Which Countries Does the World Talk About Online? Exploring the Impact of National Attributes, Resources, and Contexts on Country Presence on Twitter

• In Event: Global/Regional Media Flows and Citizen Health and Identity

Abstract

This study explores which nations are mentioned most frequently on Twitter and what factors – among country attributes, communication and economic resources, and contexts – explain the mentions of nations in Tweets. This study includes 210 nations and estimates of Tweet mentions of each nation derived from full fire hose access to Twitter in 2013. Findings of this study identify key trends that push the boundaries of world system theory and global information flows. The results also suggest a new era of international communication via social networks. Though core and semi-periphery countries still are more mentioned on balance than are periphery countries, other factors--namely mobile phone penetration and sociopolitical instability--are reshaping the contours of country image. Nearly unthinkable from legacy media perspective, just 28% of the fifty most-mentioned countries on Twitter were core nations. Altogether, this study brings to light a broad area of implications and ramifications for media, world politics, and international relations.

Authors

• H. Denis Wu, Boston U

• Jacob Groshek, Boston University

• Michael G. Elasmar, Boston U