Social media is no longer just a place where friends and strangers meet and connect on an individual level. It is a place where goods and ideas are exchanged globally, personal triumphs and pitfalls are shared, and news is reported and consumed. Increasingly, life is conducted on social media. The Pew Research Center reports that upward of 90% of American adults (aged 18-65 years) use social media, a phenomenon that has been trending upward over the past decade and is fairly consistent across age, gender, race, and socioeconomic status.1,2

Social media includes platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Snapchat, to name a few. Social media also includes specific industry-focused platforms such as LinkedIn and Slack and a myriad of other sites that serve to connect professionals and facilitate either project collaboration or job search, recruitment, and placement.

Academics and researchers have social media platforms specifically for exchanging ideas and collaborating on research. These platforms include http://Academia.edu and Researchgate.net. Some estimates put researchers' use of these platforms at 25%, though others have estimated a much higher usage rate.3,4 Academics also use more traditional social media (eg, Twitter, Facebook) to share, debate, or promote research projects and findings,5 a likely growing number, given the expanding use of social media among the adult population in general and its seemingly innate popularity among 20 and 30 somethings.1

A growing area of research are the ways in which social media impacts academic journals and their consumers, primarily in terms of not only accessibility for consumers but also mastering nontraditional modes of communication for the journals themselves. This is the topic that I am covering in this commentary. This commentary does not cover how social media impacts individual researchers, individual research projects, or the concept of "altmetrics," a term used to describe the expanding pool of metrics that academics might be measured against, given the growing role of social media in research development and dissemination.6

POSITIVE IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA

Social media has the potential to positively impact academic journals in a number of ways. First, social media allows for academic journals to reach a much larger audience than a typical journal subscription does.7 In addition, previewing the content on social media might lead to the reader purchasing the article or a full subscription. One researcher described this ability to piecemeal view/purchase journal articles as a way to "[disentangle] articles from journals, much as digital music weakened the link between songs and albums."7 There are pros and cons for both the journals and the readers with this method of consuming journal content. Curating journal articles can mean that consumers focus on content that is pertinent to their specific areas of interest, but it can also mean that they are missing out on content that they have chosen not to view but might still be relevant to them. Of course, for the journals, this method means that some articles might have a much lower readership, while others are downloaded/read at a higher rate.

In terms of expanding readership base, journals that are associated with organizations have an advantage because generally a subscription to the journal is included in membership dues; therefore, the journal gets into the hands of a higher volume of readers. Social media can help level the readership playing field for niche journals that have a comparatively smaller audience and are not associated with an organization.

Second, social media allows journals to engage with followers outside of simply sharing journal content. For example, some academic journals post continuing education quizzes, image challenges, and links to podcasts and blogs that are open access. This helps attract social media users, potentially directing them to related journal content. More user engagement can equate to more potential subscribers and a greater dissemination of research.

Third, social media provides a way for academics to peruse journal content in a one-stop shop format. Social media users can have easy access to many journals in one place by "liking" several different journals on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, for example.7 Just as with viewing friends' social media feeds, academic interests are displayed in abbreviated formats all in one place.

CHALLENGES OF SOCIAL MEDIA USE

While social media can positively impact academic journals, it also poses challenges for both the journal and social media users. First, sustaining a worthwhile social media presence requires significant investment in time and money on the part of journals. If the journal wants to secure an audience on social media, then posts must be engaging and relevant. To this end, some academic journals have hired social media editors (SMEs). The role of these editors varies across journals, with some simply posting links to journal articles and others creating wholly new content for social media. Many have little or no experience editing social media, though some have a great deal.

In May 2019, the journal Academic Medicine published a research article on the topic of SMEs, including what helps and hinders the work of editing a social media page for a journal. Although the article identified limitations to the research itself, including bias on the part of the authors, among other conclusions, the authors found an "overall lack of tangible support" for the SMEs. Specifically, the study found "a lack of funding, lack of administrative support, [...] and lack of time."8 As journal editorial boards become more aware of how a strong social media presence can positively impact the journal, SMEs might have more support and more resources.

The second challenge that social media can create is a glut of information for academics who are using it as a method of consuming journal content, potentially making it difficult to find useful articles. As mentioned previously, social media can be a great one-stop shop; however, this also means that users wade through many posts to find the ones that are pertinent.7 If consumers mitigate this by limiting the number of social media feed subscriptions they have and instead visit some or all journal social media pages directly, they limit this information overload. However, they potentially create more work on the front end in terms of having to visit multiple social media feeds.

There are, of course, many challenges that any entity, from private businesses to nonprofits to academic institutions, might face in managing a social media presence that are not unique to academic journals. These challenges include deciding whether user comments should be allowed and then creating a strategy for monitoring these comments; ensuring that the target audience is reached using algorithms and metrics and hiring staff with the capability to use these tools; and deciding on a "brand" that supports the mission of the journal. For example, will the journal post content in support of a political or social stance that might be important to some readers while potentially offending others?

As academic journals embrace a stronger presence on social media, they will need to address these challenges to ensure that they are reaching their target audience and are staying true to the mission of the journal itself. However, they and their readers can also expect to benefit from a robust, well-supported social media presence.

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