Political discussions in homogeneous and cross-cutting communication spaces

• Main Authors: Qatar Computing Research Institute, KWAK, Haewoon, Universität Bamberg
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2019
• Subjects: Social networking (online); Behavioral patterns; Communication spaces; Heterogeneous communication; Linguistic patterns; Online environments; Online platforms; Political information; Political views; Communication; Computer Sciences
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/sis_research/5661; https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/context/sis_research/article/6664/viewcontent/Political_discussions.pdf
• Institution: Singapore Management University

Online platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, and Reddit, provide users with a rich set of features for sharing and consuming political information, expressing political opinions, and exchanging potentially contrary political views. In such activities, two types of communication spaces naturally emerge: those dominated by exchanges between politically homogeneous users and those that allow and encourage crosscutting exchanges in politically heterogeneous groups. While research on political talk in online environments abounds, we know surprisingly little about the potentially varying nature of discussions in politically homogeneous spaces as compared to cross-cutting communication spaces. To fill this gap, we use Reddit to explore the nature of political discussions in homogeneous and cross-cutting communication spaces. In particular, we develop an analytical template to study interaction and linguistic patterns within and between politically homogeneous and heterogeneous communication spaces. Our analyses reveal different behavioral patterns in homogeneous and cross-cutting communications spaces. We discuss theoretical and practical implications in the context of research on political talk online.