What is it about?

This research explores how people collectively remember events through social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter. It introduces a new method to study these shared memories by examining online interactions and discussions related to the memory of the Holocaust. The goal is to understand how digital conversations influence our collective recollection of past events.

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Why is it important?

This research offers a fresh approach to understanding how social media shapes collective memories of significant events. As platforms increasingly document and mediate everything from global crises to everyday life, examining their role in influencing what and how we remember is more vital than ever. By developing scalable methods to analyze these memory processes, the study provides valuable tools for exploring the intersection of digital interactions and shared histories, bridging gaps between memory studies and social media analysis.

Perspectives

As one of the authors, I see this work as a significant step toward equipping memory studies researchers with tools to engage more deeply with the large-scale dynamics of social media. These platforms are rapidly becoming central arenas where collective memories are formed, shared, and contested, yet the sheer scale and complexity of their data often present barriers to traditional memory research approaches. Our aim was to bridge this gap by developing a method that not only acknowledges the nuances of memory processes but also harnesses the potential of large-scale social media analysis. By doing so, we hope to empower researchers to better understand how digital platforms shape shared histories

Prof. Anat Ben-David
Open University of Israel

Read the Original

This page is a summary of: How social memory works on social media: A methodological framework, Memory Mind & Media, January 2024, Cambridge University Press,
DOI: 10.1017/mem.2024.18.
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