Characterizing the Discourse of Popular Diets to Describe Information Dispersal and Identify Leading Voices, Interaction, and Themes of Mental Health: Social Network Analysis

Eaton, Melissa; Probst, Yasmine; Smith, Marc A.

doi:10.2196/38245

Cited by 4 publications

References 88 publications

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Social network and linguistic analysis of the #nutrition discourse on the social network platform X, formerly known as Twitter

Ellis,

Moore,

et al. 2024

Soc. Netw. Anal. Min.

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Social network analysis (SNA) of social media content allows information transfer to be visualised, identifies influential actors, and reveals public opinion. However, to date no research has investigated content related to nutrition on X. This study examined the #nutrition conversations on X (formerly Twitter) utilising SNA and linguistic methods. NodeXL Pro was used for network, semantic and sentiment analyses on English language posts including ‘#nutrition’ collected between 1 and 21 March 2023. The #nutrition network included 17,129 vertices (users) with 26,809 edges (relationships). NodeXL Pro was used to assess the structure of the network and the actors involved by calculating the network metrics. The results show a low density, dispersed network (graph density = 0.001) with most users communicating heavily with a small number of other users. These subgroup community cluster structures restrict information flow outside of the subgroups (modularity = 0.79). These network structures rely on influential users to share information (betweenness centrality range, 0 to 23,375,544). Notably, influential users were typically from both personal and not-for-profit accounts. Semantic analysis identified 97,000 word-pair edges with the most frequently discussed topics related to health, healthy lifestyle and diet, with a positive sentiment found across the network. By using SNA, semantic, and sentiment analyses, this study found a dispersed X network with a high proportion of unconnected users who did not have relationship with other users in the network. The findings reveal a publicly driven debate focused on healthy diets and lifestyle, with information primarily propagated through reposting.

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Social network and linguistic analysis of the #nutrition discourse on the social network platform X, formerly known as Twitter

Ellis,

Moore,

et al. 2024

Soc. Netw. Anal. Min.

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Gluten-free diet on video platforms: Retrospective infodemiology study

Ye,

Fang,

Lian

et al. 2024

DIGITAL HEALTH

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Background Video platform is an important approach for individuals to access and adopt health information. Online information on gluten-free diet (GFD) videos remains underinvestigated. Methods GFD videos were identified by hashtag-based searching strategy. Videos' basic information, engagement metrics, and content were recorded. Mann-Kendall test was performed to examine time trends of submitting videos and engagement metrics. Video quality was evaluated by the DISCERN instrument and the HONcode. Results A total of 822 videos were included in the analysis, with the majority focusing on gluten-free food recipes. The number of videos related to GFD was showing an upward trend. Engagement metrics varied between platforms and video types, with non-recipe videos receiving higher user engagement. The average DISCERN score was 50.20 out of 80 and the average HONcode score was 1.93 out of 8. Videos submitted by health professionals demonstrated better quality compared to those submitted by patients or general users. Conclusion There was a rise in the number of videos related to GFD on Chinese video platforms. The overall quality of these videos was poor, most of them were not rigorous enough. Highlighting using social media as a health information source has the potential risk of disseminating one-sided messages and misleading. Efforts should be made to enhance the transparency of advertisements and establish clear guidelines for information sharing on social media platforms.

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An Epistemological and Infodemiological Framework for Health-Communication During COVID-19 and Future Crises (Preprint)

Rovetta¹,

Castaldo²

2023

Preprint

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UNSTRUCTURED The infodemic, defined as the overabundance of both accurate and inaccurate information, represents a significant challenge in today's digital society. First and foremost, the notion of a baseline truth state pertains to the definition of what is true and what is not prior to communication. This constitutes a philosophical and epistemological quest to establish a foundation for determining the veracity of information before it is disseminated. Once a baseline truth state is determined, communicative issues arise in effectively disseminating information. Factors that can have an impact are due to both the communicative ability and credibility of the communicator and the potential biases of the recipients. The present manuscript proposes a novel theoretical framework to assess communicative appropriateness and the credibility of scientific evidence to be communicated. By addressing these aspects, this approach aims to enhance the quality of information dissemination and mitigate and/or prevent the negative effects of the infodemic. In this regard, it is crucial to emphasize that the success of the proposed strategies relies heavily on the population’s infodemic resilience and education. Moreover, scientists are ethically required not to step out of their roles and to leave communication to communication experts. Finally, national and international legislations could force communicators and/or control bodies to associate a color with the various types of degrees of reliability discussed in any media.

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Characterizing the Discourse of Popular Diets to Describe Information Dispersal and Identify Leading Voices, Interaction, and Themes of Mental Health: Social Network Analysis

Cited by 4 publications

References 88 publications

Social network and linguistic analysis of the #nutrition discourse on the social network platform X, formerly known as Twitter

Social network and linguistic analysis of the #nutrition discourse on the social network platform X, formerly known as Twitter

Gluten-free diet on video platforms: Retrospective infodemiology study

An Epistemological and Infodemiological Framework for Health-Communication During COVID-19 and Future Crises (Preprint)

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