Personality traits and their influence on Echo chamber formation in social media: a comparative study of Twitter and Weibo

The echo chamber effect on social media has attracted attention due to its potentially disruptive consequences on society. This study presents a framework to evaluate the impact of personality traits on the formation of echo chambers. Using Weibo and Twitter as platforms, we first define an echo cha...

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Main Authors: Xiaolei Song, Siliang Guo, Yichang Gao
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2024-02-01
Series:Frontiers in Psychology
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1323117/full
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author Xiaolei Song
Siliang Guo
Siliang Guo
Yichang Gao
author_facet Xiaolei Song
Siliang Guo
Siliang Guo
Yichang Gao
author_sort Xiaolei Song
collection DOAJ
description The echo chamber effect on social media has attracted attention due to its potentially disruptive consequences on society. This study presents a framework to evaluate the impact of personality traits on the formation of echo chambers. Using Weibo and Twitter as platforms, we first define an echo chamber as a network where users interact solely with those sharing their opinions, and quantify echo chamber effects through selective exposure and homophily. We then employ an unsupervised personality recognition method to assign a personality model to each user, and compare the distribution differences of echo chambers and personality traits across platforms and topics. Our findings show that, although user personality trait models exhibit similar distributions between topics, differences exist between platforms. Among 243 personality model combinations, over 20% of Weibo echo chamber members are “ynynn” models, while over 15% of Twitter echo chamber members are “nnnny” models. This indicates significant differences in personality traits among echo chamber members between platforms. Specific personality traits attract like-minded individuals to engage in discussions on particular topics, ultimately forming homogeneous communities. These insights are valuable for developing targeted management strategies to prevent the spread of fake news or rumors.
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spelling doaj.art-c0c9e20817c040a7848dc25a94d5a8682024-02-08T04:55:58ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782024-02-011510.3389/fpsyg.2024.13231171323117Personality traits and their influence on Echo chamber formation in social media: a comparative study of Twitter and WeiboXiaolei Song0Siliang Guo1Siliang Guo2Yichang Gao3School of Pre-school Education, Qilu Normal University, Jinan, ChinaSchool of Economics and Management, Qilu Normal University, Jinan, ChinaSchool of Economics and Management, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing, ChinaCommonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Brisbane, QLD, AustraliaThe echo chamber effect on social media has attracted attention due to its potentially disruptive consequences on society. This study presents a framework to evaluate the impact of personality traits on the formation of echo chambers. Using Weibo and Twitter as platforms, we first define an echo chamber as a network where users interact solely with those sharing their opinions, and quantify echo chamber effects through selective exposure and homophily. We then employ an unsupervised personality recognition method to assign a personality model to each user, and compare the distribution differences of echo chambers and personality traits across platforms and topics. Our findings show that, although user personality trait models exhibit similar distributions between topics, differences exist between platforms. Among 243 personality model combinations, over 20% of Weibo echo chamber members are “ynynn” models, while over 15% of Twitter echo chamber members are “nnnny” models. This indicates significant differences in personality traits among echo chamber members between platforms. Specific personality traits attract like-minded individuals to engage in discussions on particular topics, ultimately forming homogeneous communities. These insights are valuable for developing targeted management strategies to prevent the spread of fake news or rumors.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1323117/fullpersonality traitsEcho chambersocial mediagroup user characteristicsTwitterWeibo
spellingShingle Xiaolei Song
Siliang Guo
Siliang Guo
Yichang Gao
Personality traits and their influence on Echo chamber formation in social media: a comparative study of Twitter and Weibo
Frontiers in Psychology
personality traits
Echo chamber
social media
group user characteristics
Twitter
Weibo
title Personality traits and their influence on Echo chamber formation in social media: a comparative study of Twitter and Weibo
title_full Personality traits and their influence on Echo chamber formation in social media: a comparative study of Twitter and Weibo
title_fullStr Personality traits and their influence on Echo chamber formation in social media: a comparative study of Twitter and Weibo
title_full_unstemmed Personality traits and their influence on Echo chamber formation in social media: a comparative study of Twitter and Weibo
title_short Personality traits and their influence on Echo chamber formation in social media: a comparative study of Twitter and Weibo
title_sort personality traits and their influence on echo chamber formation in social media a comparative study of twitter and weibo
topic personality traits
Echo chamber
social media
group user characteristics
Twitter
Weibo
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1323117/full
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