LITERATURE REVIEW: Exploring Academic Staff Engagement on Mastodon

This research project explores the role of Mastodon in academic communication. Sparked by a shift away from X/Twitter due to concerns over misinformation and harassment, Mastodon has become a growing space for scholarly exchange. Despite this trend, little is known about how academics engage with the platform.  We conducted this study to understand academic staff's perceptions, motivations, usage patterns, and the platform’s potential benefits and challenges. The project employed a mixed-methods approach, resulting in a three-part study comprising (1) a literature review, (2) a quantitative survey, and (3) qualitative interviews. This literature review aimed to gain a comprehensive understanding of academic social media usage by examining current theories and empirical research. This review centers on the social media platforms Mastodon, Twitter, and LinkedIn. The publication date range was limited to 2012-2024.