Die fasilitering van deelnemende kommunikasie deur loveLife se Facebook-sosialemediaplatform

Abstract

In die dissipline van kommunikasie vir sosiale verandering word die deelnemende benadering tot kommunikasie as die normatiewe benadering beskou. Die benadering berus op die beginsels van deelname, dialoog en bemagtiging. Onderliggend hieraan is die aanname dat daar eerder van interpersoonlike as massamedia gebruik gemaak behoort te word om sosiale verandering te fasiliteer. Die ontwikkeling van Web 2.0 en gepaardgaande sosialemediaplatforms het egter die geleentheid vir media begin bied om meer interaktief te wees. Die implikasie hiervan is dat sosiale media moontlik gebruik kan word om deelname en dialoog met die oog op bemagtiging te kan fasiliteer. Die moontlikhede van deelname en dialoog wat deur sosiale media gebied word, skep aan deelnemers die geleentheid om beheer van hul eie ontwikkeling te neem. loveLife het aanvanklik 'n sterk eenrigting mediagesentreerde-benadering in sy veldtogte gevolg, maar gaandeweg is daar na 'n meer interpersoonlike aanslag beweeg. Sosiale media bied die geleentheid om die eienskappe van die media en interpersoonlike kommunikasie te kombineer ten einde sosiale verandering onder 'n groot groep mense te fasiliteer. Dit is teen hierdie agtergrond wat die algemene navorsingsvraag aan die orde kom: tot watter mate fasiliteer loveLife se Facebook-platform as sosiale medium deelnemende kommunikasie vir sosiale verandering? Die studie het 'n kwalitatiewe navorsingsbenadering gevolg. Deur middel van 'n semi-gestruktureerde onderhoud met loveLife se sosialemediabestuurder is eerstens bepaal wat die kommunikatiewe doel van loveLife se Facebook-blad is en tweedens wat loveLife se persepsies met betrekking tot Facebook is. Daar is bevind dat loveLife se kommunikasiedoelwit strook met die beginsels van die deelnemende benadering en dat hulle ook meen dat Facebook geleentheid bied vir deelname en dialoog wat tot bemagtiging kan lei. Laastens is daar deur middel van 'n kwalitatiewe inhoudsanalise ondersoek gedoen na die aard van boodskappe op loveLife se Facebook-blad vanaf November 2015 – Januarie 2016. Daar is vaagweg bevind dat loveLife wel deelname, dialoog en bemagtiging op hul Facebook-blad fasiliteer. Daar is tot die gevolgtrekking gekom dat loveLife kommunikasie vir sosiale verandering deur middel van Facebook fasiliteer. Within the discipline of communication for social change, the participatory approach to communication is viewed as the normative approach. This approach is based on the principles of participation, dialogue and empowerment. Underlying this approach is the fact that interpersonal media should be used instead of mass media to facilitate social change. However, the development of Web 2.0 and the concurrent social media platforms have started to offer media the opportunity to be more interactive. The implication is that social media can be used to facilitate participation and dialogue with the view on empowerment. The possibilities of participation and dialogue that social media offer provide participants with the opportunity to take control of their own development. loveLife used a strong one-way media-centred approach in their campaigns, when the organisation originated, but gradually started to move towards a more interpersonal approach. Social media provides the opportunity to combine the characteristics of media and interpersonal communication to facilitate social change amongst a large group of people. It is against this background that the general research question was raised: to what extent does loveLife's Facebook platform as social medium facilitate participatory communication for social change? This study made use of a qualitative research approach. By means of a semi-structured interview with the social media manager of loveLife, it was first determined what the communicative goal of loveLife's Facebook page is, and second, what loveLife's perceptions towards Facebook is. It was found that loveLife's communication goal was in line with the principles of the participatory approach, and that they were op the opinion that Facebook offered an opportunity for participation and dialogue which could lead to empowerment. Lastly, a qualitative content-analysis investigated the nature of messages on loveLife's Facebook page between November 2015 and January 2016. The results indicated that loveLife does indeed facilitate participation, dialogue and empowerment on their Facebook page. It was concluded that loveLife facilitates communication for social change through Facebook