number of mentions found on Twitter, suggesting a similar amount on

Facebook,13 and there was no new video content on YouTube. This suggested that

blog activity should YouTube central to the campaign, that there was the potential to

build new audiences through social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook, and

that the campaign should seek out a small number of key influencers.

Each online mention was analysed – first by software and then manually –

according to its sentiment; i.e. whether it was expressed in a positive (friendly,

agreeable or happy), negative (hateful, aggressive or angry), or ne ral (informative or

factual) tone. The entiment of conversations on homophobia and faith was mostly

neutral (Figure 5), which reflected the fact that a large proportion of mentions were on

news or blog sites, where comment tends to be more measured and nuanced (Figure-

6).


Figure 5: Sentiment by volume for all mentions of the topic over the course of the listening exercise

In contrast, Twitter tends to produce personal opinions using emotive language,

something that was evident in the listening exercise on Islamophobia, where most

conversation took place on Twitter. Interestingly, faith-based blogs presented their

anti-equal marriage arguments in a neutral tone of voice, whereas gay-rights

campaigners in support of equal marriage were often more combative towards the

attitudes of the faith communities with which they disagreed. Only a small number of

mentions demonstrated a positive middle ground on the subject of faith and sexual

orientation. There was a polarised debate, with most religious commentary being anti-

equal marriage, and most equal marriage supporters being critical of religious

responses. This suggested that the campaign should create and disseminate a middle-

ground narrative promoting positive messages on reconciling the issues around faith

and sexual orientation. There was also very little content from or about any religions

other than Christianity, which suggested that the campaign should seek to provide an

opportunity for other faiths to share their views on gay rights.


Figure 6: Sentiment by media type, indicating amount of positive, negative and neutral mentions found on various categories of website

A word cloud (Figure 7) was generated to depict the most common topics and phrases

used, with the size of the word representing the frequency of mentions. Certain terms

and themes dominated:

Barack Obama, Supreme Court and Rick Santorum: although the search was

limited to the UK, it generated references to the US linked to the 2012 presidential

race. This highlighted that events outside the UK would be of interest to the

campaign’s audience.

Christian values and religious liberty, pushing gay marriage and force churches:

there were recurring concerns about civil marriage for same-sex couples being in

opposition to Christianity, and the worry that churches would be forced to conduct

such marriages. This suggested that the campaign should highlight the fact that

faith communities can support gay rights without endangering religious liberty.

Gays and blacks, human rights and civil rights: the arguments for equal marriage

centred on equal civil and human rights, which suggested that the campaign should

take a human and civil rights focused approach.


Figure 7: Word cloud showing topics by frequency


CHAPTER NO.4

FINDING, RECOMMENDATIONS, SUGGESTIONS AND CONCLUSION

6.1 FINDINGS

1. It is evident from the study that Social Networking Sites benefits the growth of hotels in

Pune based on the responses the benefits includes that it increase the product/service

awareness among customers

2. Through Social Networking Sites the hotel awareness has identified that it improve

customer relation , built more business connection and social networking sites since act as

connection between business owners and consumers

3. Through research it is found that marketing strategy through Social Networking Sites is

relatively efficient and it reduce money spend on advisements ie it is cost effective also.

4. From the study it is evident that the most common member of website used by customers

for hotel bookings are Facebook Google, twitter and LinkedIn.

5. Hotel using Social Networking Sites for advertisements and promotion have a

competitive advantage over other unions traditional methods of marketing as the Social

Networking Sites is cost effective way and it also help them to capture large customers

6. The most common marketing tool used by Social Networking Sites for Hotel growth

includes wall posting & photo gallery of Hotel displayed on the Social Networking Sites.

7. It is evident from the result Social Networking Sites trigger the Hotel industry growth in

Pune region h. Customers demographic significantly impacts the benefits of Social

networking Sites for Hotel business

8. Hotel Industries uses promotional tools like Blogs, video, Photo, Gallery. Popup and

Micro-Blogging for enhancing visibility in Social Networking Sites j. Customers


demographic play a vital role on business practices of the hotels with respect to Social

Networking Sites

6.2 RECOMMENDATION

1. It would be wise not to underestimate the costs associated with marketing on social

media. Though the potential to reach a wide audience is both immediate and as simple as

opening a Facebook account it should not be undertaken lightly.

2. A serious point to be remembered is the potential for damage to the brand going viral

across the internet. Repairing this damage could cost considerable money and effort.

3. Sufficiently qualified staff would need to be hired plus the costs associated with training

other staff using the company accounts would need to be factored in. These costs are

beyond the purview of this report and further research in this area is highly

recommended.

4. A very minimum interaction that Hotels should consider is to treat TripAdvisor and

holidayiq.com as an influential means of reputation management. At present reviews

whether they are bad or good, are left unanswered.


6.3 SUGGESTIONS

1. It is suggested that offline and online marketing strategies be brought into alignment to

prevent mixed messages and to promote the availability of the online forums for

interaction. Offline advertising should be used to complement the online media. Adding

“visit us on Facebook” and other such texts to promotional material will help to raise

awareness.

2. The social networking strategy should sufficiently flexible to allow it to adapt to new

developments and to determine what works and what does not work.

3. A dedicated social media co-ordinator is recommended to monitor the impact of any

changes implemented. A dedicated co-ordinator would also allow for consistency in

communication. At the very least a profession agency experienced in social media

marketing should be consulted at from the earliest planning stages.

4. The reviews and complaints raised by the customers on the SNS should be effectively

managed and proper actions should be taken by the hotels management and the action

taken should also be communicated to the customer.

5. The promotional offers during season on should be displayed on the SNS on regular

basis, so that large number of customers is captured


6.4 CONCLUSION

1. Social media has become an integral part of the algorithms that decide where a particular

website is placed in the search rankings. The higher the ranking the more visible it is to

the consumer. One of the core questions behind this research was to find out what impact

social networking sites is having on the hotel sector.

2. The ability to interact with the guests of the hotel should be viewed as a very positive

aspect by Hotel business. It offers very real insight into how the hotels are viewed.

3. The feedback shared on the review social networking sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn,

Twitter, Google+, holidayiq.com & TripAdvisor is an opportunity to improve the service

offering.

4. Measuring the affects that reviews, Wall-posting, Blog, Photo Video, Pop-up, tweets and

posts can directly have on bookings could be quite difficult.

5. In conclusion the ability to reach out to such a huge volume of potential guests would

make ignoring social media a poor business choice. The other side of the coin is that

potential for damage to the brand by reaching out in a haphazard fashion could be quite

destructive and costly to repair.

6. A well planned and coherent marketing strategy is needed to limit potential damage and

give the chance of succeeding greater odds. It would be wise to consider hiring a qualified

dedicated member of staff or to consult with an outside agency or expert from the earliest

stages to avoid negative outcomes.

7. Social Networking Sites creates a real Connection between companies and customers;

that connection creates a trend for purchase intensity.

8. Social Networking Sites provide ample of opportunities for interacting with Hotel

industries partners


9. Social Networking Sites provides a platform to innovative advertising to be effectively

used for business growth of Hotel industries

10. From data interpretation we observed that hotel industry in Pune prefer Facebook and

Tripadvisor.in more than any other Social Networking Sites for their Promotional

activities

11. Hotel Industry with use of Social Networking Sites can gain competitive advantage by

reducing advertising cost , create awareness, capture large market, able to transact

globally , can improve customer service quality and acquire new customers.


Bibliography

1. www.google.com.pk

2. https://hootsuite.com/resources

3. bds.sagepub.com/content/1/2/2053951714546645

4. https://books.google.com.pk/books?isbn=1317676432

5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_data_analysis

6. www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project.../Soc_p028.shtml

7. https://scholar.google.com.pk/scholar?

q=material+and+data+for+social+media&hl=en&as_sdt=0&as_vis=1&oi=scho

lart&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiktJq04a7KAhVJ1I4KHQSGAfsQgQMIGDAA

8. http://www.cliffsnotes.com/study-guides/sociology/sociological-research-

methods/ethics-in-sociological-research


http://www.google.com.pk/

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Social Change and Role of Media

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