The current and future use of social media technologies by military personnel and their families

Social media has become central to military life, making it a critical component of future policy development, strategic thinking and welfare planning. Platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Skype, FaceTime and WhatsApp challenge the Ministry of Defence’s traditional communication structures and social relations. Yet there is little existing knowledge of how military personnel and their families use social media, and how the military can manage such usage. To this end, the research set out with four key aims. First, it aimed to investigate the current and likely future use of social media by military personnel and their families. Second, it assessed the operational and managerial challenges alongside possible security risks associated with the use of social media by military personnel and their families. Third, it aimed to provide guidance to the Ministry of Defence, as well as the Royal Navy, the Army and the Royal Air Force, on the way in which military personnel might use social media. And fourth, it intended to evaluate monitoring strategies of social network usage by military personnel and their families. It thus explored how constant connectivity affects the military and what measures need to be in place to improve current and future social media practice and policy. It identified how military personnel act within increasingly complex and unseen social networks, and the double-edged role of social media in boosting morale or undermining it. The research employed mixed methods from the social and physical sciences to uncover trending language patterns and conversations across social media and reveal how military personnel and their families interact with such technologies. <p>Social media has become central to military life, making it a critical component of future policy development, strategic thinking and welfare planning. Platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Skype, FaceTime and WhatsApp challenge the Ministry of Defence’s traditional communication structures and social relations. Yet there is little existing knowledge of how military personnel and their families use social media, and how the military can manage such usage. To this end, the research set out with four key aims. First, it aimed to investigate the current and likely future use of social media by military personnel and their families. Second, it assessed the operational and managerial challenges alongside possible security risks associated with the use of social media by military personnel and their families. Third, it aimed to provide guidance to the Ministry of Defence, as well as the Royal Navy, the Army and the Royal Air Force, on the way in which military personnel might use social media. And fourth, it intended to evaluate monitoring strategies of social network usage by military personnel and their families. It thus explored how constant connectivity affects the military and what measures need to be in place to improve current and future social media practice and policy. It identified how military personnel act within increasingly complex and unseen social networks, and the double-edged role of social media in boosting morale or undermining it. The research employed mixed methods from the social and physical sciences to uncover trending language patterns and conversations across social media and reveal how military personnel and their families interact with such technologies. </p>