When Do Users Change Their Profile Information on Twitter?

TL;DR

This study analyzes the timing and reasons behind Twitter users' profile information changes, revealing seasonal and cultural differences in change patterns among Japanese and English users.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed analysis of user profile change timing and motivations on Twitter across different languages and cultures.

Findings

Japanese users peak in profile changes in April.

English users most often change names on birthdays.

Name changes correlate with engagement decline in Japanese users.

Abstract

We can see profile information such as name, description and location in order to know the user on social media. However, this profile information is not always fixed. If there is a change in the user's life, the profile information will be changed. In this study, we focus on user's profile information changes and analyze the timing and reasons for these changes on Twitter. The results indicate that the peak of profile information change occurs in April among Japanese users, but there was no such trend observed for English users throughout the year. Our analysis also shows that English users most frequently change their names on their birthdays, while Japanese users change their names as their Twitter engagement and activities decrease over time.