Web3 teknolojileri günümüz dünyasında hızla gelişmesi sonucunda toplumsal yaşantımız üzerinde yıkıcı bir etki oluşturmaya başlamıştır. Gelecekteki iş gücü ortamlarında vazgeçilmez olacağı öngörülen bu teknolojilerden doğru şekilde faydalanabilmek için özellikle üniversite öğrencilerinin bugünden doğru bir farkındalık geliştirmeye ihtiyacı vardır. Bu bağlamda üniversite öğrencileri arasında Web3 teknolojileri farkındalığını artırmak için düzenlenen eğitimler önemli hale gelmiştir. Bu araştırmada Gazi Üniversitesinin öğrencilerine ücretsiz olarak sunduğu Web3 eğitiminin üniversite öğrencilerinin Web3 teknolojilerine yönelik farkındalıkları üzerindeki etkisini çeşitli değişkenler açısından ortaya koymak amaçlanmıştır. Betimsel bir tarama çalışması olan bu araştırmanın örneklemi 387 Gazi Üniversitesi öğrencisinden oluşmaktadır. Araştırma verileri Web3 Farkındalık (WEB3F) Ölçeği ile çevrim içi ortamda toplanmıştır. Elde edilen sonuçlara göre Web3 eğitimine katılan üniversite öğrencilerinin Web3 teknolojileri farkındalık düzeylerinin ortalamanın üzerinde olduğu, öğrencilerin farkındalık düzeylerinin sadece internet kullanım geçmişine göre anlamlı bir farklılık gösterdiği; cinsiyet, yaş, sınıf düzeyi, eğitim düzeyi, eğitim alanı ve günlük internet kullanım süresi faktörlerine göre anlamlı farklılık göstermediği belirlenmiştir.
The concept of symbolic capital, introduced by Pierre Bourdieu (1986), has been applied to explain the circulation of value between game communities and the industry. The bottom-up approach can be found in the studies of so-called “gaming capital” accumulated by gamers (Consalvo, 2009), while the top-down approach focuses on the agents who hold the most power in the gaming industry (Nichols, 2013). These perspectives may require reconfiguration today: since the end of the 2010s, traditional power relations have been contested by ‘decentralized’ gaming that uses blockchain technologies and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Their early adopters suggest that NFTs may disrupt traditional circulation of value to the benefit of players as opposed to major corporations. Many gamers, however, vehemently oppose NFTs in games. By combining these top-down and the bottom-up approaches, this article explains that the specific symbolic gaming capital remains systematically underappreciated in blockchain gaming, which operates along different vectors of power. To support my argument, I turn to the longest-running blockchain-based game CryptoKitties (Axiom Zen, 2017), and analyze the elements of the role-playing genre that appeared in the game during the collective process of continuous development. In the first case, these elements (‘fancies’) were added by the developers of the game, and in the second case, an RPG-like extension emerged as one of its fan spin-offs (KotoWars). I conclude that symbolic capital is community-specific in the case of blockchain gaming. It is only available to those who already possess considerable symbolic, and, much more importantly, financial capital within the crypto community.
BACKGROUND: Cryptocurrencies are a popular investment tool today. However, some studies highlight the investing behavior of cryptocurrencies similar to pathological gambling. Investing behavior becomes risky when it is not based on proper and adequate analysis and carries the possibility of big losses as well as big gains. For this reason, we aimed to determine the potential risky investor profile by age, gender, personality traits and impulsivity levels. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Six hundred and fifty-four cryptocurrencies investors (529 was male, 125 was female, their mean age was 35.6 ± 9.0) participated in this study between June 2022 - August 2022. Participants were administered the Sociodemographic Data Form, the South OAKS Gambling Screen Test - revised (SOGS-r), the Big Five Inventory (BFI-10), and Barratt Impulsiveness Scale-11 (BIS-11). RESULTS: We found higher neuroticism and impulsivity in possible problematic crypto investors. In addition, extraversion, agreeableness and conscientiousness scores were lower. Additionally, in our regression analyzes we found that younger age and male gender predicted SOGS-r scores. After controlling for age and gender, extraversion negatively and motor impulsivity positively predicted SOGS-r scores. DISCUSSION: Investing in cryptocurrencies can become a behavioral addiction, similar to pathological gambling. It is important to identify profiles in which investment behavior is risky. CONCLUSION: Personality traits and impulsivity may have a significant impact on identifying risky crypto investors and in the treatment process.
Our study builds on theories emphasizing connectivity for learning on social media to study learning networks on Twitter (e.g., Haythornthwaite, 2019;Siemens, 2005).Considering the nature of power law distribution on social media (Yoshida, 2021), we focus on a group of influencers from the Non-Fungible Token (NFT) community to uncover online learning networks and their emergent practices.By employing an exploratory Social Network Analysis (Nooraie et al., 2020) and qualitative analysis, we examine the way in which influencers form learning relations through conversational interactions and content, and the modalities and discursive strategies used in their tweets.We find that influencers built a strong learning network through sustained interactions and content relations among themselves and with a wide community outreach.This analysis contributes to the way that learning networks are analyzed and found on Twitter.
Abstract Play-to-earn (P2E) is a new form of monetised gaming based on blockchain and crypto-currency technology. Such games offer opportunities to combine gaming with speculative investment through the purchase of tradable in-game currencies and assets (non-fungible tokens). In this paper, we investigate the profile of people most likely to be attracted to this emerging form of gaming. A sample of 560 participants aged between 18-65 ( M = 28.3, SD = 8.3) were recruited via Prolific to complete an online survey that included measures of gaming ( Petry’s Internet Gaming Disorder Scale ) and gaming risk ( Problem Gambling Severity Index ), measures of gaming motivation and impulsivity. Other existing engagement in gaming monetization as well as digital asset ownership was also assessed. P2E interest was associated with higher gambling risk scores, but not with internet gaming disorder. P2E gamers also scored higher on extrinsic motivation and monetised gaming was generally associated with higher impulsivity. The results suggest that P2E may be attractive to those with a pre-existing interest in financially risky activities. Policy implications include the increasing need to monitor the growth of digital asset technology and the increasing convergence of gambling, financial speculation and gaming and the potential for increasing financial harm in gaming populations.
It is essential to continually assess and find new ways to recruit and retain participants for research studies. Cryptocurrency is growing in popularity and may be a novel way to incentivize research participants. 100 participants, 50 of whom already had a cryptocurrency wallet and 50 of whom did not have a cryptocurrency wallet, were recruited through Facebook ads and completed a survey that asked about their experience with cryptocurrency and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and potential interest in use of it for compensating research participants. The majority of respondents (79%) had some experience with cryptocurrency and 85% said they were comfortable trading cryptocurrency. Many participants had exchanged cryptocurrency within the past month (62%) and over their lifetime (70%). Respondents, however, were less familiar with NFTs, with only half having some experience with them. 18% of those without a cryptocurrency wallet and 42% of those with a cryptocurrency wallet chose to be compensated by cryptocurrency and NFT. Results suggest that, although cash and gift card incentives are preferred, there is an interest in cryptocurrency and NFTs. More studies will need to be done on a larger sample size and some of the challenges discussed (like cryptocurrency volatility) need to be addressed.
In this study, the proposed model of acceptance factors of cryptocurrencies was analyzed to recognize user behavioral intention by using; web quality, facilitating conditions, perceived risk, e-WOM, and perceived ease of use with the mediating role of the trust factor. An efficient and effective better arrangement of understanding this unique virtual delusion of the use of cryptocurrencies has become an essential part of the virtual world for each stakeholder. So many deliberations on the regulatory frameworks of cryptocurrencies have taken place among government regulators, financial advisors, tax consultants, politicians, thinkers, economists, and lawmakers, but there is inconclusive evidence on legislation in Pakistan.
We examine the influence of Twitter promotion on cryptocurrency pump-and-dump events. By analyzing abnormal returns, trading volume, and tweet activity, we uncover that Twitter effectively garners attention for pump-and-dump schemes, leading to notable effects on abnormal returns before the event. Our results indicate that investors relying on Twitter information exhibit delayed selling behavior during the post-dump phase, resulting in significant losses compared to other participants. These findings shed light on the pivotal role of Twitter promotion in cryptocurrency manipulation, offering valuable insights into participant behavior and market dynamics.
Jaizah Othman, Fandy Lim Md Daniel Lim, Raudhah Mohd Tarmizi, Shahrullizuannizam Salehuddin
This study's main objective and purpose is to investigate the social factors that influence cryptocurrency awareness among Generation Z in Malaysia. The practical implications of this study can be helpful for future policymakers to understand better the drive behind cryptocurrency awareness among the general population, i.e., young working adults in Malaysia. In addition, this study will assist future researchers in better identifying the importance of social acceptance, trust, and confidence factors. The research design is a quantitative study of the factors driving cryptocurrency awareness among Generation Z here in Malaysia based on social factors, specifically social acceptance, trust, and confidence. The methodology is based on primary data collection techniques such as using questionnaires and surveys implemented through a cross-sectional research design. Questionnaire data were collected from a sample of 211 participants in Malaysia, with the majority of participants between 18 and 25 years old. The results confirm that trust, confidence level, and social acceptance have a moderately positive and significant relationship with cryptocurrency awareness. This means that social factors such as trust, trust level, and social acceptance have an impact on the awareness of cryptocurrencies among Generation Z in Malaysia. However, since there are some limitations, suggestions and recommendations were discussed in this study.
People obtain knowledge from different sources, depending on the issues that they wish to analyze or resolve. In this paper, the authors examine the sources of knowledge on cryptocurrencies that can be useful for young people. The authors used a survey questionnaire to collect empirical data. The sample consisted of students from Polish universities representing the population that is particularly interested in new technologies and solutions emerging on the market, as exemplified by cryptocurrencies. The purpose of this paper is to find an answer to the main research question: What sources of knowledge about cryptocurrencies have students used? Two criteria were taken into account, namely the respondents’ gender and the location of the universities where they studied. The general results showed that students choose modern, preferably well-known sources of knowledge about cryptocurrencies such as popular information websites and social media as well as information provided by their family and friends. The gender analysis showed that the main differences concern the sources of knowledge on cryptocurrencies: popular information websites were chosen more often by men, whereas television and radio were used more frequently by females. Regarding the location of the university, our findings showed that the approach of students to sources of knowledge tends to be similar, regardless of whether they study in Warsaw or Katowice. A difference was found for only one variable, i.e., family and friends. Thus, family and friends were a source of knowledge that students from Warsaw used more frequently than those from Katowice. It may indicate that metropolitan students are more sociable or family-minded.
Michael Fröhlich, Franz Waltenberger, Ludwig Trotter, Florian Alt · 5 authors
We present a systematic literature review of cryptocurrency and blockchain research in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) published between 2014 and 2021. We aim to provide an overview of the field, consolidate existing knowledge, and chart paths for future research. Our analysis of 99 articles identifies six major themes: (1) the role of trust, (2) understanding motivation, risk, and perception of cryptocurrencies, (3) cryptocurrency wallets, (4) engaging users with blockchain, (5) using blockchain for application-specific use cases, and (6) support tools for blockchain. We discuss the focus of the existing research body and juxtapose it to the changing landscape of emerging blockchain technologies to highlight future research avenues for HCI and interaction design. With this review, we identify key aspects where interaction design is critical for the adoption of blockchain systems. Doing so, we provide a starting point for new scholars and designers and help them position future contributions.
Saher Zeast Hasan, Huma Ayub, Abida Ellahi, Mahnoor Saleem
The goal of this study is to find out what people think about cryptocurrencies and how they feel about it. The study used a questionnaire to assess the factors that influence people’s willingness to accept cryptocurrency. The study used a pretest, posttest quantitative analysis to determine the level of awareness among users in the first phase. In the second step, information regarding the conceptual framework was gathered using a survey approach. For the study, 350 university students were chosen as the sample size. Hypotheses about the significant effects of perceived benefits, perceived risks, perceived value, and structural provisions on behavioral intention to adopt cryptocurrency were accepted, while hypotheses about social effects, moderating effect of self-efficacy and personal innovativeness as well as the mediator attitudes towards using cryptocurrency, were not statistically proven. The tested model and resultant findings have brought many managerial and theoretical implications for enhancing the intention to adopt cryptocurrency.
In mid-July 2020, the social media site Twitter had over 100 of its most prominent user accounts start to tweet requests to send Bitcoin to specified Bitcoin wallets. The requests promised that the Bitcoin senders would receive their money back doubled, as a gesture of charity amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. The attack appears to have been carried out by a small group of hackers, leveraging social engineering to get access to internal Twitter support tools. These tools allowed the hackers to gain full control of the high-profile user accounts and post messages on their behalf. The attack provides many paths for investigation into the prevention, response, and impacts of cybersecurity breaches.
Les promesses d’usage du web3 mobilisent de nombreux acteurs, des communautés se créent, notamment celle qui s’auto-définit comme DéGen. Génération émergente, contre-culture, mouvement artistique ou nouvelle forme d’identité numérique, les DéGens échappent encore aux discours et catégories socio-anthropologiques. Les sciences de l’information et de la communication, la sociologie des médias et l’ethnographie numérique fournissent des méthodes et outils d’analyse des usages et des codes de ces individus représentatifs de l’hypermodernité et du web3. S’il est difficile, à ce stade, de savoir si le mouvement DéGens n’est qu’un épiphénomène transitoire ou un marqueur emblématique d’une évolution sociétale de fond, les efforts déployés par les DéGens pour construire des modes d’organisation adaptés à leurs pratiques hypermodernes justifient une étude approfondie du fonctionnement de cette communauté d’un nouveau type. Cette recherche vise à documenter et éclairer de manière transdisciplinaire, à travers l’apparition de ces nouveaux acteurs, des questions centrales sur les mutations en cours liées au web3, les changements de paradigmes économiques, sociologiques, axiologiques, identitaires. Ces pratiques numériques actent le hic et nunc d’un monde hybride, le numérique n’est plus le double d’une réalité tangible, il ne reproduit pas le monde, il en devient la matrice, il ouvre sur une vision post schopenhauerienne : d’un « monde comme volonté et représentation », dont il convient de décrypter le mode de développement.
Atte Oksanen, Eerik Mantere, Ilkka Vuorinen, Iina Savolainen
OBJECTIVES: Online platforms enable real-time trading activities that are similar to those of gambling. This study aimed to investigate the associations of traditional investing, real-time stock trading, and cryptocurrency trading with excessive behavior and mental health problems. STUDY DESIGN: This was a cross-sectional population-based survey. METHODS: The participants were Finnish people aged 18-75 years (N = 1530, 50.33% male). Survey asked about monthly regular investing, real-time stock-trading platform use, and cryptocurrency trading. The study had measures for excessive behavior: gambling (Problem Gambling Severity Index), gaming (Internet Gaming Disorder Test), internet use (Compulsive Internet Use Scale), and alcohol use (Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test). Psychological distress (Mental Health Inventory), perceived stress (Perceived Stress Scale), COVID-19 anxiety, and perceived loneliness were also measured. Background factors included sociodemographic variables, instant loan taking, and involvement in social media identity bubbles (Identity Bubble Reinforcement Scale). Multivariate analyses were conducted with regression analysis. RESULTS: Within the sample, 22.29% were categorized into monthly regular investors only, 3.01% were investors using real-time stock-trading platforms, and 3.59% were cryptomarket traders. Real-time stock-trading platform use and cryptocurrency trading were associated with younger age and male gender. Cryptomarket traders were more likely to have an immigrant background and have taken instant loans. Both real-time stock-trading platform use and cryptomarket trading were associated with higher excessive behavior. Cryptomarket traders especially reported higher excessive gambling, gaming, and internet use than others. Cryptomarket traders reported also higher psychological distress, perceived stress, and loneliness. CONCLUSIONS: Regular investing is not a risk factor for excessive behavior. However, rapid online trading platforms and applications were significantly more commonly used by participants reporting excessive behavior and mental health problems. The strong association between cryptomarket trading and excessive behavior in particular underlines the need to acknowledge the potential risks related to real-time trading platforms.
Hee Jin Kim, Ji Sun Hong, Hyunchan Hwang, Sun Mi Kim · 5 authors
Bitcoin has unique characteristics that have inspired people to invest in it as well as distinct drawbacks. With a rapid increase in Bitcoin prices in the short term, more investors enthusiastically began investing in it, raising concerns about a speculative bubble. This study investigated the multiple factors involved in the Bitcoin craze despite concerns about its shortcomings. In what concerns to personality traits and psychological states, online use patterns, and investment patterns, we first hypothesized that Bitcoin investors would show differences in multiple factors when compared to share investors. Based on our assumptions about these differences, we secondly hypothesized that investors’ personality, psychological states, and investment patterns could predict whether they would invest in Bitcoin or shares. In total, 307 respondents completed the research protocol and were sorted into Bitcoin investors (n = 101), share investors (n = 102), and non-investors (n = 104). A self-report questionnaire on demographic data, online use patterns, investment patterns as well as the Fear of Missing Out (FoMO) scale, Temperament and Character Inventory-Revised-Short (TCI-RS), Mood Disorder Questionnaire (MDQ), trait anxiety part of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-T), and the Korean version of the Canadian Problem Gambling Index (K-CPGI) were administered. The results of this study indicated that Bitcoin investments can be attributed to the interaction of multiple factors, among which personality, psychological states, and investment patterns are particularly important. Specifically, the investment pattern is the strongest predictive factor for Bitcoin investment. Bitcoin investors were distinct with regard to higher novelty seeking, higher gambling tendencies, and unique investment patterns. Thus, personality, psychological states, and investment patterns could explain the substantial investments in Bitcoin.
In the year that George Ritzer publishes the ninth edition of The McDonaldization of Society, moving his famous theory firmly Into the Digital Age, critical educator Petar Jandrić and sociologist Sarah Hayes invited George to a dialogue on the digital transformation of McDonaldization and its critical application to Higher Education. In this article, George first traces for us the origins of his theory that has endured for four decades. A key dimension of McDonaldization is the ‘iron cage’ of control, via rationalization. Once contained within physical sites of bricks and mortar, now, we encounter a ‘velvet cage’ in sites of digital consumption, at the hands of non-human technologies, that threaten human labor and autonomy. Whilst the concept of the McUniversity is not without some critique, this interview provides compelling reasons to open new dialogue about McDonaldization in augmented settings such as Higher Education. With the rise of prosuming machines such as blockchain and bitcoin, that can both produce and consume without intervention from human ‘prosumers’, universities cannot afford to ignore the challenges of prosumer capitalism, which George concludes, will explode into unprecedented and unpredictable directions in the years to come.
SteemIt is a Reddit-like social news site that pays members for posting and curating content. It uses micropayments backed by a tradeable currency, exploiting the Bitcoin cryptocurrency generation model to finance content provision in conjunction with advertising. If successful, this paradigm might change the way in which volunteer-based sites operate. This article investigates 925,092 new members’ first posts for insights into what drives financial success in the site. Initial blog posts on average received US$0.01, although the maximum accrued was US$20,680.83. Longer, more sentiment-rich or more positive comments with personal information received the greatest financial reward in contrast to more informational or topical content. Thus, there is a clear financial value in starting with a friendly introduction rather than immediately attempting to provide useful content, despite the latter being the ultimate site goal. Follow-up posts also tended to be more successful when more personal, suggesting that interpersonal communication rather than quality content provision has driven the site so far. It remains to be seen whether the model of small typical rewards and the possibility that a post might generate substantially more are enough to incentivise long-term participation or a greater focus on informational posts in the long term.
This paper is focused on the role of main social activities, as creating and sharing personal content. The reason is connected to the raise up, in last ten years, of User Generated Content as a system to allow people to be active on the Web3. In the first paragraph I analyze the Web-population through recent surveys, showing different ways to classify generations. I comment the Jenkins’ “convergence culture” [2006], the push and pull media definition of Negroponte [1995] and the difference between digital natives and digital immigrants [Prensky 2001]. The second paragraph deals with use and consumption of digital media between young and adults from the computer use to mobile-phone and portable gaming device. In particular the mobile-phone seems to be an important medium to be online in every place and every time: it allows people to take and share photos, video, text and so on. This brings us to the third paragraph where I discuss mobility and applications: following Anderson [2010] the desktop is replaced with the webtop or web-applications that do not require a browser to be used. This is particularly evident for recent mobile devices as iPhone and iPad. Convergence and mobility allow people to share content in every time: yet ten years ago people used to share digital information (file-sharing) as video, music and text, by illegal channels such as Napster, without knowing who uploaded that on the Web. The Web 1.0 phase was characterized by an “anonymous dimension”. Instead, the current Web allows people to share information about their own life, publishing on social media, freely, their own photo, video, text, with real name and surname (life-sharing). At the center of the Web is the “ego”, the user. In the fifth chapter I analyze three social media that are currently catching up people’s attention Facebook, YouTube, Twitter – and I try to explain how they make possible to users to share culture and frame of their life. At the end I spent some words about piracy and privacy issue that social media bring up.