What is it about?
This chapter describes approaches to studying the influence of groupthink on the users of an open social media platform (e.g., Twitter) and proposes a methodology for conducting a study. Using data from a selected hashtag, it reports on the application of theory to research, considers the role and influence of groupthink, and discusses the implications of the findings for reconceptualizing approaches to the study of new media.
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Why is it important?
Groupthink puts pressure on individuals to conform to social norms, but anonymity has been found to reduce or lessen such influence. Apart from anonymity, the significance of the topic and self-censorship may or may not contribute to the influence of groupthink. Groupthink has been studied in the context of social media using various approaches, but to date it remains unclear how much and to what extent it influences the conflict among users within this cultural context.
Perspectives
While conducting research on Facebook and Twitter as social media sites whose affordances allowed for mediated conflict I realized how much had been done but felt a need to review and analyze the emergent patterns. Subsequently, I learnt my my co-author was interested in conflict interactions on Twitter. After some collaboration, we were able to integrate her work into the larger project as an example of how such research could be conducted. I found it a worthwhile experience collaborating with my co-author in integrating theory with practice using real-world examples.
Dr Godfrey A Steele
University of the West Indies
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: The Influence of Groupthink on Culture and Conflict in Twitter, IGI Global,
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-5225-3784-7.ch009.
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