Analysis of Social Media Accounts using Psychological Theories.

Analysis of Social Media Accounts using Psychological Theories.

Social media is a highly influential and pervasive tool in the current society, particularly among the youth. There are various social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat, among others. The perfect example is the renowned celebrity Kimberly Noel Kardashian, commonly known as Kim Kardashian, to examine social media better using psychological theories. Kim is a media personality, businesswoman, model, and socialite in the US. Her first media attention came from her association with Paris Hilton, a stylist, but a sex tape she made with her boyfriend caused her increased fame. Together with her family, she appears in the television series “Keeping Up with the Kardashians,” where details of their family are shared with the public. Kim has over 262 million followers on Instagram and over 70.5 million followers on Twitter, which are her major social media platforms. She releases and markets various products, such as clothing and makeup, on these social media platforms. She continues to be among the 100 most influential people and has a wide range of people following her. She posts at least five posts a week on Instagram.

Script theory refers to a psychological theory in which human behavior is said to fall into patterns known as scripts since they function the same way a written script does by offering a program for action (Albarracin et al., 2020). Script theory can be evidenced in the manner in which Kim runs her life on social media. She has the ideal curvy body that is currently booming among women in the current society. As a mother, she posts her children having fun with messages of love and admiration for them, fitting into the ideal description of a nurturing mother.

Cultivation theory posits that prolonged exposure to media tends to shape how consumers perceive how the world works and conduct themselves. Kim makes use of her body to market various products which enhance her fame. Her notion of the ideal perfect body and perfect makeup match the ideal standards of beauty that society has set. In an attempt to look like her, numerous individuals buy her products.

Agenda-setting theory posits that the media has the power to influence individuals’ perceptions of what important issues and problems are in society today. Kim uses her powerful social media platform to advocate for issues such as unfairness in the criminal justice system. For instance, through Twitter, she advocated for releasing a man who was jailed wrongfully, and this wave caught on, with followers joining in to advocate for the same.

Social learning theory cites that social behavior is often learned by observing and imitating other people’s behaviors. Kim is normally considered a fashion trendsetter. For instance, during the 2021 Met Gala, Kim wore a dark and face-obscuring outfit that several individuals have since imitated. Even the way that Kim speaks has often been imitated by various women worldwide.

Uses and gratifications theory strives to comprehend how and why individuals actively seek out a particular media to satisfy particular needs (Whitting & Williams, 2013). Kim makes use of social media mainly for marketing purposes. Most of her posts are body-revealing photos that tend to sell among consumers, which gratifies her needs.

Individuals tend to post many things on social media platforms, most of which represent only their best lives. This is representative of the schemas that individuals form about how the world operates, and such schemas are passed on from one person to the other. Individuals are able to judge people based on what they post on their social media platforms. Kim Kardashian makes use of various social media platforms and is highly influential. Individuals tend to imitate her sense of fashion, speaking style, commitment to her family, and advocacy as portrayed on her social media platforms.

References

Albarracin, M., Constant, A., Friston, K., & Ramstead, M. (2020). A variational approach to scripts. Frontiers in Psychology. doi: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.585493

Whiting, A., & Williams, D. (2013). Why people use social media: a uses and gratifications approach. Qualitative market research: an international journal.

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We have been looking at different psychological theories and how to use them to examine social media better. For this assignment, you should choose yourself or another person (such as a celebrity or a politician). Spend time looking through your/their social media accounts: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, etc. Then, write your analysis, being sure to cover these points:

Analysis of Social Media Accounts using Psychological Theories.

A good introduction, including who your subject is and a good overview of them and their social media use
Examples and discussion of schema/script theory in your subject
Examples and discussion of cultivation theory in your subject
Examples and discussion of agenda-setting theory in your subject
Examples and discussion of social learning in your subject
Examples and discussion of uses and gratifications theory in your subject