For the Longest Time: Continuity and Change in One Teaching-Related Subreddit
Abstract: Social media are a relatively new phenomena, and the empirical literature remains underdeveloped. In particular, knowledge is lacking regarding how educators’ social media use potentially changes over time. The purpose of this study is to contribute to the limited literature on teachers’ Reddit use by investigating continuity and change in one teaching-related subreddit, r/Teachers, in terms of how users contribute, interact, and converse over time. We collected 696,660 contributions to r/Teachers from 55,148 contributors between January 1, 2016 and June 30, 2019. The affinity space concept framed our analysis of individual contributions, content interactions, and social interactions. We discuss our findings in light of the extant literature as well as potential implications for practice and future research.
Presider: Mark Viner, Eastern New Mexico University