Date of Conferral

2019

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Psychology

Advisor

Kristen Beyer

Abstract

Social media is a critical and omnipresent component in Millennials' lives. Using social media can lead to significant social change for societies both online and offline. Social media can be used as a tool to combat domestic and foreign terrorism and to protect our society. Prosocial perceptions and behaviors exhibited on a social media platform can transcend online social culture and produce replicas of those behaviors in the real world. Research in social activism portrayed by Millennials via social media is limited, and research regarding social media use and counterterrorism behaviors of Millennials has not yet been attempted. The current quantitative study assessed social media and its potential use for counterterrorism behaviors by Millennials by establishing if there were correlations between Millennials' social media usage and the existence or potential of using social media for counterterrorism behaviors. Reliability, exploratory factor analyses, as well as linear and hierarchical regression analyses were performed on a sample of 178 participants to establish if social media usage is predictive for counterterrorism behaviors while assessing if any variance is attributed to moderating variables. Positive relationships were found between social media preferences, networking power, and preferences for social responsibilities and counterterrorism behaviors. The survey used a modified instrument to address counterterrorism type behaviors in connection to social media usage, due to the inexistence of such instrument insofar. The results of the study contribute to social change by providing information on how to detect and increase counterterrorism behaviors and attitudes through social learning via social media platforms.

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