Modeling and Analysis of Opinion Dynamics in Social Networks Using Multiple-Population Mean Field Games

Abstract

The dominanceof social networks has advanced immensely as many users become more dependent on these networks to be able to engage on social discussions and activities. The behavior of these users about a specific topic or issue can be extracted from their own belief or opinion as well as that of their connections. In order to derive meaningful and important behavioral information, these users can be modeled and analyzed together according to similarities in attributes such as political orientation, race, gender, and age. In this research work, the opinion dynamics of a multiple-population social network is investigated through the application of multiple-population mean field game (MPMFG) for behavior modeling and analysis. As a consequence of the proposed MPMFG model, information can be gained on the behavior of social network users belonging to different populations or groups. Specifically, the proposed MPFMG model can be utilized to estimate and predict the behavior of a social network group as well as their effect on the belief and opinion of other groups. Simulations are provided to demonstrate the belief and opinion dynamics of social network users in multiple-population settings. Moreover, theoretical and experimental results as well as comprehensive performance analysis are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness and validity of the proposed MPMFG approach in modeling and analyzing the evolution of opinions in multiple-population social networks.