I haven’t been fantastically active on social media channels as I have in the past. I have previously enjoyed them; the people I’ve met (often only virtually), the conversations I’ve had, and the opportunities such channels have presented. I want to share where I now stand and explain why. I also want to reflect on how social media has been pivotal for me on occasions, so let me start with a little storytelling.
It’s winter, early 2012. The evening train is packed with damp travellers journeying homeward. I’m so used to the zen of travelling on these busy trains, I’m inevitable standing. Why rush to sit on an overcrowded train, when daily commutes are comfortably lonely anyway? Glance around any carriage and testify to the glow of faces, lit not by the joy of shared moments, but by the sad solitude of Candy Crush or TikTok. Today was to be no exception.
I used to enjoy the commute, like I ‘used’ to enjoy my job. I’ve been heading up a teaching technical team for a university’s psychology department since almost the start of the twenty-first century. I’ve taken it as far as I want to go, and there is plenty to be grateful for: Collaboration with keen students; feeling embedded in supporting neuroscience research; sufficiently left alone to develop and innovate. Buried in, like a tick. But “times were a-changing”, Mr Dylan. Overwhelmingly positive experiences in delivering outreach had swayed me to pursue science communication instead. Metaphorically I wasn’t on the wrong train, I just didn’t have a ticket to suit my change in the journey. I couldn’t afford to leap from said ‘train’; that would mean giving up work to re-skill. It had to be done cheaply and while working. Hello social media!
Steadied by my elbows perched on the tops of seats while the train sways over the many complex points of Bescot yard, I “check my socials”. It seems strange to use the word ‘socials’ when you apply it to ‘work’. I’ve been stalking fellow science communicators for a while, sometimes posting what I was up to. More often, exploring what others were doing or offering. To this day, the UK can’t maintain a decent phone signal over much of the rail network, and the WiFi available on trains is also patchy as a result. Again, another lesson in patience is learned. And if I was just posting ‘social’ frivolities: "Having a cup of tea. #Tea", then there is little urgency, but one post I read, begs for haste.
It’s from ‘Kat Sanford’, the Programme Manager of the STEM Ambassadors scheme. This is a scheme which links schools with science ambassadors who can share their experiences with pupils, and support events on a voluntary basis. Nobody gets paid, so you sign up for what you want to do. Kat is looking for volunteers to work in the BBC zone at the Big Bang Fair, held at the National Exhibition Centre; a kind of ‘Need-to-know-by-end-of-day’ post. I was already going to be at the event for one day, running activities for my department on the stand hosted by the British Psychological Society, but am more than happy to ‘throw work under the bus’ to spend the final two days in the ‘Bang Goes The Theory‘ zone. Of course, I fancy that, so I tell her so in a post. Kat DMs me immediately, confirming that they’ll add me to the second list they are sending off and I email her with my contact details. It takes moments to write, but an eternity to send. Phone services, eh? Flashbulb moment!
Within days, the BBC phone me at work and ask whether I have experience doing this kind of activity. I steer them to my most rudimentary website, highlighting my meagre experiences in outreach and public events. They invite me to a briefing at the NEC on the Tuesday ahead of the fair opening the following day. This was ideal, as I was already going to be there, setting the psychology demonstrations on the BPS stand. This was the first lucky error.
When I arrive at the briefing, it isn’t for the STEM ambassadors who would be directing people around the zone, it is for the performers who are being paid to work behind Dr. Yan‘s busking counter. Performers who are also in receipt of travel costs, overnight accommodation, and per diem allowances for food. It wasn’t just the material benefits; it was the camaraderie of being with the production crew and presenters. How valuable this would be. I fancy that too.
When they realise their error in inviting me, I counter with, “Well I’m here now. Can I stay?” The general verdict, is ‘Sure, why not.’ I stay and absorb the training the buskers get. Which means that when we reach the last day, the doors to the event open thirty minutes earlier than normal, and the buskers are still checking out of their hotel room, I’m hot! The producer sees hoards of visitors streaming towards the zone, turns to me and calmly says, “Hey, you were here for the buskers’ briefing, yeah? Jump behind the counter and go for it.”
They had to tear me from behind the desk at the end of the day.
It must have made the same sound that my diary pages made, just a few days later, as they were torn from the following week. As soon as the Big Bang Fair was over, the Bang Goes The Theory team were packing up and moving to Edinburgh to perform shows there. The phone call they made went along the lines of, “So, we’re on tour, and we liked you. Would you like to join us as a busker? We’ll pay you, obvs.” Well it would be rude not to.
Between shows in Usher Hall, Edinburgh
And this is how social media lead to me first being paid as a science communicator. The corollary is I had to declare my earnings, register as a ‘sole trader’, and get hurled into the worlds of a) being considered ‘professional’, but b) self-assessment tax returns. All from one single tweet: the BBC as my first paying customer; a huge boost of confidence; the gateway to a professional route through science communication. Talk about sensitive dependance upon initial conditions.
I’m certain other people on that train were checking socials, and making something of their routes, but this was my path. That was the strength of social media: you tailored your feed to suit the topics you were interested in. However, such an echo chamber of social media meant that many good-meaning people were ‘preaching to the choir’, sharing information solely amongst a peer group. This reason has frequently been used to dismiss the time investment required to use social media productively.
So what’s changed, and why reflect on it now? Social media has taken many turns in recent years. My feed became diluted with ‘other things I’ll be interested in’…. but the truth is, I’d be following those accounts if I wanted to hear from them. More and more, algorithms took over how my source of news should be fed to me. Rather than the latest news, I was getting stale posts from people I didn’t care about, and what other people thought were interesting. It became very obvious that money was the motivating factor of how things were being run by the platforms I was using. It no longer served my purpose. The chances of finding a ‘Need-to-know-by-end-of-day’ post with a golden opportunity was gone.
Finally, with the politicisation of social media, it has sadly become a launchpad for rhetoric, disinformation and provocation. Surely this is exactly the kind of place for academics to help correct these issues. After all, we used to complain about being in an echo chamber; now there are a wider blend of people discussing topics. Wait! I said discussing… is that what it is?
When I’m forced to receive posts from a man who happily throws Nazi salutes to a cheering crowd, and who deletes others’ posts who speak out about his unacceptable political considerations, then where is the discussion? I cannot, in all good conscience, remain on a platform that normalises far-right views. I have left Twitter/X as a result.
My account has not been deactivated, but I’ve stopped using the platform and deleted the app from my devices. I have many happy memories there, and you may access them as you like here. However, I will not be either checking or replying to comments made there. I have stated in the profile that my account is now closed, and highlighted the reasons why in the pinned post.
Is that the end? I suspect that even in the scenario that Elon Musk abandons X, it will never return to the useful platform it once was… so maybe yes. But that doesn’t mean that I’m not abandoning social media. I am merely repurposing how I use it, and trimming the fat a little. As I’m now of an age where work and life happily coexist, I’m blurring the lines a little more. I have an account with BlueSky, where you can find me. It’s early days, but I’ve started to introduce myself a little, and will be including links to my work both with the University of Birmingham and my freelance science performance too. Based on the people following me, it seems that a lot of people are expecting me to be more ‘work’, but I can’t guarantee that. In a way, it may feel a little like my YouTube channel; a mixture of work and home life.
Going forward, I may continue to streamline how I use other social media channels too. Facebook will be next to be looked at as I have both a personal account and page dedicated to my freelance work. There just isn’t enough time and energy in the world to spend it whittling away hours trawling through adverts for hair cream, (which I clearly don’t need, by the way), just to find an opportunity from somebody I actually follow. Facebook, I’m looking at you. I will be steadily removing links to my social media as they become defunct, but am posting this here for the curious.
I hope you understand why I have left Twitter/X, and that it is not in response to the many wonderful people I’ve interacted and connected with since 2011. I wish you all the best, and if you wish to remain there, then I will not judge you at all. It just doesn’t align with my conscience. Social media has been a force for good in my life, and has taken me on many adventures, but its bad association will spoil it for many, including me. I hope that in the future, the world can find a way to make socials great again, but in the meantime, thank you for listening and talking.