Interactive Behavior in Political Discussions on Twitter: Politicians, Media, and Citizens’ Patterns of Interaction in the 2015 and 2016 Electoral Campaigns in Spain
Year: 2018
Type: article
Abstract: Twitter has become a privileged data source for analyzing the behavior of users when interacting online. This research aims to explore the interactive behavior of users in political discussions and the changes in their behavior over time. Understanding the interactive functions of Twitter (retweeting, mentioning, and replying) as digital traces of users’ behavior, we analyze the patterns of interaction of politicians, media, and citizens in two political discussions in Spain during the 2015 and 2016 general elections. Our results confirm previous studies that prove the homophilic behavior of politicians and citizens in political discussions. The networks of interaction, in particular, the retweet network, resemble echo chambers. It also shows that media play the role of weak ties of the networks. The analysis also shows that the patterns of interaction remained stable after the repetition of the election, and only a meager part of the users participating in both discussions changed their behavior. This article aims to contribute to the use of Twitter as a source for understanding people’s interactions is political discussions in social media and their dynamics across time.
Source: Social Media + Society
Author: Frederic Guerrero-Solé
Institution: Universitat Pompeu Fabra
Language: English
Topic: Social Media and Politics
Subfield: Communication
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $1,000
OpenAlex ID: W2900812565