We are pleased to announce the Call for Submissions for the 2026 International Conference on Social Media & Society (#SMSociety)! For 2026 #SMSociety will take place in Glasgow, Scotland, from July 13th-15th.

The 2026 conference is co-organised by the Digital Cultures and Economies Research Hub at the University of the Arts London (UAL), the University of East Anglia (UEA), and the hosts at the Division of Urban Studies and Social Policy at Glasgow University.

The conference’s three-day program will feature panels and paper presentations, workshops, tutorials, networking events, and a poster session.
In keeping with the conference’s inter- and transdisciplinary focus, we welcome both quantitative and qualitative scholarly and original submissions that crosses disciplinary boundaries and expands our understanding of current and future trends in social media research across many fields including (but not limited to): Communication, Computer Science, Critical Data Studies, Education, Journalism, Information Science, Law, Management, Political Science, Psychology, Public Policy, Public Administration, Science and Technology, Sociology, Urban Studies, among others.

SUBMISSION DETAILS
- Submission types and guidelines: You can submit an extended abstract for a paper or poster presentation, and/or propose a panel, workshop or hands-on tutorial

SUBMISSION DEADLINES
- Papers (Extended Abstracts): January 26, 2026 (1000-1500 words)
- Panels: February 16, 2026 (2000-3000 words)
- Workshops & Tutorials: February 16, 2026 (2000-3000 words)
- Posters (Extended Abstracts): March 13, 2026 (1000-1500 words)

ABOUT THE CONFERENCE
#SMSociety is a biennial gathering of leading social media researchers from around the world. It is the premier venue for sharing and discovering new peer-reviewed interdisciplinary research on how social media affects society. #SMSociety provides participants with opportunities to exchange ideas, present original research, learn about recent and ongoing studies, and network with peers.

TOPICS OF INTEREST (the list is not exhaustive)
• Affordances
• AI and LLMs
• Algorithms
• Computational, digital and data methods
• Creators and Influencers
• Cyberbullying, Trolling and Antisocial Behavior
• Digital Education
• Digital Intimacies
• Discourse and Public Opinion
• Health and Wellbeing
• Infrastructures, platformisation and datafication
• Marketing and Promotional Social Media
• Misinformation and Disinformation
• Online and Offline Communities
• Platform Cultures
• Platform Governance and Regulation
• Emerging and Established Social Technologies, Apps and Platforms
• Politics, Policy, and Regulation
• Privacy, Security and Trust
• Social Media Cultures and Everyday Life
• Use and Users
• Vibes, memes and trends

PUBLICATIONS:
• Publication of Pre-prints and Datasets: To promote your work during and after the conference, authors of accepted papers (extended abstracts) are encouraged to share their work as a pre-print via a public repository of your choice. Preprint will be accessible via the conference online program and other channels. If you have a dataset to share, you can also upload it to one of many data repositories such as Dataverse or figshare. Authors of accepted papers will have an opportunity to provide a link to their pre-print and/or dataset for inclusion in the conference program.
• Journal Publications: We hope that feedback received from other scholars during the review process and the Q&A part of your presentation will help you refine your ideas and develop your work into a full paper after the conference. Once ready, you are encouraged to submit your full paper to a journal of your choice.
• All #SMSociety conference presenters will also receive an exclusive invitation to submit their work as an expanded full paper for consideration in an open access, conference thematic issue of Platforms & Society

ORGANISING EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE:
- Zoetanya Sujon - Reader and the Programme Director for Communications and Media courses at London College of Communication (LCC), University of the Arts London, UK
- Harry Dyer - Associate Professor of Education, School of Education & Lifelong Learning, University of East Anglia, UK
- Mark Wong - Senior Lecturer and Subject Group Lead of Social and Urban Policy, School of Social and Political Sciences, University of Glasgow, UK
- Devina Sarwatay - Presidential Fellow City St. George's, University of London, UK
- Estaban Morales Velasquez - Assistant Professor / Media and Digital Cultures Centre for Media and Journalism Studies University of Groningen, NL
- Irida Ntalla - Senior Lecturer in Digital Storytelling at London College of Communication (LCC), University of the Arts London, UK
- Daniel Jordan - Postgraduate Research Student University of Glasgow, UK
- Yingwen Wang - Postgraduate Research Student London College of Communications, University of the Arts London, UK
- Yue Qin - Postgraduate Research Student London College of Communications, University of the Arts London, UK