Abstract
Social communication has an important sociological and psychological impact; the way scientific developments are transmitted to society can significantly affect the way they are perceived. Scientific findings need to be adequately presented and their interest and value must be stressed if they are to be understood and appreciated by society. In many cases, scientific issues are not satisfactorily transmitted or assessed and are misunderstood or ignored by nonspecialist audiences. Traditional mass media instruments such as newspapers, radio, and TV are being overtaken by the powerful influence of the internet, with its ability to reach remote places and social groups. The transmission of science through social mass media can help people to accept its benefits but may also lead to misapprehensions. The internet is perceived by a large sector of society as a reliable source of information, but this powerful new communication channel requires a greater awareness on the part of its users to avoid the misunderstanding—and, in the worst possible scenario, the misuse—of the information it contains. This paper focuses on a range of areas such as the social perception of science, the role of the internet, limits, and ethics in scientific communication, and the endeavor of the European Union in science transmission.
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Carpintero-Santamaría, N. (2018). Science and Social Communication. In: Tressaud, A. (eds) Progress in Science, Progress in Society. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69974-5_2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69974-5_2
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