We are delighted to confirm Professor Andy Miah as the next speaker in the ISSR seminar series.

'TikTok and COVID-19: Doing Social Science in Dynamic Digital Environments'

Over 2020, TikTok became the world’s fastest growing and most-discussed social media platform in the world, simultaneously becoming central to renewed conversations about governmental regulation of digital environments, while also becoming inextricable from the economics of popular culture.

This presentation draws on research in progress that examines how TikTok shared news and information about COVID-19 from March to November 2020. Data will show how the hypershort video messaging platform established relationships with world-leading non-governmental organizations to share their primary messages about how to stay safe and the latest information about the pandemic’s progress, while also revealing its varied impact on the platform’s user community.

The focus of the presentation is on the methodological challenges with undertaking social scientific work within TikTok and what are some of the crucial considerations needed to undertake research responsibly and effectively to come to terms with the lived experiences of digital natives.

Prof Miah will be hosted by Dr Gillian Bartle, Education and Social Work and is aligned under the ISSR themes of Innovation in Methods and Data Analytics; Environment: Health and Wellbeing and Governance, Policy and Regulation.

Background

Professor Andy Miah, Chair in Science Communications & Future Media in the School of Science, Engineering and Environment at Salford University.His research examines the intersections of art, ethics, technology and culture and he has also given over 300 major conference presentations and he is often invited to speak about philosophical and ethical issues concerning technology in society, from artificial intelligence to human enhancement. He is a Fellow of the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies, USA and holds board memberships with the Swiss National Science Foundation and the Science and Industry Museum, Manchester.

The seminar is hosted via Microsoft Teams. Upon registering, you will receive an email with a link to access the event. Upon accessing the link, you will be prompted to open Microsoft Teams via desktop or online browser. Either are suitable, so simply choose your preferred platform.