What’s in a Tweet? How Platform Features Facilitate and Constrain Civic Discourse and What It Means for Teaching Civic Media Literacy
Publication Date
1-1-2023
Document Type
Contribution to a Book
Publication Title
Education in the Age of Misinformation: Philosophical and Pedagogical Explorations
DOI
10.1007/978-3-031-25871-8_11
First Page
203
Last Page
223
Abstract
Teaching for democracy in an age of misinformation requires a deep understanding of the information landscape for which we are teaching, including social media. Given evidence that information quality varies by platform, we argue that being savvy consumers and producers of civic media requires understanding how platform features influence information quality. In this chapter, we focus on Twitter discourse, analyzing N=900 tweets about youth-relevant issues. We examine which kinds of users (e.g., celebrities, news organizations, individuals) and content (e.g., opinion, links to information, calls to action) are represented in these discourses. Additionally, we examine how user type, content type, and issue interact to influence engagement (likes/shares/retweets) with posts. We use these findings to discuss the potential of Twitter as a platform and Twitter discourse for youth to access, share, discuss and express themselves on civic issues and how educators can help. Given the rise and fall of platforms, we focus on platform features and types of discourse that educators and youth might consider when using social media for civic engagement.
Department
Child and Adolescent Development
Recommended Citation
Ellen Middaugh, Mark Felton, and Henry Fan. "What’s in a Tweet? How Platform Features Facilitate and Constrain Civic Discourse and What It Means for Teaching Civic Media Literacy" Education in the Age of Misinformation: Philosophical and Pedagogical Explorations (2023): 203-223. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-25871-8_11
