A recent study from Queen Mary University of London has undertaken an analysis of a vast dataset encompassing 2.6 million posts on the widely used social media platform Nextdoor. Remarkably, the researchers achieved the ability to accurately discern the income of individuals solely by scrutinizing the content they had shared through their posts.
Divergences in online content shared by individuals residing in affluent and disadvantaged neighborhoods have captured the attention of researchers, who propose that such online posting behavior, extending beyond Nextdoor, may disclose valuable insights into socioeconomic status, thus enabling user profiling.
Understanding income
Discerning users’ income could furnish social media platforms with the means to recommend income-based content, while advertisers and online retailers could selectively target individuals based on their economic profiles, tailoring specific products and prices to their respective income levels.
The study’s findings additionally indicate that residents of affluent neighborhoods demonstrate a higher propensity for sharing positive posts, while disproportionately discussing crime, even in instances where crime rates are comparatively lower than in poorer neighborhoods.
“Our study demonstrates that textual content generated by users in impoverished neighborhoods exhibits distinct characteristics compared to that originating from wealthier neighborhoods,” the researchers explain. “Online user-generated content unveils socioeconomic factors: wealthier locales exhibit heightened posting activity related to crime, albeit with an overall prevalence of positive sentiment in their posts.”
Income levels
This investigation represents the first comprehensive study of Nextdoor, highlighting the online manifestation of income levels and income inequality within neighborhoods.
The research team amassed and analyzed 2.6 million posts from 64,283 neighborhoods in the United States and 3,325 neighborhoods in the United Kingdom, posted on Nextdoor between November 2020 and September 2021. With a user base of 10 million individuals, the platform allows verified residents to engage in neighborhood-focused discussions. The study’s outcomes demonstrate consistency across both countries.
Residents of affluent neighborhoods display heightened concerns regarding crime, with the wealthiest 20% of neighborhoods engaging in crime-related discussions approximately 1.5 times more frequently than their counterparts residing in the poorest neighborhoods.
Greater concern
Interestingly, this pattern persists despite crime levels being 1.3 times higher in the less privileged neighborhoods. Consequently, individuals living in affluent neighborhoods with lower levels of inequality engage in the most extensive discussions surrounding crime.
Regarding the nature of the crimes discussed, non-violent offenses tend to occupy the majority of the discourse. While there are many similarities in user content trends between the United States and the United Kingdom, a noteworthy distinction emerges concerning discussions of weapons and violent crimes, which are more prevalent in the wealthier neighborhoods of the United States compared to their British counterparts.
However, this discrepancy does not hold true for middle-income neighborhoods, as UK residents exhibit a higher inclination to post about such crimes compared to their American counterparts.
