Evaluation of User Engagement on Social Media to Leverage Active and Passive Communication

Abstract

Individuals in society differ ideologically both online and offline. As the nature of discussions and communication evolve, so do the dynamics within collective groups. User participation on issues such as political discourse affect the opinions of collective groups prior to, during, and after the occurrence of significant events. Changes in engagement can be influenced by choice in words during these discussions. This results in naturally insulating effects that prevent a more comprehensive discussion, and a further challenge exists when opposing, less vocal voices, have a disproportional impact in less conspicuous ways. This paper introduces a communicative model to understand event stimuli triggering user participation of both active and passive actors. This approach contributes to developing more engaging on-line discussion as the nature of the communication evolves.