Entries by Luis M. Romero Rodríguez

Anticapitalist Dystopias in Streaming Serials

This article explains how the series Squid Game embodies an anticapitalist dystopia through a combination of aestheticized violence, allegorical storytelling, and mainstream appeal. According to the research by Carlos Fernández-Rodríguez and Luis M. Romero-Rodríguez, the success of this Korean series reflects a broader cultural fascination with cruelty and systemic critique in streaming content.

Streaming Audiences and Political Sentiments in Spain and Mexico

This article explains how streaming platforms influence the political efficacy, alienation, and cynicism of millennial and centennial viewers in Spain and Mexico. According to the research by Carlos Fernández-Rodríguez, Luis M. Romero-Rodríguez, and Belén Puebla-Martínez, these two Spanish-speaking nations rank among the top ten globally for streaming consumption.

Luis Miguel Romero: The Dilemma of Influencers and Brand Ambassadors

Influencers and brand ambassadors have become a very popular marketing tool in recent years. However, their improper use can lead to a number of risks, such as future reputation problems, inconsistent communication, and fraud.

Brands should be aware of these risks when choosing a digital prescriber. It is important that the influencer or brand ambassador is aligned with the brand’s personality and that their target audience is appropriate. It is also important to ensure that there is no fraud on social media

Fad Diets and Apomediation on YouTube: Public Health Risks

As a result of the confinements of the COVID-19 pandemic and the sedentary lifestyle due to teleworking, there is an increase in weight gain and dietary carelessness in the population, which leads to an increase in offers of fad diets based on recommendations made by digital influencers. The aim of the study was to examine the characteristics of dietary recommendation videos made by non-health professional prescribers in Spanish and English to understand what patterns are followed by the productions of this type of content and what effects they have on the interaction they receive. An exploratory walkthrough method analysis was applied to define the variables of a codebook, followed by a content analysis of a sample of 50 videos published between January 2020 and July 2021. Most of the videos are published in the first months of the year, probably aimed at users seeking to reduce the weight gained during Christmas. The productions were characterized by having a very personal tone, informative and with relatively plural information, sometimes addressing the risks of diets or slimming products, and, although recommendations abound, the voices of experts are not frequent. The products and diets addressed in the videos often have a high health risk and do not involve practices recommended by experts, so although sometimes their contraindications or associated risks are pointed out, the promotional component and the search for traffic to the channel seem to be more relevant factors than public health in these videos.

Disinformation in Spain: Patterns and Platforms

This research examines the patterns followed by disinformation in Spain through the fact-checking activities of Maldita.es, the leading fact-checking organization in Spain. We sought to answer three research questions: 1. What are the predominant topics of the hoaxes debunked by Maldita.es? 2. Who is responsible for the creation and dissemination of these hoaxes? and 3. In what formats and platforms are these hoaxes generally distributed? For this purpose, we conducted a quantitative content analysis of 729 hoaxes fact-checked in 2022 by Maldito Bulo. 40.7% of the debunked hoaxes were related to social issues, while 37.2% focused on political affairs. Regarding those responsible for the creation and dissemination, most of the hoaxes came from unidentified sources, although when the identity is known, the most frequent contributors are social media accounts, alternative and partisan pseudo-media, and journalists. These results explore the general disinformation scenario in Spain, using fact-checking as an approximation and discussing its implications.

Streaming, Woke Culture, and Political Efficacy in Youth

Millennials and centennials are two generations highly involved with social issues at a political and technological level. This interest has been raised in many of these individuals, some members of «woke» communities, a search for politically correct language both in networks and contemporary audiovisual fiction usually consumed on streaming platforms. This study aimed to analyze the psychosocial feeling of political efficacy millennials and centennials have as streaming platform users in Spain and Mexico to determine their predisposition and justification to prioritize their points of view in the face of content censorship and cancellation. The results reveal that centennials have a greater sense of efficacy than millennials, the latter being the most concerned about censorship and freedom of expression when receiving a story.

Streaming, Cruelty, and Truth: Youth Perspectives

The current audiovisual landscape via streaming is characterized by images loaded with aesthetics and violence. Therefore, the main objective of this study is to decipher the audience’s feelings about the violent and dystopian plots that saturate the current panorama of audiovisual entertainment through a survey aimed at millennials and centennials in Spain and Mexico, who are the viewers who consume the most streaming platforms of the two countries. The results show that viewers do not feel that these series, contrary to what it might seem, cause them sadness or low spirits, and, likewise, these viewers consume these products without having a specific idea of whether the audiovisual should show cruelty, historical accuracy or the vicissitudes of the world. In conclusion, this research provides a current map of the feelings of the OTT audience about the shocking, bloody, and visceral images that are so present in the routine of young audiences.

Teaching Load vs. Research Output in Mexican Universities

Researchers primarily dedicate their time to teaching in Latin American universities. For this reason, it is essential to determine how teaching time affects (or contributes to) the scientific productivity of researchers working under these conditions. We analyzed the incidence of gender, groups taught at undergraduate and graduate levels, the researcher proficiency level, and the number of thesis students advised, among others, for the impact on the scientific productivity (annual publications) of a group of professors. We analyzed the data using both statistical and regression methods. Contrary to our initial hypothesis, the number of groups taught does not significantly influence research productivity; it is affected by other factors such as belonging to the Mexican Researcher System (SNI) or having a researcher or administrative position at the institution. Our results can help guide the formulation of academic and research policies that contribute to the scientific productivity of Latin American universities.

UGC vs. Owned Media on Instagram: Who Wins?

In the current era of the attention economy, users find themselves in social networks over-saturated with advertising that tends not to catch the public’s attention or have great credibility. In this sense, brands are trying to get closer to their audiences by using non-invasive, user-generated storytelling strategies with a more natural and experience-focused message. This research aims to compare which narrative elements used by the official accounts of 5 Ibero-American nation brands on Instagram and by the users (UGC) of hashtags promoted from those official accounts generate greater organic interaction on that social network (likes and comments). With a correlational view, we seek to compare whether the promotion of countries generates greater interaction between those generated by owned media and by users (UGC). For this purpose, two analysis sheets were designed and validated to perform quantitative, descriptive, and correlational content analysis and were applied, on the one hand, to 5 official profiles of Ibero-American countries (Argentina, Ecuador, Mexico, Panama, and Venezuela) and on the other hand, using the hashtags promoted from these official accounts, the 100 posts of user-generated content (UGC) with greater relevance according to the platform were chosen. The main results show that Reels reach almost five times higher than any other type of posts in UGC accounts, while on the contrary, in corporate accounts, they are the types of content with the least interactions. Unlike what one might think, contests (giveaways) on official accounts generated fewer likes and social responsibility content, and posts featuring influencers and celebrities also failed to achieve significant interactions. Overall, official accounts generate the same amount of likes as UGC but significantly fewer comments. Brands only outperform UGC in likes in individual Photographs or Photo Rolls, while UCG outperforms brands in Reels for both metrics.