This article proposes a theoretical approach that highlights the role of identity in information exposure and processing. This Identity Driven Information Ecosystem (IDIE) approach is premised on the idea that everyone's information ecosystem varies, shaped by who they are, where they live, and who they interact with. Identities play a crucial role in determining the sites of communication that individuals use and engage with, and as a result, there are systematic differences in where people get information, what information they see, and how they react to it. This article lays out an argument for how identity is associated with the information we are exposed to, select, believe, and share; and it argues that identity, technology, affordances, and structures interact to shape our information ecosystems. The article concludes with a case study of the COVID-19 pandemic as an illustration of applying the IDIE approach to understand individual-level variation in information ecosystems.

This study explores the types of corporate social responsibility (CSR) messages communicated on social media during the outbreak of COVID-19 in the United States and its corresponding effects in driving consumer engagement and related psychological responses. Two studies were conducted. In Study 1, we analyzed corporations' social media posts. We identified and compared four different CSR message types (i.e., employee-relevant CSR, community-relevant CSR, promotional CSR, and company statement) in their effects on consumers' behavioral engagement. In Study 2, we conducted an online experiment to extend the findings of Study 1 further. Study 1 revealed that employee-relevant CSR received the highest consumer behavioral engagement among all types of CSR messages. Study 2 revealed a mediation effect of consumers' engagement intention between the CSR message types and consumers' brand attitudes and trust. In addition, community-relevant CSR and company statements received higher evaluations of brand attitude and brand trust.

We examine the work that U.S. young adults undertake to design and maintain their personal media worlds across digital platforms, and the consequences of those practices for news use. Drawing on 50 in-depth interviews with 18-34-year-olds, including a shared reading of participants' most-used social media platforms, we develop the concept of personal platform architecture and articulate links between this architectural work and other forms of digital labor. We illustrate the types of labor young platforms users engage in as they construct and curate across multiple "public" and "private" spaces online, with an emphasis on architectural labor that leads away from encounters with news.

The decline in the number and quality of local news media has led to digital platforms becoming more central in circulating local information, affecting what information and issues are accessible to community residents. We demonstrate this by focusing on health disparities related to COVID-19, examining how both news and non-news civic organizations in six Great Lakes communities addressed pandemic-related racial inequities. Our analysis of interviews and a corpus of Facebook posts suggest that (1) very little discussion of health disparities emerged on Facebook from organizations in these communities, and (2) the majority of this content was produced by local news outlets. This article offers a vision of what local content might look like in the absence of robust local news outlets and highlights potential consequences of local civic information infrastructure with digital platforms playing a central role.

Gen Zers around the world have grown up and come of age in a period rife with the implications of climate change, heightened right-wing extremism, threats to democracy, and rising inflation. Gen Z has also been characterized by an enhanced awareness of mental health care and body positivity, LGBTQIA+ and the spectrum of gender identity, as well as racial justice, diversity, equity and inclusion. Our previous chapter (Chapter 11) on youth political engagement focused on digital media’s role in shaping engagement modes. In this chapter, we first explore shifts in the basis for civic identity for many young people beginning with the role of socio-economic status and affinity groups. Then we draw attention to skills, online practices, and the definition of political engagement. Lastly, we discuss what these changes imply for the study of political socialization and the practice of civic education.

In the US and much of the developed world, Gen Z faces significant challenges such as climate change, racial inequality, and economic precarity. Though this emerging generation faces significant challenges, digital media is invaluable for engaging with public life. In this chapter, we will focus on changing civic identities of citizens in industrialized democracies and digital media’s role in shaping engagement modes. First, we touch on news consumption, followed by the practices and patterns emerging as formal political campaigns attempt to reach young people through digital media. Second, we will highlight how content creation and interaction in digital media enables, for some young citizens, a form of cultural engagement that pushes the boundaries of the political. This chapter provides a base for additional discussion on Gen Z and civic engagement, the role of socio-economic status and social identity, online practices, socialization, and civic education in Chapter 12.

(2021). Building Brand Authenticity on Social Media: The Impact of Instagram Ad Model Genuineness and Trustworthiness on Perceived Brand Authenticity and Consumer Responses. Journal of Interactive Advertising: Vol. 21, No. 1, pp. 34-48.

Purpose This study aims to understand the effects of brands’ transparent communication (i.e. production transparency and cost transparency) on consumers’ perceptions of a brand’s perceived transparency and authenticity, as well as how such perceptions impact consumers’ attitude, trust and behavioral intentions. Design/methodology/approach Two between-participants factorial design experiments (n = 176 for Study 1 and n = 169 for Study 2) were conducted to examine consumers’ responses to a brand’s cost transparency and production transparency. Findings The results revealed that transparency in the focal brand’s communication of production and cost would increase consumers’ perceptions of the brand’s transparency and authenticity because of its perceived information sensitivity. Such positive effects were found to similarly impact consumers’ attitude, trust and behavioral intention toward the brand. Practical implications The results point to the importance of brand transparency in marketing communication, specifically as it pertains to the influence that the inclusion of transparent cost and production information can have on consumers’ perceptions of authenticity, trust and attitude, as well as how these perceptions translate into behavioral intention. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is among the first to explore the differences between production transparency and cost transparency in influencing consumer responses and the underlying mechanisms. The findings also expand to the literature on brand transparency and brand authenticity.