Divide in Ferguson: Social Media, Social Context, and Division
We examine the patterns of social polarization, with the case of Michael Brown shooting as an empirical basis for discussing the role of social media in promoting polarized viewpoints. In doing so, we test a model that synthesizes the interplay between text polarity in Twitter and four attributes of...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
SAGE Publishing
2018-07-01
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| Series: | Social Media + Society |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1177/2056305118789630 |
| _version_ | 1819227192434884608 |
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| author | Yong Jin Park S. Mo Jang Hoon Lee Grace S. Yang |
| author_facet | Yong Jin Park S. Mo Jang Hoon Lee Grace S. Yang |
| author_sort | Yong Jin Park |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | We examine the patterns of social polarization, with the case of Michael Brown shooting as an empirical basis for discussing the role of social media in promoting polarized viewpoints. In doing so, we test a model that synthesizes the interplay between text polarity in Twitter and four attributes of U.S. cities ( N = 216): (1) geographic location, (2) race, (3) poverty, and (4) technological condition. Our findings supported hypothesized functions of socio-environmental traits. However, the extents of polarization in tweet-texts were subtler than expected. Furthermore, the finding concerning poverty suggests that certain urban environments are more conducive to exacerbating racial tensions, reproducing them into social media narratives. We suggest future studies and discuss the implications for societal divide. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-23T10:37:29Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-247f89f0d9b448e0b941d0a22096d896 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2056-3051 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-23T10:37:29Z |
| publishDate | 2018-07-01 |
| publisher | SAGE Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Social Media + Society |
| spelling | doaj.art-247f89f0d9b448e0b941d0a22096d8962022-12-21T17:50:15ZengSAGE PublishingSocial Media + Society2056-30512018-07-01410.1177/2056305118789630Divide in Ferguson: Social Media, Social Context, and DivisionYong Jin Park0S. Mo Jang1Hoon Lee2Grace S. Yang3Howard University, USAUniversity of South Carolina, USAKyung Hee University, South KoreaUniversity of Michigan, USAWe examine the patterns of social polarization, with the case of Michael Brown shooting as an empirical basis for discussing the role of social media in promoting polarized viewpoints. In doing so, we test a model that synthesizes the interplay between text polarity in Twitter and four attributes of U.S. cities ( N = 216): (1) geographic location, (2) race, (3) poverty, and (4) technological condition. Our findings supported hypothesized functions of socio-environmental traits. However, the extents of polarization in tweet-texts were subtler than expected. Furthermore, the finding concerning poverty suggests that certain urban environments are more conducive to exacerbating racial tensions, reproducing them into social media narratives. We suggest future studies and discuss the implications for societal divide.https://doi.org/10.1177/2056305118789630 |
| spellingShingle | Yong Jin Park S. Mo Jang Hoon Lee Grace S. Yang Divide in Ferguson: Social Media, Social Context, and Division Social Media + Society |
| title | Divide in Ferguson: Social Media, Social Context, and Division |
| title_full | Divide in Ferguson: Social Media, Social Context, and Division |
| title_fullStr | Divide in Ferguson: Social Media, Social Context, and Division |
| title_full_unstemmed | Divide in Ferguson: Social Media, Social Context, and Division |
| title_short | Divide in Ferguson: Social Media, Social Context, and Division |
| title_sort | divide in ferguson social media social context and division |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1177/2056305118789630 |
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