publications

2024

1. NMS

   Biophilia gratification: Evidence from nature-related posts and images on social media

   Yu-Leung Ng^†, and Zhihuai Lin^†

   New Media & Society, 2024

   Abs DOI Bib HTML

   People use social media to gratify various needs, one of which is the need to affiliate with mediated nature. By combining the uses and gratifications approach and the biophilia hypothesis, this study coins this gratification as biophilia gratification. We computationally analyzed three million Facebook posts to test whether user reactions (likes, shares, loves, and cares) reflect biophilia gratification derived from human-created nature on social media, that is, mediated nature. Ten percent of posts that are image-based (approximately 170,000) were also randomly selected and analyzed. The results showed that social media users were more likely to react to most posts (particularly image-based posts) of mediated nature compared with nonmediated nature posts. These findings may imply that user reactions on social media may serve as indicators of biophilia gratification fulfilled through engagement with mediated nature.

   @article{NMS2024,
     title = {Biophilia gratification: Evidence from nature-related posts and images on social media},
     author = {Ng, Yu-Leung and Lin, Zhihuai},
     journal = {New Media & Society},
     year = {2024},
     publisher = {Sage},
     doi = {10.1177/14614448241303776},
     url = {https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448241303776},
   }

2. IJHCI

   Unraveling Gratifications, Concerns, and Acceptance of Generative Artificial Intelligence

   Zhihuai Lin, and Yu-Leung Ng

   International Journal of Human–Computer Interaction, 2024

   Abs DOI Bib HTML

   Despite the burgeoning interest in generative artificial intelligence (AI), specifically ChatGPT, little is known about the underlying user motivations and concerns that may shape technology acceptance indicators, such as post popularity and engagement on online platforms. Guided by the uses and gratifications and technology acceptance approaches, this study utilizes ecologically valid social media data to unearth user-driven topics and themes on Reddit. We extracted six key themes: utilitarian, hedonic, and social gratifications, creativity enhancement, and technical and societal concerns. Our results showed that specific topics of gratifications and concerns predicted post scores and comments in different patterns. Our findings could offer guidance for developers and policymakers, underlining the necessity for user-centric and ethically informed generative AI systems that address technological prowess and societal implications.

   @article{IJHCI2024,
     title = {Unraveling Gratifications, Concerns, and Acceptance of Generative Artificial Intelligence},
     author = {Lin, Zhihuai and Ng, Yu-Leung},
     journal = {International Journal of Human–Computer Interaction},
     year = {2024},
     publisher = {Taylor & Francis},
     doi = {10.1080/10447318.2024.2436749},
     url = {https://doi.org/10.1080/10447318.2024.2436749},
   }

3. JOHC

   Opinion Leadership and Sharing Positive and Negative Information About Vaccines on Social Media: A Mixed-Methods Approach

   Xiaohui Wang, Zhihuai Lin, Jingyuan Shi, and 1 more author

   Journal of Health Communication, 2024

   Abs DOI Bib HTML

   In our research, we examined how three dimensions of opinion leadership—connectivity, maven, and persuasiveness—are associated with sharing positive and negative information about vaccines among parents in Hong Kong through a mixed-methods approach. In two studies, we assessed opinion leadership following a sociometric approach that involved using data from social media (Study 1) and a self-assessment using survey data (Study 2), which yielded largely consistent results. In particular, whereas connectivity and maven were significantly associated with sharing positive information about vaccines, all three dimensions were significantly associated with sharing negative information about vaccines. Those findings suggest that different dimensions of opinion leadership play different roles in information sharing depending on the information’s valence. Moreover, the similar pattern of findings from both studies suggested that the sociometric approach and self-assessment may capture the multidimensional nature of opinion leadership equally well. In sum, the findings advance theoretical discussions on the role of opinion leadership in information sharing and offer practical insights into promoting vaccination for children among parents.

   @article{JOHC2024,
     title = {Opinion Leadership and Sharing Positive and Negative Information About Vaccines on Social Media: A Mixed-Methods Approach},
     author = {Wang, Xiaohui and Lin, Zhihuai and Shi, Jingyuan and Sun, Ye},
     journal = {Journal of Health Communication},
     volume = {29},
     number = {19},
     year = {2024},
     publisher = {Taylor & Francis},
     doi = {10.1080/10810730.2024.2426810},
     url = {https://doi.org/10.1080/10810730.2024.2426810},
   }

4. SEE

   Between Technological Utopia and Dystopia: Online Expression of Compulsory Use of Surveillance Technology

   Yu-Leung Ng^†, and Zhihuai Lin^†

   Science and Engineering Ethics, 2024

   Abs DOI Bib HTML

   

   This study investigated people’s ethical concerns of surveillance technology. By adopting the spectrum of technological utopian and dystopian narratives, how people perceive a society constructed through the compulsory use of surveillance technology was explored. This study empirically examined the anonymous online expression of attitudes toward the society-wide, compulsory adoption of a contact tracing app that affected almost every aspect of all people’s everyday lives at a societal level. By applying the structural topic modeling approach to analyze comments on four Hong Kong anonymous discussion forums, topics concerning the technological utopian, dystopian, and pragmatic views on the surveillance app were discovered. The findings showed that people with a technological utopian view on this app believed that the implementation of compulsory app use can facilitate social good and maintain social order. In contrast, individuals who had a technological dystopian view expressed privacy concerns and distrust of this surveillance technology. Techno-pragmatists took a balanced approach and evaluated its implementation practically.

   @article{SEE2024,
     title = {Between Technological Utopia and Dystopia: Online Expression of Compulsory Use of Surveillance Technology},
     author = {Ng, Yu-Leung and Lin, Zhihuai},
     journal = {Science and Engineering Ethics},
     volume = {30},
     pages = {693-701},
     year = {2024},
     publisher = {Springer},
     doi = {10.1007/s11948-024-00483-3},
     url = {https://doi.org/10.1007/s11948-024-00483-3},
     dimensions = {true},
   }

2022

1. CHB

   Exploring conversation topics in conversational artificial intelligence–based social mediated communities of practice

   Yu-Leung Ng^†, and Zhihuai Lin^†

   Computers in Human Behavior, 2022

   Abs DOI Bib HTML

   

   This study utilized ecologically valid social media data to identify motivations and relevant topics regarding the interaction with conversational artificial intelligence (AI) in a natural setting through investigating user conversations on Reddit, a social mediated community of practice. By applying the latent Dirichlet allocation approach, this study extracted conversation topics in six subreddit communities among users of AI–powered virtual assistants (Apple Siri, Amazon Alexa, and Google Assistant) and the corresponding smart speakers (Apple HomePod, Amazon Echo, and Google Home), and investigated changes in the conversation topics over time. Findings showed six themes of conversation topics, i.e., functional gratification, hedonic gratification, social gratification, settings, problems encountered, and connections between devices. A large volatility of the conversation topics over time was found. The results implied that members in subreddit communities share their motivations for interacting with conversational AI and collaboratively discuss the relevant issues and problem solving to learn how to practice better.

   @article{ComputHumanBehav2022,
     title = {Exploring conversation topics in conversational artificial intelligence–based social mediated communities of practice},
     author = {Ng, Yu-Leung and Lin, Zhihuai},
     journal = {Computers in Human Behavior},
     volume = {134},
     pages = {107326},
     year = {2022},
     publisher = {Pergamon},
     doi = {10.1016/j.chb.2022.107326},
     url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2022.107326},
     dimensions = {true},
   }

2024

1. ICA24

   Why Are Users Drawn to ChatGPT? Unraveling the Motivations, Concerns, and Acceptance of Generative Artificial Intelligence

   Zhihuai Lin

   74th Annual International Communication Association Conference, 2024
2. ICA24

   Exploring the Impact of Media Use on Trust in Chinese Government: The Mediating Role of Authoritarian Personality

   Zhihuai Lin

   74th Annual International Communication Association Conference, 2024
3. ICA24

   Biophilia Gratification: Evidence from Nature-related Posts and Images on Social Media

   Yu-Leung Ng, and Zhihuai Lin

   74th Annual International Communication Association Conference, 2024
4. EMCSDG24

   Perceived Self-Efficacy, Governmental Paternalism, and Trust in Government: Navigating the Credibility of Government Debunking Efforts in China

   Zhihuai Lin

   Emerging Media for Communicating SDGs Conference, 2024

2023

1. ICA23

   The “Othered” Africa: African Narratives Construction by Chinese Self-Media

   Zhihuai Lin

   73rd Annual International Communication Association Conference, 2023
2. ICA23

   Anonymous Online Expression of Society-wide, Compulsory Contact Tracing App Use: A Structural Topic Modeling Approach

   Yu-Leung Ng, and Zhihuai Lin

   73rd Annual International Communication Association Conference, 2023
3. ICA23

   How Dynamic Patterns Help? A Cumulative Logic for Improving Tokenization Data Pre-processing of Online User-generated Content

   Yin Zhang, Zhihuai Lin, Castiel Tong, and 1 more author

   73rd Annual International Communication Association Conference, 2023

2022

1. ICA22

   Exploring Conversation Topics in Conversational Artificial IntelligenceBased Communities of Practice: A Latent Dirichlet Allocation Approach

   Yu-Leung Ng, and Zhihuai Lin

   72nd Annual International Communication Association Conference, 2022