Communicating Science: the impact of the social web on the interaction between science, communicators, and STEM teachers

This contribution examines the influence of social web dynamics on interactions between science communicators and STEM educators. It focuses on the dual role of mediators – viewed both as technological mediation systems and as social actors – in the exchange, creation, and dissemination of scientific knowledge and civic awareness. These mediation processes are framed within “digital plenitude”, characterized by the layering of a complex, interconnected “media patchwork”. In the first phase, we present findings from a 2024 survey on science communication in Italy, involving a statistically representative sample of the population. The second phase implies the analysis of online profiles (individual and collective) that teachers follow to access scientific information and educational resources. Profiles were identified through a survey and examined for key attributes, including biography, educational background, conversational strategies, and communication styles. From the survey, we identi(ed ten notable pro(les of science disseminators, on which we conducted a desk analysis to address the second research question: moving from who they are to how they communicate. This analysis employs a semio-pragmatic framework focusing on four dimensions: narrative, textual, communicative, and didactic. Our findings raise critical questions about the potential for media education to support a pedagogically informed approach to science popularization.