Structure of Ego-alter relationships of Politicians in Twitter

TL;DR

This study examines the structure and dynamics of Twitter relationships among politicians and users, revealing that political ties are influenced by social constraints but are also used for signaling and self-promotion, with notable differences among groups.

Contribution

It provides a comparative analysis of ego-alter Twitter networks of politicians and users, highlighting the social and communicative functions of online relationships in political contexts.

Findings

Twitter relationships follow social environment patterns

Politicians use ties mainly for signaling, not direct contact

EU leaders exhibit more explicit relationship behaviors

Abstract

We analyze the ego-alter Twitter networks of 300 Italian MPs and 18 European leaders, and of about 14,000 generic users. We find structural properties typical of social environments, meaning that Twitter activity is controlled by constraints that are similar to those shaping conventional social relationships. However, the evolution of ego-alter ties is very dynamic, which suggests that they are not entirely used for social interaction, but for public signaling and self-promotion. From this standpoint, the behavior of EU leaders is much more evident, while Italian MPs are in between them and generic users. We find that politicians, more than generic users, create relationships as a side effect of tweeting on discussion topics, rather than by contacting specific alters.