Is liking what your neighbors like, bad for your health? A study on the clustering of Twitter likes in social networks

Recent studies have highlighted the role of Twitter and social media in the spread of health information and misinformation across social networks. When seeking information, people tend toward confirmation bias, which refers to the tendency for individuals to remember and believe information that supports or confirms their prior beliefs. Unfortunately, confirmation bias can also lead individuals to dismiss ideas that contradict pre-existing beliefs, thus precluding them from making beneficial behavioral changes.

In this thesis project, theMSc student would use Twitter data on a food product, for example, refined sugar (to be determined in joint meeting), likes, and location to examine the role of social networks and confirmation bias in the spread of health-related information on Twitter. The MSc student should have taken an introductory statistics course either in their BSc or MSc studies. This project would be conducted jointly with the HSO and BMO groups.

Interested or want to know more? Please contact Spencer Moore from HSO (spencer.moore@wur.nl) and Wilfred Dolfsma from BMO (wilfred.dolfsma@wur.nl) (add thesiscoordination.hso@wur.nl in the CC).

Duration: 6 months
Language: English / Dutch

Start Date: Flexible