Political Discussions in Homogeneous and Cross-Cutting Communication Spaces

TL;DR

This paper investigates how political discussions differ in online platforms between homogeneous groups and cross-cutting, heterogeneous groups, revealing distinct behavioral patterns and implications for online political communication.

Contribution

It introduces an analytical framework to compare interaction and linguistic patterns in homogeneous versus cross-cutting political communication spaces on Reddit.

Findings

Different behavioral patterns in homogeneous and cross-cutting spaces

Distinct linguistic features characterize each type of communication space

Implications for understanding online political discourse

Abstract

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 cross-cutting 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.