Billions of people across the world use social media. Because a large portion of those users are college students between the ages of 20 and 22, this study sought to explore social media's effects on a female college student’s body image. The study’s research questions are: How does social media affect female college students’ feelings about their physical selves, and do such effects differ across platforms? Interview data are analyzed based on theories of social comparison, normative influence, narrative-induced transportation, media richness, and social presence. Results reveal that social media affects female college students' perceptions of physical images, and overall this effect is more often negative than positive. Also, Instagram offered a more perfectionist visual culture than Facebook and Twitter.

Social media has changed the way communities consume their news and while much research has been done on how news organizations have adapted to this phenomenon, not all aspects of social media use for news have been studied. This study analyzes the use of Facebook Live videos in four local Phoenix news stations for the purpose of providing news to the audiences. This thesis is an analysis of 56 videos, 14 videos from each of the four news stations that specifically examined how local newsrooms use Facebook Lives to engage audiences when they are off the air and how they inform the community. Findings provide insight on views, shares, and reactions from each newsroom as well as common themes seen throughout the content.
Key words: Social media, Facebook Live, audience engagement, critical information needs, local news