Polarization in Decentralized Online Social Networks

TL;DR

This paper investigates how polarization manifests in decentralized social networks like Mastodon, revealing unique patterns driven by the desire for federation and risk mitigation among instances.

Contribution

It provides the first preliminary analysis of polarization effects in DOSNs, focusing on the dynamics within Mastodon and its impact on the Fediverse.

Findings

Polarization influences federation and isolation of instances.

Unique polarization patterns emerge in decentralized social networks.

Risk mitigation strategies affect instance interactions.

Abstract

Centralized social media platforms are currently experiencing a shift in user engagement, drawing attention to alternative paradigms like Decentralized Online Social Networks (DOSNs). The rising popularity of DOSNs finds its root in the accessibility of open-source software, enabling anyone to create a new instance (i.e., server) and participate in a decentralized network known as Fediverse. Despite this growing momentum, there has been a lack of studies addressing the effect of positive and negative interactions among instances within DOSNs. This work aims to fill this gap by presenting a preliminary examination of instances' polarization in DOSNs, focusing on Mastodon -- the most widely recognized decentralized social media platform, boasting over 10M users and nearly 20K instances to date. Our results suggest that polarization in the Fediverse emerges in unique ways, influenced by the desire to foster a federated environment between instances, also facilitating the isolation of instances that may pose potential risks to the Fediverse.