Are you reconsidering your use of social media?

The prospect of the billionaire Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter has generated considerable unease amongst academics who use the platform. It has drawn attention to the central role which mass commercial social media platforms now play as a communications channel between academics, as well as the important role they play in facilitating public engagement. We recently shared a list of tips for academics who would like to change their relationship to Twitter as a result of this news but we would like to start a broader conversation about the use of social media by academics in an increasingly polarised and contentious political climate.

If you’d like to contribute to this conversation we would be interested in receiving blog posts on topics such as the following:

  • Are you reconsidering your relationship to social media? What changes might you make and why might you make them?
  • What threat does Elon Musk in particular pose to the use of social media by academics?
  • Has the mainstreaming of social media within higher education gone too far? Are we spending too much time on these platforms?
  • What alternatives are there to Twitter which might enable academic networking without the associated risks?
  • Is the concern over the takeover overblown? Would our attention be better served by focusing on the many other external corporations who now play a crucial role in the production and circulation of knowledge?

These are just a few suggestions and we would welcome any other contributions which speak to the broader issue. If you’re interested in submitting a piece then please get in touch using our contact form.


Photo by Alexander Shatov on Unsplash

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