User Migration across Multiple Social Media Platforms

TL;DR

This study analyzes user migration patterns from Twitter to new platforms like Mastodon, Bluesky, and Threads, revealing distinct behaviors, challenges, and perceptions through behavioral analysis and LLM-based stance detection.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive analysis of migration patterns, attributes, and perceptions of users across multiple social media platforms after Twitter's policy changes.

Findings

Distinct migration patterns for each platform

Behavioral differences between migrants and non-migrants

Perceptions of new platforms vary based on user stance

Abstract

After Twitter's ownership change and policy shifts, many users reconsidered their go-to social media outlets and platforms like Mastodon, Bluesky, and Threads became attractive alternatives in the battle for users. Based on the data from over 14,000 users who migrated to these platforms within the first eight weeks after the launch of Threads, our study examines: (1) distinguishing attributes of Twitter users who migrated, compared to non-migrants; (2) temporal migration patterns and associated challenges for sustainable migration faced by each platform; and (3) how these new platforms are perceived in relation to Twitter. Our research proceeds in three stages. First, we examine migration from a broad perspective, not just one-to-one migration. Second, we leverage behavioral analysis to pinpoint the distinct migration pattern of each platform. Last, we employ a Large Language Model (LLM) to discern stances towards each platform and correlate them with the platform usage. This in-depth analysis illuminates migration patterns amid competition across social media platforms.