Partially supported by a NULab Travel Grant.
The debate over whether the internet functions as an echo chamber or a diverse forum remains unresolved. Some studies argue that social media promotes ideological segregation, reinforcing users’ views. Others suggest platforms like Twitter expose users to diverse perspectives, challenging this idea.
Our research contributes to this discussion by addressing gaps in previous studies, which focused mostly on ideology. We broaden our scope to include sociodemographic factors. Using a panel of 1.6 million Twitter/X accounts linked to voter files over four years and waves of a national survey, we examine how gender, race, and rural living influence public discourse and information diversity.
We focus on three areas: news diversity, social networks of news sharing, and user clustering around news sources. This analysis will show if users are exposed to wide perspectives or confined to echo chambers. Our findings aim to provide insight into social media’s role in public discourse and democracy, beyond ideological impacts alone.
Project Team
- Coauthor Burak Ozturan
- Coauthor Professor David Lazer
Publications
This research project was presented at the Sunbelt 2024 Conference and the APSA 2024 Conference.
