Assessing Mobile Instant Messenger Networks with Donated Data

10 July 2024

Although Mobile Instant Messenger Services play an increasingly important role in social and political participation of citizens and the spreading of information, we know surprisingly little about these networks. Most research on social media focuses on “traditional” social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook, because in contrast to MIMSs, data from these platforms are relatively accessible to research. In this project we rely on the innovative method of data donation to collect information on the Whatsapp network in the Netherlands, by asking LISS respondents to donate own user data in a way that is both user-friendly and respecting their privacy. The result will be one of the first datasets on Whatsapp usage on a broad and high-quality sample, promising novel insights on questions about mobilization, participation and (mis)information.

Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash