The Importance of Genuineness in Public Engagement—An Exploratory Study of Pediatric Communication on Social Media in China

Abstract

There is a growing need for the public to interact with pediatricians through social media in China, and genuineness is a crucial factor contributing to effective communication, but few studies have examined the relationship between genuineness and its effect on public engagement. This study developed a four-dimension framework including self-disclosure, genuine response, functional interactivity, and genuineness in Chinese culture to investigate the effect of genuineness in the communication of Chinese social media influencers in pediatrics on public engagement. Content analysis was employed to examine these dimensions and the related public engagement in 300 social media posts on the largest microblogging site in China. The findings indicate that genuine response was positively associated with the number of comments and positive comments, while negatively related to the number of shares. Functional interactivity made the site more appealing, resulting in likes and shares. Genuineness in Chinese culture was reflected in engagement through sharing posts by the public. This study is the first to develop an integrated framework to measure genuineness in online health communication and contributes to the understanding of the effect of genuineness on Chinese public engagement in social media.

Padova Emotional Dataset of Facial Expressions (PEDFE): A unique dataset of genuine and posed emotional facial expressions

“…We can display different varieties of expressions: some intense and sustained, while others are subtle and fleeting (Ambadar et al, 2005 ). One of the most high-level and critical communication features is related to the perception of authenticity of the emotion expressed (Lu et al, 2020 ; Rooney et al, 2012 ). In fact, we can express emotions spontaneously, triggered by real circumstances (i.e., “event-elicited”) (Dawel et al, 2017 ).…”

“…For example, Johnston et al, ( 2010 ) showed how genuine (or spontaneous) smiles make perceivers more cooperative than posed smiles. In psychotherapy, therapists’ genuineness, authenticity, and honesty their credibility, which is essential for promoting therapeutic alliance and patients’ trust (Lu et al, 2020 ; Jung et al, 2015 ; Dowell and Berman, 2013 ; Schnellbacher & Leijssen, 2009 ). Furthermore, in movies, the perception of realism in the actor’s performance may promote a more emphatic mechanism and a more emotional contagion of the perceivers (Rooney et al, 2012 ).…”

Padova Emotional Dataset of Facial Expressions (PEDFE): a unique dataset of genuine and posed emotional facial expressions

“…We can display different varieties of expressions: some intense and sustained, while others are subtle and fleeting (Ambadar et al, 2005). One of the most high level and critical communication features is related to the perception of authenticity of the emotion expressed (Lu et al, 2020;Rooney et al, 2012). In fact, we can express emotions spontaneously, triggered by real circumstances (i.e., "eventelicited") [Dawel et al (2017).…”

“…For example, Johnston et al (2010) showed how genuine (or spontaneous) smiles make perceivers more cooperative than posed smiles. In psychotherapy, therapists' genuineness, authenticity, and honesty promote to enhance their credibility, which is essential for promoting therapeutic alliance and patients' trust (Dowell and Berman, 2013;Jung et al, 2015;Lu et al, 2020;Schnellbacher and Leijssen, 2009). Furthermore, in movies, the perception of realism in the actor's performance may promote a more emphatic mechanism and a more emotional contagion of the perceivers (Rooney et al, 2012).…”