TikTok is consolidating its place in the social media landscape. During the first three months of the COVID-19, it was the most downloaded app worldwide, and it gained 500,000 new users in Portugal. Our study sets out to map the practices of Portuguese teenagers (10–16) on TikTok. Using a Uses and Gratifications approach (U&G), we conducted an online survey with a non-probabilistic sample of 347 TikTok users. Our findings show relevant differences between younger (10–12) and older (13–16) teenagers. The youngest are more careful about privacy and enjoy more experimentation as content creators, while the oldest are more focused on building an audience. Entertainment and self-expression are the main motivations for using the platform. About 50% of our sample admits at least one behavior that is indicative of addiction.

This study aims to present the extent to which online education influenced the level of empathy displayed by university students. The research relies on a self-evaluated applied survey in two European countries: Portugal and Romania. The participants in this research are 1,085 students enrolled in Communication Studies programs. The purpose of this study is to unfold the connection between gender, exposure to digital technology, empathy level according to the Basic Empathy Scale applied to young adults, and online education self-perception that involves the use of webcams. Empathy can have positive effects on students’ satisfaction and increase students’ outcomes. The shift from a physical environment to a digital one brought significant challenges that most students and teachers were not ready for. The digital environment influences how empathy is expressed. The present research found evidence of a relationship between exposure to technology usage, emotional contagion, and gender. This suggests that understanding the emotions of others might be inhibited during digital education. Also, the most relevant factor of empathy variation in online education is gender. The findings of the present research may contribute to the design of activities or programs that could foster empathy expression during online education for young adults. Este estudio pretende presentar la medida en que la educación en línea influyó en el nivel de empatía de los estudiantes universitarios. Basada en una encuesta aplicada y autoevaluada en Portugal y Rumanía, participaron 1.085 estudiantes matriculados en programas de Ciencias de la Comunicación. El propósito de este estudio es desvelar la conexión entre el género, la exposición a la tecnología digital, el nivel de empatía según la escala BES aplicada a adultos jóvenes y la autopercepción de la educación en línea que implica el uso de cámaras web. La empatía tiene efectos positivos en la satisfacción de los estudiantes y aumenta sus resultados educativos. El cambio del entorno físico al digital trajo importantes desafíos para los que la mayoría de los estudiantes y profesores no estaban preparados. El entorno digital influye en cómo se expresa la empatía. Se han encontrado evidencias de una relación entre el uso de la tecnología, el contagio emocional y el género. Esto sugiere que el factor más relevante de variación de la empatía en la educación en línea es el género y que la comprensión de las emociones de los demás puede inhibirse durante la educación digital. Los hallazgos de la presente investigación pueden contribuir al diseño de actividades o programas que fomenten la expresión de empatía durante la educación en línea para adultos jóvenes.

As the world becomes increasingly more turbulent, complex and competitive, there has been an increased interest in creativity as the major force to prepare students for these demands. At the same time, digital native students today are used to working in an environment rich with instantly accessible information and knowledge, yet paradoxically students are less satisfied with their courses in the online environment. Educators are thus challenged to use innovative methods to nurture creativity online as they would do in the face-to-face classroom. In 2010, six European universities created an international project, named Cross Border Brand Communication (CBBC) that has taken place every year since but in 2020 took place online due to the Covid-19 pandemic. This article describes and analyzes the best practices resulting from this case and addresses the research questions as to whether the creative learning outcomes and teaching practices online are the same as face-to-face and to what extent are students satisfied with this learning environment. Reflection on the project and case indicates that although learning outcomes online are “virtually” the same, the student experience is inferior to such face-to-face projects.

Los youtubers se han convertido en un fenómeno mundial; debido al hecho de pasar más tiempo en casa se amplifica su estatus y relevancia, especialmente entre los niños. El creciente acceso a Internet, la forma fácil e intuitiva de utilizarlo, el control sobre lo que quieren ver, la cercanía al público y la capacidad de sorprender e innovar son algunos de los motivos que hacen a los youtubers tan atractivos. Con una metodología cualitativa, llevada a cabo en dos fases secuenciales de recogida de datos, primero con niños y después con youtubers, se quiere responder a la siguiente pregunta: ¿Qué influencia tienen los youtubers en la formación de la opinión de niños de 8 a 12 años sobre temas de actualidad? Se concluyó que los niños ven a los youtubers como modelos a seguir, y sus contenidos, una fuente de información fiable; admiten haber cambiado su forma de pensar gracias a ellos. Aunque su influencia disminuye a medida que crecen, se demuestra que tienden a adoptar los puntos de vista y las perspectivas compartidas por los youtubers. Es, además, una oportunidad para que los niños aprendan y conozcan temas importantes desde una edad temprana de forma más accesible e interesante.

This theoretical essay examines the role of storytelling in advertising communication, specifically focusing on its application to destination branding. Tourism, as a dynamic and intangible sector, faces unique communication challenges. This paper critically analyzes storytelling as a tool to bridge these gaps, emphasizing its symbolic and emotional power to enhance destination image, authenticity, and visitor engagement. By synthesizing tourism communication and place branding literature, this study analyzes Portugal’s promotional campaign "Can't Skip Portugal" as a strategic storytelling use in destination promotion. This approach provides theoretical insights and practical implications for stakeholders in the tourism industry. Este ensaio teórico examina o papel do storytelling na comunicação publicitária do turismo, centrando-se especificamente na sua aplicação ao destination branding. O turismo, enquanto sector dinâmico e intangível, enfrenta desafios de comunicação únicos. Este artigo analisa criticamente o storytelling como uma ferramenta para colmatar essas lacunas, enfatizando o seu poder simbólico e emocional para melhorar a imagem do destino, a autenticidade e o envolvimento do visitante. Ao sintetizar a literatura da comunicação em turismo e do place branding, este trabalho analisa a campanha promocional de Portugal “Can't Skip Portugal” como uma utilização estratégica do storytelling na promoção de um destino. Esta abordagem avança os conhecimentos teóricos ao mesmo tempo que oferece implicações práticas para os intervenientes na indústria do turismo.

In an era of highly polarized public opinion, organizations all over the world are now facing a great dilemma, as brand activism and CSR strategies have a stronger influence on consumer behaviors than the traditional marketing campaigns. With marketing changing from purpose to action, and consumers becoming more belief driven, companies are being asked to take a stand, and choose a side on controversial sociopolitical issues. Advertising, the spearhead of organizational communication, which has always appropriated the social codes in force in society to persuade its target audience to carry out certain actions, nowadays, can no longer be dissociated from the moral concerns of consumers who increasingly demand corporate responsibility from organizations. This chapter explores the evolution of advertising's role, in a historical and contextual approach, analyzed from the new relationship model that citizens and consumers demand from companies and the reflection that it has on the advertising message. Request access from your librarian to read this chapter's full text.