Pub Date : 2025-09-24DOI: 10.1177/20563051251380480
Dien Nguyen An Luong, Hong Tien Vu
Grounded in the conceptual frameworks of protest framing and digital repression, this study examines the adaptive messaging strategies employed by Vietnamese environmental activists in response to escalating repression, through physical coercion, across two key periods: before and after mid-2021. Our analysis of the Facebook content of one of Vietnam’s leading environmental groups indicates significant changes in the group’s adoption of protest frames, topical frames, and narrative roles, highlighting how activists balance public engagement with safety under authoritarian constraints. Specifically, after a wave of arrests of high-profile environmental activists, activists shifted their message framing strategies from motivational to diagnostic, focusing more on information provision rather than encouraging public engagement. In addition, after the arrests, activists increasingly shifted their narrative roles, increasing their blame on corporations as villains, while positioning the environment as a primary victim. This study enriches our understanding of digital activism in authoritarian contexts, offering theoretical insights and practical guidance for movements under similar constraints.
{"title":"Framing Under Fire: Navigating Environmental Activism on Social Media Amid Digital Repression","authors":"Dien Nguyen An Luong, Hong Tien Vu","doi":"10.1177/20563051251380480","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/20563051251380480","url":null,"abstract":"Grounded in the conceptual frameworks of protest framing and digital repression, this study examines the adaptive messaging strategies employed by Vietnamese environmental activists in response to escalating repression, through physical coercion, across two key periods: before and after mid-2021. Our analysis of the Facebook content of one of Vietnam’s leading environmental groups indicates significant changes in the group’s adoption of protest frames, topical frames, and narrative roles, highlighting how activists balance public engagement with safety under authoritarian constraints. Specifically, after a wave of arrests of high-profile environmental activists, activists shifted their message framing strategies from motivational to diagnostic, focusing more on information provision rather than encouraging public engagement. In addition, after the arrests, activists increasingly shifted their narrative roles, increasing their blame on corporations as villains, while positioning the environment as a primary victim. This study enriches our understanding of digital activism in authoritarian contexts, offering theoretical insights and practical guidance for movements under similar constraints.","PeriodicalId":47920,"journal":{"name":"Social Media + Society","volume":"103 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2025-09-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145141501","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-09-20DOI: 10.1177/20563051251352834
Tyler Musgrave, Yuning Ye, Kentaro Toyama, Sarita Schoenebeck, Megan Threats
Black Twitter, now operating on X (formerly Twitter), is a crucial online platform that shapes cultural production, political activism, and educational exchange within the global Black community. This study broadens the scope to examine the global influence of Black Twitter, with a focus on the hashtag #diasporawars. This hashtag serves as a lens through which we can observe the tensions and interactions across the global Black community. Black Twitter’s significance extends beyond the United States, deeply embedded in the historical and cultural contexts of Blackness, which inform global conversations on identity. By employing both quantitative and qualitative research methods to analyze #diasporawars, this study aims to shed light on the complexities of global Blackness and how social media platforms contribute to shaping these identities and connections. Our findings reveal that #diasporawars reflects broader dynamics within the global Black community, highlighting how platforms like X both facilitate positive engagement and exacerbate conflicts. This research underscores the multifaceted nature of Black digital spaces, illustrating how they serve as arenas for collaboration and contention, influenced by diverse experiences and perspectives within the global Black diaspora.
Black Twitter现在在X（以前的Twitter）上运营，是一个重要的在线平台，在全球黑人社区中塑造文化生产、政治活动和教育交流。这项研究扩大了研究黑人推特全球影响力的范围，重点关注#散居者#标签。这个标签是一个镜头，通过它我们可以观察到全球黑人社区的紧张关系和互动。黑色推特的重要性超越了美国，深深植根于黑人的历史和文化背景中，为全球关于身份的对话提供了信息。通过采用定量和定性的研究方法来分析#侨民#，本研究旨在揭示全球黑人的复杂性，以及社交媒体平台如何有助于塑造这些身份和联系。我们的研究结果表明，#散居者#反映了全球黑人社区内部更广泛的动态，突出了像X这样的平台是如何促进积极参与和加剧冲突的。这项研究强调了黑人数字空间的多面性，说明了它们如何成为合作和争论的舞台，受到全球黑人侨民不同经验和观点的影响。
{"title":"Exploring #Diasporawars on Black Twitter","authors":"Tyler Musgrave, Yuning Ye, Kentaro Toyama, Sarita Schoenebeck, Megan Threats","doi":"10.1177/20563051251352834","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/20563051251352834","url":null,"abstract":"Black Twitter, now operating on X (formerly Twitter), is a crucial online platform that shapes cultural production, political activism, and educational exchange within the global Black community. This study broadens the scope to examine the global influence of Black Twitter, with a focus on the hashtag #diasporawars. This hashtag serves as a lens through which we can observe the tensions and interactions across the global Black community. Black Twitter’s significance extends beyond the United States, deeply embedded in the historical and cultural contexts of Blackness, which inform global conversations on identity. By employing both quantitative and qualitative research methods to analyze #diasporawars, this study aims to shed light on the complexities of global Blackness and how social media platforms contribute to shaping these identities and connections. Our findings reveal that #diasporawars reflects broader dynamics within the global Black community, highlighting how platforms like X both facilitate positive engagement and exacerbate conflicts. This research underscores the multifaceted nature of Black digital spaces, illustrating how they serve as arenas for collaboration and contention, influenced by diverse experiences and perspectives within the global Black diaspora.","PeriodicalId":47920,"journal":{"name":"Social Media + Society","volume":"54 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2025-09-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145093594","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-09-20DOI: 10.1177/20563051251374500
Cynthia N. McLeod
This study explores how Black Twitter, an online community of Black users, creates a place for itself online and how the historical positioning of Black populations worldwide informs the users’ placemaking practices. Using an online ethnography and Brock’s Critical Technocultural Discourse Analysis, I analyzed how Black Twitter users communicate to create a sense of place on the platform. Findings indicate that Black users experience time on social media in layered ways, such that they blend historical and contemporary cultural experiences to connect with one another and defend against outsiders. Extending previous work that examines Black Twitter as a cultural formation, this study explores two dimensions: (1) how Black users’ temporal practices challenge notions of digital behavior that reduce user agency and (2) how users perform boundary work by using the platform to defend themselves from outside influences. For example, #YourSlipisShowing enabled Black users to call attention to accounts posing as Black users, effectively turning a platform feature into a defense method. In addition, Black users often call on their collective memory to identify community members through shared cultural experiences and emotional connection. In some ways, Twitter supports the process of collective memory (re)production and engagement through platform features, such as retweets and non-chronological timelines. These observations offer additional frameworks for analyzing community maintenance and agency within hostile digital spaces.
{"title":"Black Twitter as “Master” Social Architects: Maintaining Online Community Boundaries Through the Production of Time and Place","authors":"Cynthia N. McLeod","doi":"10.1177/20563051251374500","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/20563051251374500","url":null,"abstract":"This study explores how Black Twitter, an online community of Black users, creates a place for itself online and how the historical positioning of Black populations worldwide informs the users’ placemaking practices. Using an online ethnography and Brock’s Critical Technocultural Discourse Analysis, I analyzed how Black Twitter users communicate to create a sense of place on the platform. Findings indicate that Black users experience time on social media in layered ways, such that they blend historical and contemporary cultural experiences to connect with one another and defend against outsiders. Extending previous work that examines Black Twitter as a cultural formation, this study explores two dimensions: (1) how Black users’ temporal practices challenge notions of digital behavior that reduce user agency and (2) how users perform boundary work by using the platform to defend themselves from outside influences. For example, #YourSlipisShowing enabled Black users to call attention to accounts posing as Black users, effectively turning a platform feature into a defense method. In addition, Black users often call on their collective memory to identify community members through shared cultural experiences and emotional connection. In some ways, Twitter supports the process of collective memory (re)production and engagement through platform features, such as retweets and non-chronological timelines. These observations offer additional frameworks for analyzing community maintenance and agency within hostile digital spaces.","PeriodicalId":47920,"journal":{"name":"Social Media + Society","volume":"5 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2025-09-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145093611","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-09-13DOI: 10.1177/20563051251372530
Raphael K. Birya, Mohammed Mwamzandi
This study investigates the communication dynamics within Kenyan religious institutions during the COVID-19 pandemic. It explores the role of diverse social media platforms, such as YouTube and Facebook, in offering emotional and spiritual support in Christian and Islamic institutions. Using a survey and resilience lens, the study analyzes social media usage, utility variations, and the influence of religious institutions on information sharing during lockdowns and pandemic easing. Descriptive statistics and analysis of variance (ANOVA) highlight the significant role of these platforms in crisis communication. This research addresses a gap in the limited literature on the role of social media in crisis communication within religious contexts during the COVID-19 era.
{"title":"Religious Institutions’ Use of Social Media Platforms During COVID-19 in Kenya","authors":"Raphael K. Birya, Mohammed Mwamzandi","doi":"10.1177/20563051251372530","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/20563051251372530","url":null,"abstract":"This study investigates the communication dynamics within Kenyan religious institutions during the COVID-19 pandemic. It explores the role of diverse social media platforms, such as YouTube and Facebook, in offering emotional and spiritual support in Christian and Islamic institutions. Using a survey and resilience lens, the study analyzes social media usage, utility variations, and the influence of religious institutions on information sharing during lockdowns and pandemic easing. Descriptive statistics and analysis of variance (ANOVA) highlight the significant role of these platforms in crisis communication. This research addresses a gap in the limited literature on the role of social media in crisis communication within religious contexts during the COVID-19 era.","PeriodicalId":47920,"journal":{"name":"Social Media + Society","volume":"14 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2025-09-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145072805","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-09-09DOI: 10.1177/20563051251370905
Andreas Schellewald
People’s interaction with online content is increasingly facilitated by intelligent user interfaces and artificial agents. In this article, I explore this shift by drawing on ethnographic fieldwork with users of the TikTok app. More specifically, I write on their interactions with the TikTok algorithm as a form of human–machine interaction and through the lens of trust. Along concrete ethnographic data, this article lays out the multifaceted process in which participants negotiated trust in the TikTok algorithm as an interaction partner in their everyday pursuits for relaxation and entertainment. Understanding trust as something deeply relational, mediating the position that one takes to another, this article outlines the constitutive embodied and affective dimensions of trust. It shows how participants dealt with feelings of their trust in the TikTok algorithm being put to the test, as well as how they negotiated their distance and closeness to it accordingly. By doing so, this article will demonstrate how trust functions a key mediator of meaningful human–machine interaction – shaping not just meaningful outcomes but also meaningful processes of interaction. From this angle, this article closes with an argument for research on the foundational role of trust in human–machine interaction, specifically in ways that look beyond the cognitive processes of judging trust and broadening the scope towards the material and cultural contexts in which people trust others.
{"title":"Putting Trust to the Test: Making Sense of Human–Machine Interactions on TikTok","authors":"Andreas Schellewald","doi":"10.1177/20563051251370905","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/20563051251370905","url":null,"abstract":"People’s interaction with online content is increasingly facilitated by intelligent user interfaces and artificial agents. In this article, I explore this shift by drawing on ethnographic fieldwork with users of the TikTok app. More specifically, I write on their interactions with the TikTok algorithm as a form of human–machine interaction and through the lens of trust. Along concrete ethnographic data, this article lays out the multifaceted process in which participants negotiated trust in the TikTok algorithm as an interaction partner in their everyday pursuits for relaxation and entertainment. Understanding trust as something deeply relational, mediating the position that one takes to another, this article outlines the constitutive embodied and affective dimensions of trust. It shows how participants dealt with feelings of their trust in the TikTok algorithm being put to the test, as well as how they negotiated their distance and closeness to it accordingly. By doing so, this article will demonstrate how trust functions a key mediator of meaningful human–machine interaction – shaping not just meaningful outcomes but also meaningful processes of interaction. From this angle, this article closes with an argument for research on the foundational role of trust in human–machine interaction, specifically in ways that look beyond the cognitive processes of judging trust and broadening the scope towards the material and cultural contexts in which people trust others.","PeriodicalId":47920,"journal":{"name":"Social Media + Society","volume":"35 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2025-09-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145056752","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-09-06DOI: 10.1177/20563051251363213
Omri Cohen
Research on digital democracy and online mobilization often focus on how technological design, affordances, organizing, or policy may influence online political behaviors. Less attention is paid to users’ imagination about their digital environments, the expectations, emotions, or values that are involved, and how these relate to users’ perceptions on the democratic opportunities afforded by digital media. This study conducts qualitative analysis of the perceptions of Bernie Sanders supporters on a large Reddit community of both digital media and mainstream media. The findings suggest that some users, who regard themselves as democratically populist, tend to regard digital media optimistically and display persistent faith in the democratizing capacity of online platforms. This study provides a deeper understanding of the power of users’ imagination and elucidates issues of the persistence of technological optimism, the appeal and motivational power of the democratic promise of the internet, and users’ association of democratic ideals with online activism.
{"title":"Imagined Democratic Affordances: Persistent Faith in the Democratic Power of the Internet among Sanders Supporters on Reddit","authors":"Omri Cohen","doi":"10.1177/20563051251363213","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/20563051251363213","url":null,"abstract":"Research on digital democracy and online mobilization often focus on how technological design, affordances, organizing, or policy may influence online political behaviors. Less attention is paid to users’ imagination about their digital environments, the expectations, emotions, or values that are involved, and how these relate to users’ perceptions on the democratic opportunities afforded by digital media. This study conducts qualitative analysis of the perceptions of Bernie Sanders supporters on a large Reddit community of both digital media and mainstream media. The findings suggest that some users, who regard themselves as democratically populist, tend to regard digital media optimistically and display persistent faith in the democratizing capacity of online platforms. This study provides a deeper understanding of the power of users’ imagination and elucidates issues of the persistence of technological optimism, the appeal and motivational power of the democratic promise of the internet, and users’ association of democratic ideals with online activism.","PeriodicalId":47920,"journal":{"name":"Social Media + Society","volume":"53 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2025-09-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145003164","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-08-29DOI: 10.1177/20563051251370914
Shohana Akter, Pnina Fichman
Distrust of young individuals in traditional political institutions, coupled with many youths’ heavy use of online platforms, raises questions about the nature of their online actions in light of mainstream political practices. Our study addresses this research gap by providing insights into the voices of these young individuals and their communities on TikTok, as they engage in partisan online political discourse. Using topic modeling, thematic content analysis, and sentiment analysis, we analyzed 124,963 audience comments and 100 video posts by young supporters of the Democratic and Republican parties in the United States. We found that the topics discussed in the young supporters’ video posts varied significantly between the two parties, as did the audience’s reactions to these posts. Young supporters often employ the platform to reinforce in-group solidarity and target ideological opponents, and their political messaging closely aligns with their respective parties’ ideologies. They leverage the platform’s socio-technical features to engage with their audiences in “politainment” by means of humor, sarcasm, and cultural references.
{"title":"Expressions of Partisanship Among Young Political Supporters on TikTok in the United States","authors":"Shohana Akter, Pnina Fichman","doi":"10.1177/20563051251370914","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/20563051251370914","url":null,"abstract":"Distrust of young individuals in traditional political institutions, coupled with many youths’ heavy use of online platforms, raises questions about the nature of their online actions in light of mainstream political practices. Our study addresses this research gap by providing insights into the voices of these young individuals and their communities on TikTok, as they engage in partisan online political discourse. Using topic modeling, thematic content analysis, and sentiment analysis, we analyzed 124,963 audience comments and 100 video posts by young supporters of the Democratic and Republican parties in the United States. We found that the topics discussed in the young supporters’ video posts varied significantly between the two parties, as did the audience’s reactions to these posts. Young supporters often employ the platform to reinforce in-group solidarity and target ideological opponents, and their political messaging closely aligns with their respective parties’ ideologies. They leverage the platform’s socio-technical features to engage with their audiences in “politainment” by means of humor, sarcasm, and cultural references.","PeriodicalId":47920,"journal":{"name":"Social Media + Society","volume":"11 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2025-08-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144915607","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-08-22DOI: 10.1177/20563051251363215
Sarah Tran, Cindy Lin, Bryan Dosono, Kelley Cotter
Popular discourse around race tends to categorize people in static ethnic and racial categories, overlooking the complexity of people with multi-ethnicities. To understand how ethnic communities resist the described practice, this article explores how Hoa communities in English-speaking countries use TikTok for identity work purposes. Using an inductive approach to qualitative content analysis, we identified two prominent themes: hybridization of a multi-ethnic identity and counter-hegemonic identity. Although the findings are particular to the Hoa community, we believe they merit attention from scholars interested in studying intra-ethnic populations and their social media usage for identity work.
{"title":"TikTok as a Tool for Identity Work Among the Hoa Ethnic Community","authors":"Sarah Tran, Cindy Lin, Bryan Dosono, Kelley Cotter","doi":"10.1177/20563051251363215","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/20563051251363215","url":null,"abstract":"Popular discourse around race tends to categorize people in static ethnic and racial categories, overlooking the complexity of people with multi-ethnicities. To understand how ethnic communities resist the described practice, this article explores how Hoa communities in English-speaking countries use TikTok for identity work purposes. Using an inductive approach to qualitative content analysis, we identified two prominent themes: hybridization of a multi-ethnic identity and counter-hegemonic identity. Although the findings are particular to the Hoa community, we believe they merit attention from scholars interested in studying intra-ethnic populations and their social media usage for identity work.","PeriodicalId":47920,"journal":{"name":"Social Media + Society","volume":"23 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2025-08-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144901866","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-08-20DOI: 10.1177/20563051251368234
Zoetanya Sujon, Harry T. Dyer, Felipe Bonow Soares
The Special Issue on Platforms, publics, and anti-publics focused on the complex intersection of platforms, including issues around their ownership, datafication, business models, and algorithms; and the emergence of publics and anti-publics online, which has been increasingly impacted by platforms infrastructures and designs. This Special Issue underscores the need to understand how online publics are influenced by sociotechnical affordances and shaped by the political and ideological influence of platforms’ governances. The articles featured in this issue explore the role of digital platforms in relation to sociability and public discourse; and dive into the discussion of publics, marked by the emergence of online communities and sociability online, and anti-publics on social media, poisoned by political propaganda and online abuse. The articles included in the issue are extended versions of the research presented at the 2024 International Conference on Social Media and Society (#SMSociety).
{"title":"Social Media and Society: Platforms, Publics, and Anti-Publics","authors":"Zoetanya Sujon, Harry T. Dyer, Felipe Bonow Soares","doi":"10.1177/20563051251368234","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/20563051251368234","url":null,"abstract":"The Special Issue on Platforms, publics, and anti-publics focused on the complex intersection of platforms, including issues around their ownership, datafication, business models, and algorithms; and the emergence of publics and anti-publics online, which has been increasingly impacted by platforms infrastructures and designs. This Special Issue underscores the need to understand how online publics are influenced by sociotechnical affordances and shaped by the political and ideological influence of platforms’ governances. The articles featured in this issue explore the role of digital platforms in relation to sociability and public discourse; and dive into the discussion of publics, marked by the emergence of online communities and sociability online, and anti-publics on social media, poisoned by political propaganda and online abuse. The articles included in the issue are extended versions of the research presented at the 2024 International Conference on Social Media and Society (#SMSociety).","PeriodicalId":47920,"journal":{"name":"Social Media + Society","volume":"52 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2025-08-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144898963","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-08-14DOI: 10.1177/20563051251363216
Ryan McGrady, Kevin Zheng, Ethan Zuckerman
This study presents a comparative analysis of language-specific random samples of YouTube videos, focusing on English, Spanish, Hindi, and Russian. We produce a large random sample, retrieve metadata, calibrate and deploy language-detection software, and extract four high-confidence language samples. Through an analysis of upload dates, popularity, duration, and category metadata, we highlight patterns and anomalies among our samples. For example, English YouTube has the smallest proportion of videos categorized as “News & Politics,” and Spanish videos have a longer median duration. The most salient contrast, however, is between Hindi YouTube and the other three languages. Hindi videos are much shorter and much newer, with sharp growth since 2020 and more than half of the sample uploaded in 2023 alone. The Hindi sample also exhibits a different pattern of liking, with the lowest percentage of videos with just zero or one like even while it has the highest percentage of videos with just zero or one view. These findings may help to quantify the migration of India’s short-form video culture, based around TikTok, to YouTube when TikTok was banned in the country in 2020. This study underscores the necessity of multilingual and culturally specific approaches to platform research by drawing attention to the heterogeneity of YouTube. We propose this method as a starting point to understand linguistic communities on YouTube, surfacing trends and exceptions while providing cues for more content-focused study.
{"title":"One Platform, Four Languages: Comparing English, Spanish, Hindi, and Russian YouTube","authors":"Ryan McGrady, Kevin Zheng, Ethan Zuckerman","doi":"10.1177/20563051251363216","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/20563051251363216","url":null,"abstract":"This study presents a comparative analysis of language-specific random samples of YouTube videos, focusing on English, Spanish, Hindi, and Russian. We produce a large random sample, retrieve metadata, calibrate and deploy language-detection software, and extract four high-confidence language samples. Through an analysis of upload dates, popularity, duration, and category metadata, we highlight patterns and anomalies among our samples. For example, English YouTube has the smallest proportion of videos categorized as “News & Politics,” and Spanish videos have a longer median duration. The most salient contrast, however, is between Hindi YouTube and the other three languages. Hindi videos are much shorter and much newer, with sharp growth since 2020 and more than half of the sample uploaded in 2023 alone. The Hindi sample also exhibits a different pattern of liking, with the lowest percentage of videos with just zero or one like even while it has the highest percentage of videos with just zero or one view. These findings may help to quantify the migration of India’s short-form video culture, based around TikTok, to YouTube when TikTok was banned in the country in 2020. This study underscores the necessity of multilingual and culturally specific approaches to platform research by drawing attention to the heterogeneity of YouTube. We propose this method as a starting point to understand linguistic communities on YouTube, surfacing trends and exceptions while providing cues for more content-focused study.","PeriodicalId":47920,"journal":{"name":"Social Media + Society","volume":"17 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2025-08-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144899005","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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