scholarly journals Social media use for public engagement during water crisis in Cape Town

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
Chumani Waxa ◽  
Leon Tinashe Gwaka
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Public Engagement ◽  
Media Use ◽  
Data Gathering ◽  
Cape Town ◽  
Household Survey ◽  
Water Crisis ◽  
Research Committee ◽  
Social Media Use ◽  
Technology Affordance

This study examines social media use for public engagement during the Cape Town water crisis in South Africa. The study applies technology affordance and attribution theories to explore social media features (affordances) utilised by local authorities and the public, meanings embedded in the social media posts and the attributions of the water crisis cause among the actors Data gathering and analysis followed mixed methods. Qualitative data were gathered using key informant interviews and netnography (data scrapping on Twitter) while a household survey (n= 96) was conducted to obtain quantitative data. The university research committee and City of Cape Town issued ethical clearances. During the water crisis, metavoicing, persistent engagement and visibility emerged as social media affordances Social media posts reflected societal dynamics and attributed the crisis as external, unstable, and controllable These findings are critical towards handling future crises and suggest collaborative efforts as the desirable action.

scholarly journals Informational Sources, Social Media Use, and Race in the Flint, Michigan, Water Crisis

2019 ◽  
Vol 70 (3) ◽  
pp. 352-376 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashleigh M. Day ◽  
Sydney O’Shay-Wallace ◽  
Matthew W. Seeger ◽  
Shawn P. McElmurry
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Media Use ◽  
Water Crisis ◽  
Social Media Use

scholarly journals Media Studies and the Pitfalls of Publicity

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (6) ◽  
pp. 608-615 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alice E. Marwick
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Media Studies ◽  
Public Engagement ◽  
Media Use ◽  
White Male ◽  
Career Stages ◽  
Social Media Use ◽  
Negative Publicity ◽  
Two Sides

For many academics, using social media has both drawbacks and advantages. Social media may allow connection with colleagues, scholarly promotion, and public engagement, and may also open researchers up to criticism and even possible harassment. This essay argues that we must think critically about logics of self-branding and attention-seeking given these two sides of the coin of social media publicity. First, publicity can easily be weaponized against scholars engaging in projects that may be socially or politically controversial by individuals or organizations who disagree with their premises. Universities are often unprepared to deal with this negative publicity and fail to protect researchers from the consequence. Second, self-branding may undermine one’s ability to be viewed as a serious scholar and requires rigorous self-censorship, particularly for those far from the white, male ideal of the professoriate. I conclude with some recommendations for academic social media use at different career stages.

Disconnected citizens in the social media age: unpacking the effects of digital exclusion on satisfaction with democracy in Europe

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ziteng Fan ◽  
Nan Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Public Engagement ◽  
Media Use ◽  
Multilevel Regression ◽  
Social Media Use ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Satisfaction With Democracy ◽  
Level Data ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Digital Exclusion

PurposeThis article explores how digital exclusion measured by citizens' occasional social media use and their skeptical social media attitude may affect their satisfaction with democracy (SWD), which is critical for public engagement and democratic stability in Europe.Design/methodology/approachThis study employs multilevel regression to test the hypotheses proposed in the context of Europe and uses cross-level data sources. Individual-level data, including social media use frequency and attitude and SWD, come from the 2012, 2014 and 2016 Eurobarometer surveys. Country-level data are derived from multiple pre-existing datasets.FindingsThe empirical results suggest that digital exclusion measured by occasional use and skeptical attitude are negatively associated with the likelihood of SWD. Additionally, the negative effect of a skeptical attitude increases in importance over time. Finally, although government transparency can mitigate the negative effect of a skeptical attitude, its role in mitigating the negative effect of occasional use is effective only in countries with moderate or low transparency levels.Originality/valueThis study preliminarily explores the direct, changing and conditional impacts of digital exclusion in social media on SWD. It also deepens our understanding of digital exclusion by differentiating between its physical and motivational aspects, which relate to public engagement and equity and then comparing their relative importance.

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