Using word embeddings to analyse audience effects and individual differences in parenting Subreddits

Melody Sepahpour-Fard, Michael Quayle, Maria Schuld, Taha Yasseri

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)

Abstract

This paper explores how individuals’ language use in gender-specific groups (“mothers” and “fathers”) compares to their interactions when referred to as “parents.” Language adaptation based on the audience is well-documented, yet large-scale studies of naturally-occurring audience effects are rare. To address this, we investigate audience and gender effects in the context of parenting, where gender plays a significant role. We focus on interactions within Reddit, particularly in the parenting Subreddits r/Daddit, r/Mommit, and r/Parenting, which cater to distinct audiences. By analyzing user posts using word embeddings, we measure similarities between user-tokens and word-tokens, also considering differences among high and low self-monitors. Results reveal that in mixed-gender contexts, mothers and fathers exhibit similar behavior in discussing a wide range of topics, while fathers emphasize more on educational and family advice. Single-gender Subreddits see more focused discussions. Mothers in r/Mommit discuss medical care, sleep, potty training, and food, distinguishing themselves. In terms of individual differences, we found that, especially on r/Parenting, high self-monitors tend to conform more to the norms of the Subreddit by discussing more of the topics associated with the Subreddit.

Original languageEnglish
Article number38
JournalEPJ Data Science
Volume12
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Dec 2023

Keywords

  • Audience effects
  • Computational social science
  • Gender stereotypes
  • Natural language processing
  • Parenting
  • Reddit
  • User embeddings
  • Word embeddings

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