Social media activity is consequential for individuals and societies. It is also remarkably sensitive to local weather 🌡️🌧️❄️ Our new research article is out in @psychscience.bsky.social, work together w/ Nick Obradovich & @estebanmoro.bsky.social doi.org/10.1177/0956... THREAD 🧵 1/7 - ThreadSky

keltonminor.bsky.social • 14 days ago

Social media activity is consequential for individuals and societies. It is also remarkably sensitive to local weather 🌡️🌧️❄️

Our new research article is out in @psychscience.bsky.social, work together w/ Nick Obradovich & @estebanmoro.bsky.social
https://doi.org/10.1177/09567976241306099
THREAD 🧵 1/7

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keltonminor.bsky.social•14 days ago

We pair billions of posts from two of the world's largest social media platforms (Facebook & Twitter/X) with weather data over the (continental) U.S. to investigate the relationship between randomly timed fluctuations in weather and local posting activity. 2/7

keltonminor.bsky.social•14 days ago

Consistent across platforms, we show that both hotter and colder temperatures + more intense precipitation significantly amplify social media activity at the scale of entire (U.S.) cities, and within-individuals. 3/7

keltonminor.bsky.social•14 days ago

Considering weather mixtures as a surface rather than separate variables, we show that compound temperature and precipitation extremes exact very large digital behavioral impacts... 4/7

keltonminor.bsky.social•14 days ago

Just how big are these effects? A day of inclement (very cold + snowy) weather amplifies social media activity by more than double the effect of Mardi Gras in New Orleans, 6X the Boston Marathon, and nearly three times the effect of New Years Eve in New York City! 5/7

keltonminor.bsky.social•14 days ago

Considering our results w/ prior research by Baylis and Obradovich that showed social media-post expressions independently worsen on hot, cold, or wet days, more extreme weather appears to both amplify social-media activity and worsen sentiments online.

See: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0195750
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keltonminor.bsky.social•14 days ago

Meteorological conditions play a critical —but much overlooked— role in shaping digital social interaction that can rival and exceed the effects of many of the most salient human-planned social events in the United States.

(ungated) preprint here: https://arxiv.org/abs/2302.08456

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