Andrew Selepak
Instructional Assistant Professor
- Gainesville FL UNITED STATES
Andrew Selepak can speak to a variety of topics, including pop culture, online education, fake news and partisan media.
Contact More Open optionsBiography
Andrew Selepak is a lecturer and coordinator of the Online Master's program in social media in the College of Journalism and Communication. He has been interviewed by national and international media outlets on a variety of topics, including pop culture, online education, fake news and partisan media. He also frequently discusses how online and social media are having an impact on culture, marketing and communication. Andrew teaches courses on media writing, news and sports reporting, entertainment storytelling and ethics.
Areas of Expertise
Media Appearances
The scientific reason why you can’t stop going to Disneyland
Los Angeles Times online
2023-09-19
To say a lot of people flock to Disneyland and Walt Disney World doesn’t do the mass migration justice. Each year, people descend upon the parks by the tens of millions, and many of them don’t fund the increasingly expensive experience by using their savings alone. Disney die-hard Maddy Thompson of Phoenix says her husband once got a second job to pay for her self-described “Disney addiction.”
We need to start talking about the endangered male on college campuses
Tampa Bay Times online
2023-09-07
It’s that time of year when parents send their children off to college. But increasingly, parents are sending off their daughters, not their sons. Males are becoming endangered on college campuses. In the spring of 2023, degree-granting colleges and universities throughout the United States enrolled nearly 17 million students — a decrease of about 9% among undergraduates since 2019. One of the main causes for this decreased enrollment is that males are skipping college altogether.
Is Threads unraveling already?
The Hill online
2023-08-03
Elon Musk changing Twitter to X has been dominating the tech news cycle. But the bigger story is how Meta’s Threads (Mark Zuckerberg’s new microblogging alternative) went from a supposed Twitter killer to a failure since the app launched on July 5. In its first few days, Threads gained an unprecedented 100 million-plus users. Twitter, the original microblogging platform that currently has 353 million users and has been around since 2006, took nearly two years to reach 1 million users.
Unraveling the artifice of Hollywood
Deseret News online
2022-07-05
Take a quick glance at any tabloid and you’ll likely spot Kim Kardashian and Pete Davidson on the cover. They’re Hollywood’s hot new couple and they (and their 13-year age gap) have the gossip community abuzz, fresh off Kardashian’s messy marriage with rapper Kanye West.
American Road Trip: How To Plan The Best Driving Vacation This Summer
Forbes online
2021-06-12
A car allows you to be flexible. You don't have to arrive at the airport at a specific time or worry about schedules. Why not take advantage of the independence? That's the advice of Andrew Selepak, a college professor from Gainesville, Fla. "The nice thing about making a road trip is that you are not limited in getting to different places because you have a car to visit attractions and stops that aren’t where you traveled to in the first place," he says. Selepak just returned from a week-long road trip to Virginia to visit his family. He says he likes not having to wear protective gear when he's driving. In his car, he makes the mask rules.
Gov. DeSantis targets 'big tech' firms after social media companies crack down on lies, conspiracy theories
First Coast News online
2021-02-02
"Essentially what [the state] is trying to do is pass a law that's going to impact a global company," said Dr. Andrew Selepak, a social media professor at the University of Florida. "You have to look at interstate commerce laws, at the First Amendment, a lot of legal issues."
Parler social media users double in week after election
WPTV online
2020-11-12
"As a lot of tweets and a lot of Facebook posts from Donald Trump and his allies and even his family have been flagged on Facebook and Twitter from containing false information and inaccurate information about voter fraud from the previous election," Andrew Selepak, a social media professor at University of Florida, said. "So what we're looking at is a lot of people who want to discuss this, and discuss it freely without posts being flagged, banned and not being able to be shared."
Social
Articles
Exploring anti-science attitudes among political and Christian conservatives through an examination of American universities on Twitter
Cogent Social SciencesAndrew Selepak
2018-04-10
The purpose of this study was to investigate an unexplored factor as to why some Republicans and conservatives have less trust in science and academia than those on the political left. Twitter accounts for 25 elite American universities were examined for political and religious sentiment and then compared to results from 25 lower ranked schools. The aim was to examine the extent universities post politically liberal or anti-Christian messaging through Twitter.
Manufacturing white criminals: Depictions of criminality and violence on Law & Order
Cogent Social SciencesAndrew Selepak, Jason Cain
2015-11-01
This study examines exposure to the police drama television genre and its impact on perceptions of crime and racial criminality. Content analyses of three seasons of Law & Order were examined to evaluate the show’s portrayal of race and crime compared to actual crime statistics for New York City during the same periods. A survey was also conducted to examine perceptions of personal safety and the influence of television’s depiction of race and crime.
The sound of hate: exploring the use of hatecore song lyrics as a recruiting strategy by the White Power Movement
IntercomBelio Antonio Martinez Jr., Andrew Selepak
2014-07-01
This study uses grounded theory to examine “hatecore” song lyrics used as a communication strategy to spread skinhead ideology. Results indicate that lyrics portray ethnic and religious minorities, and homosexuals as inferior and subhuman. Jews, the government and whites who oppose skinhead ideology are described as part of the problem.
