How do social media companies increase user engagement, and what effective methods do they use to increase connectedness among users? These are some of the questions explored in a recent study published in the Journal of Marketing Research by researchers at The University of Texas at Dallas. The study’s lead author, Dr. Ying Xie, a marketing professor at the Naveen Jindal School of Management, focused on how strangers form online friendships within an evolving social network.
The team obtained data from MyAnimeList.net, an online community for anime fans. The site is an anonymous platform, requiring only a username and password to join, and users can voluntarily share demographic information on their profile page. By studying how individual users decide to befriend others, what activities they participate in, and how they engage on the site, the researchers identified three key factors that influence strangers to form online friendships: similarity, common networks, and domain expertise of other users.
Other findings include the fact that having more friends does not necessarily increase user activity on the site, but having more friends who engage does. Furthermore, the study found that social media companies should consider recommending friends of friends as the most effective way to increase connectedness within evolving networks.
Xie’s research has implications for other interest-based online communities, as well as special-interest groups on major social media platforms like Reddit. For users looking to make new friends on social media, having similarities in demographics, interests, and location increases the likelihood of having their friend requests accepted.
More information: Ying Xie et al, From Strangers to Friends: Tie Formations and Online Activities in an Evolving Social Network, Journal of Marketing Research (2023). DOI: 10.1177/002224372211079
Citation:
Study explores how social network users decide to make friends (2023, June 12)
retrieved 13 June 2023
from https://phys.org/news/2023-06-explores-social-network-users-friends.html
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