Control of kinetic opinion dynamics in popularity-adaptive social networks

TL;DR

This paper develops a kinetic model for opinion dynamics in social networks where opinions and connections co-evolve, introducing control strategies to influence opinion spread and network structure, with applications to reducing polarization and fostering consensus.

Contribution

It introduces a novel feedback mechanism linking opinion influence to contact formation within a kinetic framework, including control laws to steer opinion and network evolution.

Findings

Control strategies can reduce polarization

Control can promote consensus

Model demonstrates influence of interventions on opinion dynamics

Abstract

This paper presents a mathematical model for opinion dynamics in popularity-adaptive social networks, where both opinion spreading and the evolution of social media contacts depend on agents' popularity and the prominence of their views. While previous approaches accounted for the influence of popularity on opinion dynamics, we introduce a novel feedback mechanism in which opinion affects the formation of contacts. Within a kinetic modeling framework, we describe the evolution of the coupled dynamics of opinions and network structure, incorporating a class of control laws in order to promote interactions with popular individuals and amplify dominant opinions. Such control strategies are introduced to influence both opinion formation and connectivity, representing interventions such as awareness campaigns or moderation policies. Numerical results show how control strategies can mitigate polarization, foster consensus, or guide opinion distributions in dynamically evolving networks.