Testing the effects of Facebook usage in an ethnically polarized setting

Asimovic, Nejla; Nagler, Jonathan; Bonneau, Richard; Tucker, Joshua A.

doi:10.1073/pnas.2022819118

Cited by 48 publications

(60 citation statements)

References 58 publications

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“…Common causal inference techniques that were used in our sample include instrumental variable designs that introduce exogenous variation in the treatment variable [59][60][61][62][63] , matching approaches to explicitly balance treatment and control groups [64][65][66] , and panel designs that account for unobserved confounders with unit and/or time-fixed effects 67,68 . We also found multiple large-scale field experiments conducted on social media platforms [69][70][71][72] as well as various natural experiments 59,61,62,73 .…”

Section: Causal Inferencementioning

confidence: 82%

A systematic review of worldwide causal and correlational evidence on digital media and democracy

et al. 2022

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One of today’s most controversial and consequential issues is whether the global uptake of digital media is causally related to a decline in democracy. We conducted a systematic review of causal and correlational evidence (N = 496 articles) on the link between digital media use and different political variables. Some associations, such as increasing political participation and information consumption, are likely to be beneficial for democracy and were often observed in autocracies and emerging democracies. Other associations, such as declining political trust, increasing populism and growing polarization, are likely to be detrimental to democracy and were more pronounced in established democracies. While the impact of digital media on political systems depends on the specific variable and system in question, several variables show clear directions of associations. The evidence calls for research efforts and vigilance by governments and civil societies to better understand, design and regulate the interplay of digital media and democracy.

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Section: Causal Inferencementioning

confidence: 82%

A systematic review of worldwide causal and correlational evidence on digital media and democracy

et al. 2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…A quite different approach is to randomly assign some participants to deactivate their social media accounts for a period of time, and measure the effect on various survey attitudes. For example, deactivating Facebook has been shown to increase subjective well-being but decrease news knowledge in both the United States (Allcott, Braghieri, Eichmeyer, & Gentzkow, 2020) and Bosnia and Herzegovina (Asimovic, Nagler, Bonneau, & Tucker, 2021).…”

Section: Hybrid Studies Linking Traditional Surveys With Social Media Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

Field Experiments on Social Media

Mosleh

Pennycook

Rand

2021

Curr Dir Psychol Sci

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Online behavioral data, such as digital traces from social media, have the potential to allow researchers an unprecedented new window into human behavior in ecologically valid everyday contexts. However, research using such data is often purely observational, which limits its usefulness for identifying causal relationships. Here we review recent innovations in experimental approaches to studying online behavior, with a particular focus on research related to misinformation and political psychology. In hybrid lab-field studies, exposure to social-media content can be randomized, and the impact on attitudes and beliefs can be measured using surveys, or exposure to treatments can be randomized within survey experiments, and their impact on subsequent online behavior can be observed. In field experiments conducted on social media, randomized treatments can be administered directly to users in the online environment (e.g., via social-tie invitations, private messages, or public posts) without revealing that they are part of an experiment, and the effects on subsequent online behavior can then be observed. The strengths and weaknesses of each approach are discussed, along with practical advice and central ethical constraints on such studies.

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Section: Hybrid Studies Linking Traditional Surveys With Social Media Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

Field experiments on social media

Mosleh¹,

Pennycook²,

Rand³

2021

Preprint

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Online behavioral data, such as digital traces from social media, have the potential to allow researchers an unprecedented new window into human behavior in ecologically valid everyday contexts. However, research using such data is often purely observational, limiting its ability to identify causal relationships. Here we review recent innovations in experimental approaches to studying online behavior, with a particular focus on research related to misinformation and political psychology. In hybrid lab-field studies, exposure to social media content can be randomized, and the impact on attitudes and beliefs measured using surveys; or exposure to treatments can be randomized within survey experiments, and their impact observed on subsequent online behavior. In field experiments conducted on social media, randomized treatments can be administered directly to users in the online environment - e.g. via social tie invitations, private messages, or public posts - without revealing that they are part of an experiment, and the impacts on subsequent online behavior observed. The strengths and weaknesses of each approach are discussed, along with practical advice and central ethical constraints on such studies.

show abstract

Testing the effects of Facebook usage in an ethnically polarized setting

Cited by 48 publications

References 58 publications

A systematic review of worldwide causal and correlational evidence on digital media and democracy

A systematic review of worldwide causal and correlational evidence on digital media and democracy

Field Experiments on Social Media

Field experiments on social media

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