Deconstructing cultural appropriation in online communities: A multilayer network analysis approach

Abstract

In this study, we introduce a novel multilayer network model designed to analyze complex social phenomena in online communities. The model captures intricate relationships between users, content, and specific aspects of social phenomena, providing a comprehensive framework for understanding these interactions. We applied this model to a dataset of over 1 million Reddit comments from January to April 2022, filtered for cultural appropriation-related keywords. Our quantitative analyses, based on Social Network Analysis techniques, revealed significant findings. For instance, a subreddit exhibited the highest user interaction, indicating a substantial level of engagement on this topic. Furthermore, the distribution of key contents across different subreddits was non-uniform, suggesting diverse levels of engagement across communities. The results of this research underscore the potential of our approach in providing a nuanced understanding of social phenomena in online communities, thereby contributing to future research in this field.