Abstract Book of the 6th World Conference on Media and Communication
Year: 2025
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Reinforcing Spiral Model, Social Identity and Social Media Use: A Longitudinal Study of Radio Listeners’ Sentiment
Zacharenia-Maria Pilitsidou, Prof. Dr. Nikolaos Tsingilis
ABSTRACT:
This longitudinal study investigates the impact of radio stations’ social media use on listeners’ social identity cognitive and affective dimensions. Grounded in the Reinforcing Spiral Model (Slater, 2007) and Social Identity Theory (Tajfel, 1974), the research posits that engagement with a station’s social media content reinforces identity-related bonds with both the digital platform and the radio station itself. A sample of 156 social media followers of various radio stations in Greece completed identical questionnaires at two time points, separated by a three-month interval. The survey instrument measured cognitive (Haslam, 2004) and affective dimensions (Ellemers et al., 1999) of social identity separately for the radio station and its social media presence. Longitudinal data analysis was conducted using the R programming environment. Results indicate that a radio station’s social media activity not only strengthens the cognitive and affective dimensions of social identity toward its social media channels but also positively reinforces these same dimensions toward the radio station. These findings underscore the synergistic relationship between broadcasters’ social media strategies and the cultivation of listener loyalty and group identity. These results not only enrich the academic literature but also provide critical empirical evidence on the impact of social media strategies on listener sentiment.
Keywords: Reinforcing Spiral Model; longitudinal study; social media effects; Social Identity Theory