Tension between visibility and invisibility: Science communication in new information environments

Metag, Julia

doi:10.24434/j.scoms.2021.01.009

Cited by 6 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 54 publications

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“…Visibility on social media has the potential to increase diversity in science communication because scientists are free to choose how they want to present themselves and what to talk about (Metag, 2021). Scientists develop different strategies for shaping their discourse practices in digital communication environments (Koivumäki et al, 2020), and emotional appeals and "edutainment"oriented approaches in science communication are seen as having the potential to enable communicators to reach new audiences (Taddicken & Reif, 2020).…”

Section: Visibility Of Topicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Women Scientists on TikTok: New Opportunities to Become Visible and Challenge Gender Stereotypes

Huber

Baena

2023

MaC

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Today, women scientists are still underrepresented in media coverage and confronted with gender stereotypes. However, social media might have the potential to challenge current gender stereotypes of scientists, foster diversity in science communication, and open new ways of becoming visible. We explore this potential by analyzing TikTok accounts of female scholars (n = 50 accounts). Results from content analysis (n = 150 videos) indicate that female scientists from a wide range of different disciplines and at different career stages are visible on TikTok. Building on previous research, we show that female scholars use TikTok mainly to explain scientific facts and concepts and to discuss what being a (female) scholar is like. Moreover, female scholars talk about private life events, give expert advice, and show science in the making. Finally, some of the videos analyzed address gender stereotypes by, for example, challenging assumptions on how a female professor should dress. Implications for science communication in the digital age are discussed.

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Section: Visibility Of Topicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Women Scientists on TikTok: New Opportunities to Become Visible and Challenge Gender Stereotypes

Huber

Baena

2023

MaC

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“…We can assume that scientists who publicly advocate policies may want to attract attention towards their own issues and thus increase their visibility further. When adapting to media logics, greater visibility might be reached more easily (Metag, 2021). Social media offer scientists the opportunity to take a public stand on politically relevant issues (Jahng & Lee, 2018) and to publicly criticise political actors and their policies since they can bypass traditional gatekeepers (Peters, 2013).…”

Section: Visible Scientists Addressing Politics On Social Mediamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…New digital communication environments have radically changed the communicative landscape for science communication, leading to new opportunities for scientists to communicate publicly (Taddicken & Reif, 2016). Nowadays, scientists engage in online discourses more often and can thus increase their public visibility (Metag, 2021). For instance, during the pandemic, the popularity of virologists grew very quickly, which was also reflected in their increasing number of Twitter followers (Utz et al, 2022).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“You Can Do Better Than That!”: Tweeting Scientists Addressing Politics on Climate Change and Covid-19

Biermann

Peters

Taddicken

2023

MaC

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Climate change and the Covid-19 pandemic are global challenges in which scientists play a crucial role, and immediate political actions are necessary. However, in contrast to climate change, strong governmental actions have been taken during the pandemic. While climate change has been on the public agenda for several decades, the pandemic is a rather new issue. In such cases, social media offer scientists the potential to disseminate scientific results to the public and express calls to action and their personal views towards politics. Thus far, little is known about the extent to which scientists make use of this option. In this study, we investigated the similarities and differences between visible German climate experts and visible German Covid-19 experts regarding advocacy and assessments of policies and political actors on Twitter. We conducted a manual content analysis of tweets (N = 5,915) from 2021 of the most visible climate experts (N = 5) and the most visible Covid-19 experts (N = 5). The results show that climate experts addressed politics more often than Covid-19 experts in their tweets. The selected climate experts more often expressed negative evaluations, the degradation of competence and blaming. The Covid-19 experts, however, made more political calls for action. We assume that an issue’s history and context will affect scientists’ public assessments of politics. Our comparative study provides insight into the interrelations between science and politics in digital communication environments and elucidates visible scientists’ communication behaviours towards different socio-scientific issues.

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“…The internet and social media platforms offer scientists new opportunities to connect with the broader public (Metag, 2021). However, while many studies have focused on science communication on Twitter (e.g., Jünger & Fähnrich, 2020;Rauchfleisch, 2015;Walter et al, 2019), surprisingly few have analyzed how scientists and science communicators use Facebook (Pavelle & Wilkinson, 2020), even though it is an essential platform for the general public (Mueller-Herbst et al, 2020).…”

Section: Science Communication On Social Mediamentioning

confidence: 99%

Maximizing Science Outreach on Facebook: An Analysis of Scientists’ Communication Strategies in Taiwan

Rauchfleisch

Kao

Tseng

et al. 2023

MaC

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The internet, and especially social media platforms, offer scientists new opportunities to connect with a broader public. While many studies have focused on science communication on Twitter, surprisingly few have analyzed how scientists use Facebook, even though it is an essential platform for the general public in many countries. A possible explanation for this lack of research is that scientists keep their Facebook profiles separate from their work life and are more active on Twitter in their professional roles. Our study challenges this assumption by focusing on Taiwan as a peculiar case. Due to the local culture, Twitter is less popular there, and scientists are more active on Facebook, even in their professional roles. In our study, we analyzed 35 public pages of scientists on Facebook and assessed the factors explaining the reach of their communication using content analysis in combination with a multilevel model that allowed us to test predictors on the page level, such as the number of fans, in combination with predictors on the post level, such as the complexity of the language used. Our study shows that Facebook can play an influential role in science outreach. To effectively communicate with the audience on Facebook, it is best to use strategies that appeal to new and existing followers. Posts that address current issues and include opinions are likely to be shared widely, while humor or personal self-disclosure is likely to engage the existing audience. Our study contributes to the current debate about alternatives to Twitter in science communication.

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Tension between visibility and invisibility: Science communication in new information environments

Cited by 6 publications

References 54 publications

Women Scientists on TikTok: New Opportunities to Become Visible and Challenge Gender Stereotypes

Women Scientists on TikTok: New Opportunities to Become Visible and Challenge Gender Stereotypes

“You Can Do Better Than That!”: Tweeting Scientists Addressing Politics on Climate Change and Covid-19

Maximizing Science Outreach on Facebook: An Analysis of Scientists’ Communication Strategies in Taiwan

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