From Niche to Mainstream: Community Size and Engagement in Social Media Conversations
Fuente:
arXiv
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Preprint |
| Published: |
2025
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1866910792235876352 |
|---|---|
| author | Nudo, Jacopo Cinelli, Matteo Baronchelli, Andrea Quattrociocchi, Walter |
| author_facet | Nudo, Jacopo Cinelli, Matteo Baronchelli, Andrea Quattrociocchi, Walter |
| contents | The architecture of public discourse has been profoundly reshaped by social media platforms, which mediate interactions at an unprecedented scale and complexity. This study analyzes user behavior across six platforms over 33 years, exploring how the size of conversations and communities influences dialogue dynamics. Our findings reveal that smaller platforms foster richer, more sustained interactions, while larger platforms drive broader but shorter participation. Moreover, we observe that the propensity for users to re-engage in a conversation decreases as community size grows, with niche environments as a notable exception, where participation remains robust. These findings show an interdependence between platform architecture, user engagement, and community dynamics, shedding light on how digital ecosystems shape the structure and quality of public discourse. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2501_12076 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | From Niche to Mainstream: Community Size and Engagement in Social Media Conversations Nudo, Jacopo Cinelli, Matteo Baronchelli, Andrea Quattrociocchi, Walter Social and Information Networks Computers and Society The architecture of public discourse has been profoundly reshaped by social media platforms, which mediate interactions at an unprecedented scale and complexity. This study analyzes user behavior across six platforms over 33 years, exploring how the size of conversations and communities influences dialogue dynamics. Our findings reveal that smaller platforms foster richer, more sustained interactions, while larger platforms drive broader but shorter participation. Moreover, we observe that the propensity for users to re-engage in a conversation decreases as community size grows, with niche environments as a notable exception, where participation remains robust. These findings show an interdependence between platform architecture, user engagement, and community dynamics, shedding light on how digital ecosystems shape the structure and quality of public discourse. |
| title | From Niche to Mainstream: Community Size and Engagement in Social Media Conversations |
| topic | Social and Information Networks Computers and Society |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2501.12076 |