CRRU Journal of Communication

The Role of Social Media and Eco-consciousness in Driving Word-of-Mouth for Eco-Friendly Packaging

2026-06-05T17:58:58+07:00

This study aims to (1) examine the influence of social media, eco-consciousness, and green perceived value on word-of-mouth (WOM) for eco-friendly packaging, and (2) investigate the mediating role of green perceived value between social media and WOM for eco-friendly packaging. Data were collected from consumers who had prior experience purchasing eco-friendly food packaging in the upper northern region of Thailand. A non-probability sampling approach was employed using accidental sampling. Data were collected using an online questionnaire and analyzed through descriptive statistics and structural equation modeling (SEM). The findings show that the proposed WOM model demonstrates a good fit with the empirical data. Social media exerted a positive influence both directly on WOM (β = 0.158) and on green perceived value (β = 0.251). Eco-consciousness had a positive influence on green perceived value (β = 0.554), while green perceived value positively influenced WOM (β = 0.576) and emerged as the most influential factor in driving WOM (Total Effect = 0.576), followed by eco-consciousness (Total Effect = 0.319) and social media (Total Effect = 0.303), respectively. Together, the three factors accounted for 42.60% of the variance in WOM (R² = 0.426). Furthermore, green perceived value acted as a partial mediator between social media and WOM for eco-friendly packaging.

A Comparative Study of Generation X Y Z and Their Utilization of Digital Media for Communication

2026-03-20T11:47:42+07:00

This study aimed to: (1) examine the utilization of digital media for communication among Generation X, Y, and Z, and (2) compare differences across these generations. The study focused on people from Generation X, Y, and Z residing in Chiang Mai Province, Thailand. A mixed-methods approach was employed, combining quantitative data from 400 respondents and qualitative data from in-depth interviews with 30 participants.

The findings reveal that although overall digital media use for communication is at a high level across all generations, each generation demonstrates distinct and concrete usage patterns: Generation X primarily uses digital media for health-related communication, such as accessing reliable health information and self-care guidance, followed by communication with family and relatives. Generation Y mainly uses digital media for entertainment, while also integrating it into work-related communication and social networking activities. Generation Z predominantly uses digital media for education and work-related communication, including real-time interaction, collaborative learning, and expanding social networks. Furthermore, statistically significant differences were found among the three generations in areas such as business/educational communication, online shopping, social networking, entertainment, health communication, and information seeking. However, no significant differences were found in communication with family and relatives.

Elements of Natural Disaster Communication, and Communicational Guidelines for Risk Management and Disaster Response

2026-05-14T17:49:50+07:00

Thailand is facing increasingly severe disasters, including floods, storms, landslides, wildfires, and earthquakes, which cause damage to lives, property, and economic sectors. Developing and improving natural disaster communication strategies is therefore a key strategy for preparedness and loss reduction. This article aims to analyze the components of natural disaster communication and synthesize communication guidelines for risk management and disaster response. A systematic literature review was used to collect and synthesize data from 139 academic and research articles published in international academic journals indexed in the SCOPUS database between 2015 and 2025. The literature review analyzed the components of disaster communication that require holistic integration, which are categorized into four main components: 1) sources; 2) receiver; 3) the content format and quality; 4) communication channels and technology; and 5) communicational context. The article also provides a crucial perspective on natural disaster communication as a dynamic and holistic process, particularly emphasizing the linkage of scientific and technological knowledge with socio-cultural and subjective dimensions, such as affective experience. This approach aims to foster a strong socio-technological networks for effective communication, thereby promoting community resilience, preparedness, recovery, and sustainable adaptation.

Fandom as Cultural, Economic, and Political Power in Digital Society

2026-06-22T10:09:20+07:00

This academic article analyzes fan culture or fandom as a form of cultural, economic, and political power in digital society. It employs conceptual analysis and documentary research, drawing on scholarship in fan studies, participatory culture, platform economy, and networked politics. The article argues that fandom should not be understood merely as an audience category, a mode of consumption, or a community of popular culture enthusiasts. Rather, fandom functions as a social space in which fans collectively produce meaning, form shared identities, generate platform visibility, and connect cultural attachment with economic and political issues.

The article proposes a four-dimensional analytical framework of fandom: fan as creator, fan as cultural community, fan as economic power, and fan as political citizen. Synthesizing fan studies, participatory culture, platform economy, and networked politics, the article argues that fans in digital society are not only active audiences but also platform-governed participants who produce meaning, data, visibility, and economic value. At the same time, fandom can extend into political spaces through memes, hashtags, short videos, symbols, and shared emotions. This is evident in the Thai context, where K-pop fandom, Thai Boys’ Love fandom, sports fandom, and political fandom such as “Orange Fandom” demonstrate the intersection of popular culture, platforms, affect, and political participation.

The article concludes that fandom in digital society is inherently contradictory. On the one hand, it provides a space for creativity, collective identity, community formation, and participation. On the other hand, fan activities may be transformed into free labor, data, visibility, and economic value within platform systems. Fandom may also be designed, directed, or intensified by media industries and algorithmic logics, potentially contributing to polarization, echo chambers, and affective forms of politics. The originality of the article lies in its integrated framework that connects cultural power, platform economy, and digital politics in the analysis of fandom.

Thai Mass Media and the Reflection of Thai Social Values and Beliefs

2026-06-19T15:42:47+07:00

This academic article aims to examine and explain the role of Thai mass media in reflecting, reproducing, and shaping the thoughts, beliefs, values, and ideologies of Thai society. The analysis is guided by the theoretical frameworks of the Social Construction of Reality, Cultivation Theory, and Media Ideology. The synthesis reveals that Thai mass media function not only as channels for disseminating information and entertainment but also as significant mechanisms for reproducing and reinforcing cultural beliefs and values, including beliefs in karma and merit, hierarchical social order, filial piety, nationalism, gender power relations, and the acceptance of social class structures. At the same time, digital media have created spaces for negotiating social meanings and questioning traditional values, particularly among younger generations. This article demonstrates that Thai mass media serve both as a “mirror of society” and as an “instrument for the social construction of ideas,” thereby contributing to the formation and transformation of the values, culture, and identity of Thai society in the digital era.