On the norm sensitivity of younger mobile phone users: Perceived social norms and phubbing in interactions between younger and older generations

Younger and older mobile phone users differ in their tolerance of phubbing, that is, using one’s phone in face-to-face interactions. Yet, there is limited knowledge of how phubbing norms influence phone use in intergenerational interactions. We conducted an online survey among younger (aged ≤ 41; n = 105) and older adults (n = 104), compared their generation-specific normative perceptions, and analyzed how these perceived norms were correlated with intergenerational phubbing. The results suggest a particular norm sensitivity of younger phone users, meaning that they not only had generation-specific normative perceptions, but that they also adapted their phone use to the older generation’s phubbing norms in interactions with them

Communication as the crucial link: Toward a multilevel approach to normative social influence

Social norms are informal rules within a group or society. Despite the consensus that social norms affect behavior, there is an inherent tension in the cross-disciplinary norms literature between the conceptualization of norms as individual and collective phenomena. The present paper capitalizes on the potential of communication as the link between different levels of social norms to develop an integrative approach to normative social influences. Concretely, it refers to the differentiation between perceived and collective norms, systematizes the current literature on the role of communication in social normative influences, and outlines how communication serves as functional link between the individual and collective level of norms. The resulting multilevel approach to normative social influences (MANSI) allows us to reflect on norms as dynamic phenomena that account for individual and social change. Ultimately, we discuss challenges and areas for further inquiry for the study of norms, and thereby derive recommendations for future research on multilevel normative social influences

Communication as the crucial link: Toward a multilevel approach to normative social influence

Social norms are informal rules within a group or society. Despite the consensus that social norms affect behavior, there is an inherent tension in the cross-disciplinary norms literature between the conceptualization of norms as individual and collective phenomena. The present paper capitalizes on the potential of communication as the link between different levels of social norms to develop an integrative approach to normative social influences. Concretely, it refers to the differentiation between perceived and collective norms, systematizes the current literature on the role of communication in social normative influences, and outlines how communication serves as functional link between the individual and collective level of norms. The resulting multilevel approach to normative social influences (MANSI) allows us to reflect on norms as dynamic phenomena that account for individual and social change. Ultimately, we discuss challenges and areas for further inquiry for the study of norms, and thereby derive recommendations for future research on multilevel normative social influences

Tracing-technology adoption during the COVID-19 pandemic: The multifaceted role of social norms

Tracing technology has been introduced as part of a broader COVID-19 containment strategy in many countries. However, little is yet known about the drivers and barriers to the adoption of tracing apps. Our theoretical framework integrates concepts from technology acceptance (i.e., perceived usefulness and ease of use), health protection (i.e., perceived threat), and social norms research (i.e., perceived norms). To understand the role of these perceptions in the decision process of people who hesitated to adopt the app (N = 327), we conducted a two-wave panel study after app release in Switzerland. We found that perceived usefulness and ease of use of the app, as well as perceived threat of COVID-19 were positively correlated with adoption intention, whereas perceived threat of data misuse was negatively correlated with it. Social norms played a multifaceted role: They were positively correlated with perceived usefulness of the app and adoption intention. Adoption intention, in turn, predicted app adoption 10 weeks later. We discuss theoretical and practical implications of these findings

Social Aspects of Health Communication – Towards a Research Agenda

Health and health-related behaviours are embedded in social contexts in various ways which comprise both risks and opportunities for health communication. We propose a research agenda on social aspects of health communication and introduce the articles of the present special issue. Owing to the complexity of individuals’ social contexts, the research agenda addresses questions lying at the individual, interpersonal, and societal levels. The issue’s articles cover different and highly relevant questions of this research agenda, ranging from stigmatisation to impression management to collective action and from experimental designs to qualitative interviews and netnography. In sum, the articles demonstrate not only the diversity but also the relevance of academic research on social aspects of health communication. We expect that this topic will continue gaining importance, given the ongoing digitalisation of the media environment and the increasing interconnectedness of producers and users, doctors and patients, and experts and laypersons

Everyday disconnection experiences: Exploring people’s understanding of digital well-being and management of digital media use

With the permeation of digital media into all spheres of life, individual-level efforts to manage information abundance and constant availability have become more common. To date, information on the prevalence of the motivations and strategies for such disconnection practices and how different sociodemographic groups experience digital disconnection is scarce. We surveyed a national sample of 1163 Swiss Internet users in November 2020. Thematic coding of open-text responses demonstrated people’s understandings of “balanced digital media use” as primarily concerned with subjectively appropriate amounts of use, purposeful use, social connections, non-addiction, and time for “real life.” Through principal components analysis, we provide a classification of the types of motivations people have for disconnecting and strategies people use to disconnect. Persistent age differences suggest that life-span approaches to studying digital disconnection are imperative. We formulate implications for disconnection research in the context of digital inequality and provide an outlook for evolving digital habits in future digital societies

Communication, Social Norms, and the Intention to Get Vaccinated Against Covid-19

Social norms are a promising factor for pandemic control, as they motivate people to engage in preventive behaviours. However, little is known about the influence of perceived social norms on the intention to get vaccinated against Covid-19 and the role of communication in shaping such normative perceptions. Moreover, despite the pandemic’s global scale, a cross-cultural perspective is scant in research on Covid-19 preventive behaviour. The present study examined the relationships between communication (i.e., attention to mass media and social media), social norms (i.e., perceived norms in the population and personal environment), and people’s intention to get vaccinated against Covid-19 using a cross-national survey in Singapore (N = 998) and Switzerland (N = 1,022). Multigroup structural equation modelling revealed that attention to mass media was positively correlated with perceived norms in both countries, whereas attention to social media was correlated with normative perceptions only in Singapore. Normative perceptions regarding the population and personal environment were positively correlated with vaccination intention in Singapore. However, in Switzerland, only perceived norms in the personal environment were positively related to vaccination intention. The results are discussed against the background of both countries’ media systems and cultural values (i.e., individualism/collectivism) and are instructive for norms-based interventions in times of crises

Conflicting Norms - How Norms of Disconnection and Availability Correlate With Digital Media Use Across Generations

Digital disconnection has emerged as a response to constant connectivity and the perceived harms to well-being that technology overuse may cause in a digital society. Despite the apparent conflict with expectations of constant availability, there has been limited research on the role of social norms in individuals’ regulation of their digital media use. The present study applied a nuanced conceptualization of social norms—by differentiating referent groups (i.e., family, friends, and everyday contacts) as well as injunctive and descriptive norms—and examined the associations of disconnection and availability norms with disconnection behavior across two generations of digital media users. Drawing on an online survey based on a stratified population sample ( N = 1163), we found perceptions of injunctive disconnection norms to differ across generations, with younger digital media users perceiving digital disconnection but also availability to be more important to their social environment. This conflict of contradictory norms was also reflected in an interactional effect on own disconnection behavior in this group, where positive correlations between disconnections norms and behavior were countered by availability norms. Overall, our findings demonstrate the social complexity of the individual decision to (dis)connect and, on the societal level, that social norms of disconnection are in transition with disconnection behavior becoming and being perceived as more and more important

‚That’s Not Appropriate!‘ Examining Social Norms as Predictors of Negative Campaigning

The use of negative campaigning is often explained by rational considerations; the more perceived benefits exceed perceived costs, the more likely candidates are to attack their political opponents. However, this benefit-cost ratio explains campaign behavior only to some extent. In this study, we test social norms as additional drivers of a candidate’s attack behavior. Social norms are informal rules that guide the behavior of members of a group. Descriptive norms—the perceived prevalence of a behavior—indicate an effective action. Injunctive norms—the perception of others’ approval of a behavior—indicate appropriate behavior. In a preregistered postelection survey among candidates of the six major parties in five German state elections (N = 1.087), we examine how perceived descriptive and injunctive norms of candidates of other parties, members of a candidate’s own party, and voters affect the decision to go negative in addition to the benefit-cost-ratio. The results show that the perceived descriptive norms among the members of a candidate’s own party (i.e., the perceived extent to which they use negative campaigning) and the perceived injunctive norms of a candidate’s voters (i.e., their perceived approval of negative campaigning) substantially affect a candidate’s attack behavior. No impact was observed for the perceived social norms of candidates from other parties