Academics' social media use over time is associated with individual, relational, cultural and political factors

Abstract

The use of social media in academics' lives is well documented; however, researchers have a limited understanding about whether, why and how academics' social media use changes over time. Through interviews with 12 scholars, we identify multiple reasons that lead them to change their use of social media over time. Specifically, scholars report their social media use changing as a result of personal life events; professional transitions; concerns related to online privacy and self‐protection; evolution of technology; their desire to develop and nurture relationships; awareness of the needs of others; and, the political climate. These findings reflect individual desires and broader cultural shifts, indicating that scholars’ use of social media is impacted not just by their individual preferences, but also by forces that impact upon them.

A tale of two subreddits: Change and continuity in teaching‐related online spaces

“…As educators’ professional needs shift with time (Richter, Kunter, Klusmann, Lüdtke, & Baumert, 2011; Veletsianos et al ., 2019), their social media use may also evolve (Harvey & Carpenter, 2020; Rehm & Notten, 2016). Additionally, social media platforms themselves regularly change over time (Hogan & Quan‐Haase, 2010) and new or altered features can impact users’ experiences.…”

“…However, between 2009 and 2011, usage of Myspace dropped off dramatically. This means research that uses a snapshot approach to study a single point in time risks missing key trends in social media usage (see Veletsianos et al ., 2019; Xing & Gao, 2018).…”

“…The body of research covering educators’ uses of social media for professional learning has been growing. However, past work has focused on some platforms (eg, Twitter, Facebook), while paying relatively scant attention to others (eg, Instagram, Reddit) and has included only limited exploration of many relevant topics (Bruguera, Guitert, & Romeu, 2019; Lantz‐Andersson, Lundin, & Selwyn, 2018; Veletsianos, Johnson, & Belikov, 2019).…”

“…One area in need of further study is how educators’ use of social media for self‐directed learning (SDL) changes, or remains the same, over time. Social media conversations naturally evolve as participants learn (Gao, Luo, & Zhang, 2012), external circumstances change (Veletsianos et al ., 2019) and platforms’ popularity shift. Approaching social media use at a single point in time, therefore, risks missing key trends.…”

“…Several recent studies have called for further investigation of educators’ social media activities over time (Veletsianos et al ., 2019; Xing & Gao, 2018). We address this call through quantitative and qualitative analyses of three‐and‐a‐half years of activity from two online discussion forums within Reddit: the r/Teachers (https://www.reddit.com/r/Teachers/) and r/education (https://www.reddit.com/r/education/) subreddits.…”