Investigation of Social Media Literacy Skills In The Context of Advertising Credibility And Attitude Towards Advertising

Year 2023, Volume: 10 Issue: 19, 332 - 349, 29.12.2023

Betül Çepni Şener , Engin Coşkun

https://doi.org/10.56133/intermedia.1354581

Abstract

The simplest use of the term literacy is that it means a person’s ability to read, comprehend and interpret the written word. However, this definition remains quite simple and shallow when today’s media is considered. Today, with the transfer of messages to electronic media, the process of message transfer through printed material has changed. Therefore, the understanding of literacy is now divided into many subcategories such as visual literacy (the ability to process flat two-dimensional pictures or our three-dimensional world), story literacy, film literacy to understand television or movie plots, computer literacy (the ability to save one’s own messages, send messages to others electronically, search for messages, and understand and process messages on electronic screens), social media literacy, advertising literacy, and skills literacy (Potter, 2016, p. 56).
Media literacy has emerged as a part of the concept of mass culture as a result of the emergence of mass media. In this context, media literacy is defined as the ability to understand and use any form of mediated communication effectively and efficiently (Baran, 2011, p.18). The media literacy skill, which is built on a certain level of skill in the mass communication process, is basically not concerned with simple skills such as turning on a computer or switching to a channel on television. It is quite difficult to conceptualize literacy in the context of social media. Because unlike traditional media use, social media use involves social interactions between users and content creation (Livingstone, 2014; Vanwynsberghe, Vanderlinde, Georges & Verdegem 2014, s. 284).
Vanwynsberghe et al. (2014, p. 284) define social media literacy as “not only the practical and cognitive competencies that social media users possess, but also the motivation to use these media effectively and appropriately for social interaction and communication on the web”.
Social media literacy skills have been investigated by many researchers and this issue is becoming increasingly important as the media is based on interaction and carries some features from life, as well as the existence of technical usage skills. At the same time, the questioning of whether social media content is real or unreal gains importance in this regard. Considering the presence of advertisements in social media in the context of persuasive communication, it is thought that evaluating them in terms of trust in advertisements and attitudes towards advertisements within the scope of social media literacy will contribute to social media literacy skills.
When the concept of credibility in terms of advertising is evaluated; it is known that the purposes of advertising are to inform consumers about the advertised product, service or idea and then to ensure that they buy it. With the knowledge of these objectives by consumers, it is natural that consumers reflexively tend to distrust the advertisement. Therefore, in order for the advertisement to fulfill its purposes and fulfill its functions, consumers need to trust the advertisement.
Social media environments are among the advertising channels that have a very popular use in today’s media. With the increasing number and diversification of social media environments day by day and the fact that social media contains many different information, consumer attitudes towards advertising can differentiate both towards the information contained in social media and towards advertisements in social media. Many factors can be found on the basis of this differentiation. In particular, there may be a distinction according to the social media literacy skill levels of consumers in terms of advertising credibility and attitudes towards advertisements on social media. Therefore, in the context of contributing to social media advertising research, it is important to determine the social media literacy skill levels of consumers and to reveal the effect of literacy skills on advertising credibility and attitude towards advertising.
In this context, the aim of this study is to examine the effect of consumers’ social media literacy skills on advertising credibility and attitude towards advertising. Therefore, this study is important for social media literacy to be a guide for both social media users and advertising practitioners and to better understand the concept of social media literacy that has emerged in recent years and to reveal its effects. From this point of view, the study seeks to answer the questions “Do social media literacy skills affect advertising credibility?” and...

Keywords

Social Media, Social Media Literacy, Social Media Advertisements, Advertising Credibility, Attitude Towards Advertising.

REKLAM GÜVENİRLİĞİ VE REKLAMA YÖNELİK TUTUM BAĞLAMINDA SOSYAL MEDYA OKURYAZARLIK BECERİLERİNİN İNCELENMESİ

Abstract

Günümüzde sosyal medya belirli bir teknoloji hizmeti olmanın ötesinde insanların yaşamlarının büyük bir bölümünü geçirdiği dijital yerlerdir. Bu bağlamda ele alındığında insanların kullanıcı olarak sosyal medya platformlarında ne yaptıklarını ve bu ortamları ne kadar bilinçli bir şekilde değerlendirdikleri oldukça önem taşımaktadır. Bugüne kadar çoğunlukla bilgi paylaşımı için kullanılan sosyal medya platformları artık pazarlama ve reklam aracı olarak da işletmeler tarafından sıklıkla kullanılmaktadır ve işletmeler söz konusu platformları genellikle de çevrimiçi ağızdan ağıza (E-WOM) iletişimi tanıtım faaliyetlerinin bir formu olarak görmektedir. Dolayısıyla sosyal medya içeriklerinin kullanıcılar tarafından nasıl okunduğu ve kullanıldığı, biliş düzeyleri reklam uygulayıcıları için önem arz etmektedir. Kullanıcılar olarak tüketiciler tarafından dijital temelli sosyal medya platformlarına yaklaşım şekilleri onların bu platformlarda yapılan reklamlara olan güvenleri ve tutumları üzerinde etkilidir gerçeği yadsınamaz. Bu araştırmada sosyal medya okuryazarlığı becerilerinin reklam güvenirliği ve reklama yönelik tutum üzerindeki etki düzeyi irdelenecektir. Bu bağlamda araştırmada nicel araştırma yöntemi benimsenmiş olup nicel yöntemin alt kategorilerinden biri olan tarama araştırması modeline başvurulmuştur. Araştırma bulguları sosyal medya okuryazarlığının alt boyutları olan gizlilik ve algoritmik farkındalığın ve teknik yeterliliğin reklam güvenirliğini; reklama yönelik tutum üzerinde ise gizlilik ve algoritmik farkındalığın etkili olduğunu ortaya koymaktadır. Dolayısıyla reklam uygulayıcılarına, sosyal medya platformlarında gizlilik ile ilgili seçenekleri kullanıcıların algılayacağı şekilde düzenlemeleri, bu konuda açıklayıcı ve şeffaf olmaları önerilmektedir.

Keywords

Sosyal Medya, Sosyal Medya Okuryazarlığı, Sosyal Medya Reklamları, Reklam Güvenirliği, Reklama Yönelik Tutum.

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