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Talking Politics on Facebook: Network Centrality and Political Discussion Practices in Social Media
Miller, Patrick R. Bobkowski, Peter S. Maliniak, Daniel Rapoport, Ronald B.
Miller, Patrick R.
Bobkowski, Peter S.
Maliniak, Daniel
Rapoport, Ronald B.
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Abstract
This study examines the relationship between political discussion on Facebook and social network location. It uses
a survey name generator to map friendship ties between students at a university and to calculate their centralities in
that network. Social connectedness in the university network positively predicts more frequent political discussion on
Facebook. But in political discussions, better connected individuals do not capitalize equally on the potential influence
that stems from their more central network locations. Popular individuals who have more direct connections to other
network members discuss politics more often but in politically safer interactions that minimize social risk, preferring
more engaged discussion with like-minded others and editing their privacy settings to guard their political disclosures.
Gatekeepers who facilitate connections between more pairs of otherwise disconnected network members also discuss
politics more frequently, but are more likely to engage in risk-tolerant discussion practices such as posting political
updates or attempting political persuasion. These novel findings on social connectedness extend research on offline
political discussion into the social media sphere, and suggest that as social network research proliferates, analysts
should consider how various types of network location shape political behavior.
Description
Date
2015
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Publisher
SAGE Publications
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Keywords
Online engagement, Social Media, Social networks, Political discussion, U.S. politics
Citation
Miller, P. R., Bobkowski, P. S., Maliniak, D., & Rapoport, R. B. (2015). Talking politics on Facebook: Network centrality and political discussion practices in social media. Political Research Quarterly, 68(2), 377-391. doi:10.1177/1065912915580135