The changing tide of social media
From sharing research breakthroughs to building networks and engaging the public, social media has become an essential tool for marine researchers. But two new reports reveal a fundamental shift happening beneath the surface.
Both researchers and the public are becoming unhappy with big social platforms. Surveys show researchers spending less time on old favourites, and many people moving to smaller, private, or federated spaces. These changes affect how we do outreach and engagement.
From useful to a problem
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A survey of 1,790 researchers by De Gruyter Brill paints a stark picture of the research community’s social media use. Social media used to help researchers network, share work and find opportunities. In this survey 49% said social media is now too toxic for real engagement. Many said they are not only tired of social media, but it also makes them anxious or annoyed.
The report says that researchers aren’t leaving social media en masse but are using it less. Across the five platforms most used by researchers (YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and X), usage is declining. Many researchers now keep “ghost accounts” - profiles kept for visibility and perhaps browsing but rarely used for posting or engagement.
There are many reasons why researchers aren’t completely cutting platforms – or social media as a whole. Sixty-one percent of the respondents said they feel they must have an active online presence to remain visible, competitive, and not miss out on things like calls for papers. As the report says, “the result is a tension: a growing number of academics want to reduce their time online but feel they can’t afford to.”
People feel trapped
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These increasingly negative feelings towards social media aren’t limited to researchers. A BBC Research and Development report exploring shifting dynamics of digital social platforms reveals widespread user fatigue with dominant platforms. People feel “trapped” by addictive design and algorithms that prioritise engagement over well-being.
More and more, social media users, analysts, and even social media owners say that the social aspect that once was a central part of social media is now largely missing. Instead, it has been replaced by advertising and entertainment designed to keep people on the platforms. TikTok, for example, is all about keeping people scrolling endlessly through content without fostering any community connection.
Of course, nothing is ever completely black and white. As the BBC reports, there are times when the social aspects do still exist, and where social media can have a positive mental health effect
Shifts happening
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The De Gruyter Brill survey shows some researchers are moving to smaller platforms like Mastodon, Threads, and, in particular, Bluesky. Respondents to the De Gruyter Brill survey report being more active on Bluesky than X, the previous social media hub for research. On Bluesky, 77% post their own content, 67% comment or share, 83% use it to build peer relationships and 75% to promote work. On X, 45% post original content, 47% repost or comment, 55% use it to build relationships and 50% to promote work. “On X, the focus is primarily on staying informed; on Bluesky, it’s about exchange, interaction and discourse,” the report states.
Most survey respondents still think social media will matter for networking and sharing research. But many expect in-person events to become more important. As for how researchers receive information, 75% said they prefer emails and newsletters for receiving information from academic publishers (we don't know whether they asked about other sources).
The BBC also notes that Bluesky and federated networks like Mastodon (decentralised platforms where independent servers connect and give users more control) are getting more users. Nevertheless, the estimated number of users appears to be far fewer than that of giants like X, Facebook, or TikTok. People are also moving to private spaces such as Discord, Reddit, and group chats that are built around shared interests. It’s not that people don’t want connection and community online. It’s just that traditional social media isn’t providing it.
Rethinking engagement
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First things first. Social media is not going away, but the era when a single platform (X, once upon a time) could reliably reach researchers and the public alike is over. Organisations and researchers alike will need to choose where to focus – if they want to focus anywhere at all - rather than search for the one platform to rule them all.
Researchers and organisations have leaned on social media for a long time, but we may need to start thinking about other ways to connect. These reports point to something old and yet something new. For knowledge and information sharing, perhaps the return to email and newsletters – something people can opt in (and out of) will become more important for researchers, helping them cut through the noise and focus on what really matters to them. For networking, outreach, and engagement, that could be more in-person meetings (perhaps not just among the research community) or engaging in online communities.
These smaller, interest-based online communities arguably present a new challenge for those wanting to share research. These communities value reciprocity, authenticity, and trust. What does it mean for a researcher, research project, institute, NGO, or other organisation wanting to reach out and engage with people about ocean science and sustainability? Can they participate without giving other community members the feeling that they are intrusive, extractive, or performative?
The BBC report, which looks at this from a “public service media” angle, suggests that those looking to engage in these spaces “will need to operate more socially - and this means meaningful, reciprocal, social interaction.” Messages must be tailored to each community, and time invested in building genuine interaction. This presents another challenge.
As social media users spread across smaller platforms and people delve deeper into smaller communities, can researchers and organisations realistically follow them into these dispersed spaces?
Or will limited time and resources force us to rethink what meaningful engagement really is?
