From Consumers to Content Creators
Social Media and Academia
I am passionate about legal education , but traditional legal skills training needs to be updated to include how to conduct oneself online . In fact , I often take it upon myself in legal skills sessions with students to include a discussion on social media usage . It often shocks students that a law student lost out on a job opportunity with a law firm because of their LinkedIn profile picture ( a picture of them with a dog filter !). These concerns are not only relevant to law students , but are relevant to all students .
However , it was not until reading Weller ’ s ‘ The Digital Scholar ’ ( 2011 ) that I realised these concerns I have for students are also applicable to my colleagues and everyone working in academia . I found Weller ’ s work fascinating . He acknowledges the importance of having a social media presence in academia ( something I wholeheartedly agree with – my own social media connections have helped advance my career ). Yet he also argues that ‘… these technologies [ social media , blogs , etc .] are outside of formal control structures …’ ( 2011 , p . 9 ) and allows us as academics to be our own content creators – something I wholeheartedly disagree with . This somewhat cyberlibertarian approach , the idea that we can say or do what we wish online without redress ( Johnson & Post , 1996 ), to social media usage no longer , if it ever did , exists , and instead universities , as our employers , do control what we publish online . Indeed , today , anyone with an employment contract is likely to be regulated by a social media policy by their employer ( Higson-Bliss , 2023 ). An issue which has recently been heavily debated in the media , parliament and households following Gary Lineker being suspended by the BBC after concerns he had breached impartiality guidelines ( Higson- Bliss , 2023 ; Waterson 2013 ).
Yet , even if a university supports academic freedom , that does not mean that comments made by academics are without any consequences .
From Consumers to Content Creators
When the first website on the World Wide Web went ‘ live ’ in 1990 ( Murgia , 2015 ) no one could have envisioned the effect it would have across the globe . What started as static websites , in which users were very much considered consumers of the World Wide Web , has developed into a multibillion industry , where today we have gone from consumers to content creators ( Allen , 2012 ). The emergence of Web 2.0 which ‘... describe [ s ] the period in which websites became more interactive , collaborative , and social ’ ( Law Commission , 2018 , para . 2.29 ) has created a more collective , dynamic , and user-driven experience . The internet , in particular social media , became the lifeline for many during the Covid-19 pandemic ( Wong et al , 2020 ) and arguably changed the course of education for the better ( Alalwan , 2022 ).
Whereas traditional publishers have significant training before publishing their work to the world at large , including legal training , today , with the help of the internet , anyone and everyone is a publisher . I am a publisher . You are a publisher – just without the legal training . Nothing demonstrates this more than social media . Indeed , my own social media accounts have gone from sharing life events with friends ( and endless conversations on MSN ) to promoting my teaching and research . It ’ s sometimes hard to distinguish the personal from the professional .
We as academics often use social media sites to engage in academic debate , network with others and showcase our research ( Donelan , 2016 ). I know I do . Social media can be an important tool in advancing an academic ’ s career by allowing users to connect with others in their field , from the comfort of their own homes . It can be particularly useful for those with disabilities , who may not be able to attend traditional academic networking events , such as conferences ( Higson-Bliss , 2020 ). In turn , there has been a push by institutions towards social networking – after all , it is free ! However , despite comments made by Weller to the contrary , complete academic freedom does not exist in the online world , particularly given that as a lawyer I know that one simple comment online could result in a loss of employment ( Higson- Bliss , 2023 ). Come to think of it , unemployment is the least of your worries ; an ill-thought-out comment on any social media platform , could , at worst , land you in jail ( Bliss , 2017 ).
Social Media and Academia
As the neoliberal state takes hold of the university sector , significant emphasis has been placed on generating income , something I have felt significantly as an Early Career Researcher . In turn , there has been a drive towards showcasing academic research in an open accessed manner ( Rice , 2013 ). Nothing does this better than social media and as Weller acknowledged , social media can be a fast and cheap mechanism to distil information – any university ’ s dream . In fact , it would not be a jump to conclude that social media forms a significant part of a university ’ s annual strategic outcomes ( Donelan , 2016 ). As a member of staff who takes the lead on our school ’ s social media accounts , I know firsthand the weight given to having a social media presence by a
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