Weight Bias: Twitter as a Tool for Opening Dialogue among Broad Audiences
Date
2018-07-03
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Scientific Research Publishing Inc.
Abstract
Twitter is a tool for strengthening research knowledge mobilization to the general public. In this article, we highlight how Twitter can be used to open social dialogue about research related topics between users from multiple perspectives, using the topic of weight bias; a cultural issue largely perpetuated by the media. Specifically, Twitter (@UCalgary Body BS) was used by an interdisciplinary research team to under line cases of global news, stories, and policy related to weight bias and/or weight-related issues for a broad audience to consume. We position Twitter as a relevant means for 1) shaping the research lifecycle, 2) increasing community participation and engagement regarding specific research topics, 3) co-creating evolving social dialogues and critique, 4) reaching broader audiences, 5) opening up sites of debate and tension within a topic, and 6) engaging with a topic salient within our society, a topic that saturates the media—weight bias.
Description
Williams, E.P., Russell-Mayhew, S., Nutter, S., Arthur, N., and Kassan, A. (2018). Weight Bias: Twitter as a Tool for Opening Dialogue among Broad Audiences. Social Networking, 7, 111-125.
Keywords
Twitter, Social Media, Social Networking, Weight Bias, Knowledge Mobilization, Opening Dialogue
Citation
Williams, E. , Russell-Mayhew, S. , Nutter, S. , Arthur, N. and Kassan, A. (2018) Weight Bias: Twitter as a Tool for Opening Dialogue among Broad Audiences. Social Networking, 7, 111-125. doi: 10.4236/sn.2018.73009.