User features and gendered patterns in repeat online advice-seeking behavior
There is limited understanding of the user-level variables related to the common activity of repeat advice-seeking on virtual communities. Gender is of particular interest; past studies indicate men participate less on support forums. Social role theory provides descriptions of the interplay betwee...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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HOPE
2025-03-01
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| Series: | Journal of Quantitative Description: Digital Media |
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| Online Access: | https://journalqd.org/article/view/8604 |
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| author | Bianca Kang Moon-Ho Ringo Ho Kokil Jaidka |
| author_facet | Bianca Kang Moon-Ho Ringo Ho Kokil Jaidka |
| author_sort | Bianca Kang |
| collection | DOAJ |
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There is limited understanding of the user-level variables related to the common activity of repeat advice-seeking on virtual communities. Gender is of particular interest; past studies indicate men participate less on support forums. Social role theory provides descriptions of the interplay between gender roles and help-seeking, but these have not been quantified in an online context. We conduct a computational linguistic analysis on a year-long dataset of 17896 users on Reddit’s r/relationships, comparing the demographics, linguistic choices, and user histories of repeat and non-repeat advice-seekers self-identifying as male or female. We find strong evidence of gendered behavior, with users largely behaving more similarly to their identified gender. Female users are more likely to be repeat advice-seekers and to engage in advice-giving alongside their future advice-seeking attempts. There are otherwise no significant differences between the proportions of male and female users who return solely to seek advice. Female users are also more likely to write longer and more informally, seeking advice on domestic issues and communication. Male users are more focused on dating and past partners. Our findings shed light on the characteristics of a possibly vulnerable user population and set the foundation for future investigations on the influence of offline social roles on online help-seeking.
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| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-fbdb9ad23e0e434db8db6bea7af27ad2 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2673-8813 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-03-01 |
| publisher | HOPE |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Quantitative Description: Digital Media |
| spelling | doaj-art-fbdb9ad23e0e434db8db6bea7af27ad22025-08-20T03:05:01ZengHOPEJournal of Quantitative Description: Digital Media2673-88132025-03-01510.51685/jqd.2025.008User features and gendered patterns in repeat online advice-seeking behaviorBianca Kang0Moon-Ho Ringo Ho1Kokil Jaidka2Carnegie Mellon UniversityNanyang Technological UniversityNational University of Singapore There is limited understanding of the user-level variables related to the common activity of repeat advice-seeking on virtual communities. Gender is of particular interest; past studies indicate men participate less on support forums. Social role theory provides descriptions of the interplay between gender roles and help-seeking, but these have not been quantified in an online context. We conduct a computational linguistic analysis on a year-long dataset of 17896 users on Reddit’s r/relationships, comparing the demographics, linguistic choices, and user histories of repeat and non-repeat advice-seekers self-identifying as male or female. We find strong evidence of gendered behavior, with users largely behaving more similarly to their identified gender. Female users are more likely to be repeat advice-seekers and to engage in advice-giving alongside their future advice-seeking attempts. There are otherwise no significant differences between the proportions of male and female users who return solely to seek advice. Female users are also more likely to write longer and more informally, seeking advice on domestic issues and communication. Male users are more focused on dating and past partners. Our findings shed light on the characteristics of a possibly vulnerable user population and set the foundation for future investigations on the influence of offline social roles on online help-seeking. https://journalqd.org/article/view/8604advice-seekinggendersocial role theoryonline adviceReddit |
| spellingShingle | Bianca Kang Moon-Ho Ringo Ho Kokil Jaidka User features and gendered patterns in repeat online advice-seeking behavior Journal of Quantitative Description: Digital Media advice-seeking gender social role theory online advice |
| title | User features and gendered patterns in repeat online advice-seeking behavior |
| title_full | User features and gendered patterns in repeat online advice-seeking behavior |
| title_fullStr | User features and gendered patterns in repeat online advice-seeking behavior |
| title_full_unstemmed | User features and gendered patterns in repeat online advice-seeking behavior |
| title_short | User features and gendered patterns in repeat online advice-seeking behavior |
| title_sort | user features and gendered patterns in repeat online advice seeking behavior |
| topic | advice-seeking gender social role theory online advice |
| url | https://journalqd.org/article/view/8604 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT biancakang userfeaturesandgenderedpatternsinrepeatonlineadviceseekingbehavior AT moonhoringoho userfeaturesandgenderedpatternsinrepeatonlineadviceseekingbehavior AT kokiljaidka userfeaturesandgenderedpatternsinrepeatonlineadviceseekingbehavior |