How contributing positive real-time images of nature to a Facebook group influences city dwellers’ emotions concerning the environment
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Authors
Gehrig, Monica Colette Bruse
Issue Date
2019-06-20
Type
Language
Subject
City dwellers , Emotional contagion , Framing theory , Participatory engagement , Social networking sites , Visual communication
Alternative Title
Abstract
With an increasing number of people living in urban centres and reports emerging about the negative human impacts to the planet, this study explores how contributing to the Facebook group Life in Reel Time influenced city dwellers’ emotions concerning the natural environment. Life in Reel Time, active between November 2016 and November 2018, was a place where members could upload images of positive everyday experiences in nature. Using a blended approach of qualitative methodologies, case study and grounded theory, this study presents five members’ images and experiences in the group between November 2016 and November 2017. Participatory engagement, in this context, was defined as taking and uploading photos or videos as well as viewing the uploaded data in the Facebook group. The study found that participating in a group dedicated to positive environmental images produced positive emotions concerning the natural environment. The study also reports on nine themes that emerged from the image analysis and seven findings that emerged from the interview analysis.
Keywords: Social networking sites, Facebook, emotional contagion, participatory engagement, visual communication, framing theory, case study, grounded theory, city dwellers