Congli Zhang , Xiaolei Wang , Yong Min , Shanqing Yu , Ye Wu , Qi Xuan , Chenbo Fu
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
The development of social media has changed the way in which information is consumed by the public. However, it also promotes polarization, especially among the more controversial topics. Furthermore, recommendation systems commonly used in social media have been shown to emerge an echo chamber effect, amplifying user groups’ polarization. Most of current studies focus on analyzing the generation of polarization phenomena on social media but rarely investigate how to quantify polarization. In this study, we construct user opinion networks and utilize random walk to quantify the polarization of related topics. The experiments on three real datasets, i.e., Bilibili, YouTube and Reddit, demonstrate that there is polarization in Bilibili and YouTube, especially in Bilibili. Our work complements quantitative measurements of polarization in social media platforms.
期刊介绍:
Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications
Recognized by the European Physical Society
Physica A publishes research in the field of statistical mechanics and its applications.
Statistical mechanics sets out to explain the behaviour of macroscopic systems by studying the statistical properties of their microscopic constituents.
Applications of the techniques of statistical mechanics are widespread, and include: applications to physical systems such as solids, liquids and gases; applications to chemical and biological systems (colloids, interfaces, complex fluids, polymers and biopolymers, cell physics); and other interdisciplinary applications to for instance biological, economical and sociological systems.