The Internet offers scientists new, diverse communication and networking opportunities. This is for both internal and external scientific communication. The boundaries of which are becoming increasingly blurred online. Science communication is becoming more dynamic and interactive online. The entire scientific work process becomes more transparent and open.
What role do social media play in the private and research everyday life of scientists?
There are now a number of empirical studies that analytically examine the use of social media by scientists. However, due to different samples, different methodological approaches and operationalization, these can hardly be compared with each other.
Overall, it is becoming apparent that scientists primarily use classic social networks that are specific to academic purposes. In particular, young, predominantly male scientists at an early stage in their careers actively post on social networks. They try to draw attention to new research results. They report about or directly from conferences and exchange ideas with other scientists. With buy Instagram likes cheap offers, scientists can increase their social media presence.
However, the dialogue potential of social networks is rarely fully exploited. Unidirectional use for the dissemination or reception of certain information, for example about new publications or activities by colleagues, predominates.
Get more visibility and citations
The question of whether and, if so, how activity on social media affects the visibility or even the citation of individual publications and thus the reputation of a scientist has remained largely unresolved. Traditional publications in renowned specialist journals are still decisive for certain career and advancement opportunities. Despite everything, successful advertising in social media can of course increase awareness of one’s own scientific work.
Dealing with reactions on social media
For external science communication, social media offer the potential to get in touch with interested parties outside the scientific community. If you engage in this dialogue, you as a researcher naturally become more visible to the public, but also more vulnerable. Dealing with negative voices can be a challenge for scientists associated with being present in social networks.
For the young generation of scientists, exchange via social media is already part of everyday life. This leads to the prognosis that social media will become even more important in science in the foreseeable future.
