Twitter has often been the epitome of “slacktavism”, with people happy to fire off a tweet expressing their displeasure at something, but much less keen to put in the effort to do anything about it. Research from MIT suggests that this tendency also extends to academia.
The study delves into the impact of tweeting about racial justice on the behavior of a sample comprising approximately 20,000 academics in the United States.
Seeking justice
Employing an audit study methodology, the findings reveal that academics who actively participate in racial justice tweets demonstrate a greater inclination toward favoring minority students compared to their counterparts who refrain from engaging in such discourse.
Furthermore, racial justice tweets exhibit higher levels of informativeness concerning individuals’ positions on race-related politics than their financial contributions.
However, an intriguing observation emerges during periods of heightened social pressure to tweet about racial justice. In such instances, the informativeness of these tweets diminishes.
External pressure
This phenomenon suggests that the influence of external social pressure can potentially compromise the depth and nuance of discussions related to racial justice on social media platforms.
The study also demonstrates that the perceptions of graduate students are also important. The study found that graduate students tend to underestimate the value and significance of social media posts concerning racial justice.
This underestimation can often diminishe the potential benefits that might arise from using social media to drive meaningful conversations and to raise awareness of racial justice issues.
Overall, this study sheds light on the complex dynamics surrounding the effects of racial justice tweets on academic behavior. It highlights the intricate relationship between social pressure, informativeness, and the role of social media platforms, underscoring the need for further exploration and understanding of the implications and potentialities of online engagement in racial justice conversations.
