the debate
‘The expert is better off phoning a journalist than joining in the shouting match’
to club together – they didn’t need the social media to be able to do that. When people feel uneasy, they find ways to get in touch with others. The social media may have speeded up this process, but I don’t think it works any differently to the way it worked in the past. Citizens react when the government is pushy: wanting to make
MaRcel dicke, Professor of Entomology at wageningen University ‘i deliberately stay away from the social media. people just use them to get things off their chests’
them drink fluoride, or give them an injection. Experts go on believing in the power of scientific evidence to convince people. And never the twain shall meet.’ Selling theiR MeSSage According to communications professor Van Woerkum, it is possible for scientists and the general public to come closer together, but only if the experts learn to take people seriously. ‘When it comes to nutrition and health, there are countless topics that are surrounded by controversy. Scientists need to get skilled at handling questions on these subjects. You can’t get away with just saying: that’s what you think, but I know better.’ But that is exactly what experts do, warns Van Maanen: ‘Many experts are arrogant. Secretly, they rather look down on ordinary people. People sense that and they develop an aversion to authority. If three experts have already behaved patronizingly when you enter the debate, you are at a huge disadvantage. It is already clear that you don’t stand a chance of winning.’ For these reasons, Entomology professor Dicke does not see social media as a suitable setting for a debate. ‘You shouldn’t solve a difference of opinion via the social media. It’s the same as when you are angry: you shouldn’t send an email because that’s
hanS van Maanen, Science journalist ‘people have always gossiped, but now they do so in public. there is nothing of interest in it to the experts’
a bad medium for emotions.’ He finds social media particularly useful for ‘evangelism’. ‘You can sell science on them. Social media – Twitter certainly – have to work through one-liners. I think the biggest use of social media is for advertising. How else can you explain the presence of so many politicians on Twitter? They want to sell their message. So is it mainly one-way traffic? Den Hoedt, from the government communications service, thinks the social media have the potential to be more than that. He notices that citizens are starting to talk back at last. ‘As government, we assumed for a long time that our advice and instructions were gratefully received. We didn’t get much feedback. How different that is in the digital era of social media, web forums and blogs. The citizen is talking back alright, and everyone is listening in.’
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