Opinion Dynamics and Spreading Models on Social Networks

Explore a comprehensive lecture on opinion dynamics and spreading models in social networks presented by Mason Porter from UCLA. Delve into the impact of network structures on various dynamical processes, from disease and meme propagation to opinion formation and social influence. Examine diverse modeling approaches, including threshold models of social contagions, voter models that coevolve with network structure, and bounded-confidence models with continuous opinions. Investigate how these processes are shaped by the underlying networks and their connections to real-world phenomena such as opinion polarization, the "majority illusion" in social networks, and the formation of echo chambers in online platforms. Gain valuable insights into the complex interplay between network dynamics and social processes in this hour-long presentation from the Santa Fe Institute.