Gun discourse on Reddit
As part of Dr. Amy Bruckman's team, I delved into the discourse surrounding guns on Reddit. Our goal was to understand the motivations and impact of these online conversations, and identify ways to promote to constructive intergroup interactions.
MY ROLE
RESULTS
We conducted interviews with 20 active participants of gun-related Reddit discussions, combining qualitative analysis of the interviews with quantitative examination of gun-related posts.
Our research paper was published by Computer-Supported Cooperative Work & Social Computing (CSCW) in 2024.
Despite some expressing openness to changing their views through online interactions, our interviews did not reveal any such instances.
PROCESS
Utilizing digital ethnography methods, I identified subreddits with diverse perspectives on gun politics. I observed discussions, noted active users, and reached out to them for interviews. The semi-structured interviews, following the IRB protocol, lasted between 30 minutes to 1.5 hours. I aimed to explore participants' social media usage, engagement with the subreddit, recent posts, motivations for involvement in gun politics, and the disparity between their online and offline discussions.
OBSERVATIONS
Participants' initial political leanings often correlated with their geographical region and familial influences. However, some experienced shifts in their perspectives due to personal experiences or influential figures they followed. Despite some expressing openness to changing their views through online interactions, our interviews did not reveal any such instances. Our observations of Reddit interactions also indicated limited cross-ideology exchanges.
OUTCOME & LEARNING
From the qualitative data collected, we identified personal stories as effective tools for prompting consideration of alternative perspectives. The research work was published by Computer-Supported Cooperative Work & Social Computing (CSCW) in 2024.
From the research project and the supporting course 'Design of Online Communities', I understood that online communities work similar to those offline, if not for the difference in affordances supported by the platform. For example, Reddit's rules and regulations, including the support for local rules within a group, greatly impact the discourses that are encouraged.