Social Media Journeys -- Mapping Platform Migration

2025-03-17

AI Summary

This study investigates the sociotechnical drivers underlying users’ cross-platform migration on social media. Methodologically, it employs a mixed-methods approach: 32 participants co-constructed “social media journey maps,” which were then analyzed through qualitative content analysis and graph representation learning—where platforms constitute nodes and migration paths form edges—marking the first integration of journey mapping with structural graph modeling. Results identify three primary migration drivers: (1) peer-driven popularity diffusion, (2) timing effects tied to critical feature rollouts, and (3) users’ subjective perceptions of safety, privacy, and value. Building on these findings, the study proposes a dynamic, context-sensitive, and subjectively constructed multidimensional migration driver model. Theoretically, this advances understanding of platform migration beyond technological determinism; empirically, it offers evidence-based design principles for next-generation social platforms that prioritize human-centeredness and adaptive responsiveness.

Technology Category

• Application Domains: Humanities & Computational Social Science
• Cognitive Modeling & Cognitive Systems: Social Cognition And Interaction
• Data Mining & Knowledge Management: Graph Mining, Social Network Analysis & Community

Application Category

• Social Networks and Social Media: Socio-technical web-based systems
• User Modeling, Personalization and Recommendation: Social recommender systems and personalization for the social Web
• Web Mining and Content Analysis: Content-based information diffusion

Abstract

As people engage with the social media landscape, popular platforms rise and fall. As current research uncovers the experiences people have on various platforms, rarely do we engage with the sociotechnical migration processes when joining and leaving them. In this paper, we asked 32 visitors of a science communication festival to draw out artifacts that we call Social Media Journey Maps about the social media platforms they frequented, and why. By combining qualitative content analysis with a graph representation of Social Media Journeys, we present how social media migration processes are motivated by the interplay of environmental and platform factors. We find that peer-driven popularity, the timing of feature adoption, and personal perceptions of migration causes - such as security - shape individuals' reasoning for migrating between social media platforms. With this work, we aim to pave the way for future social media platforms that foster meaningful and enriching online experiences for users.

Problem

• Understanding migration between social media platforms
• Exploring motivations behind platform switching
• Analyzing environmental and platform factors influencing migration

Innovation

• Social Media Journey Maps visualize migration patterns.
• Graph representation analyzes environmental and platform factors.
• Qualitative content analysis identifies migration motivations.