MORE MASS SHOOTINGS IS THE
SUBJECT OF RESEARCH OUT OF THE
UW-MADISON.
IN TONIGHT'S INSIDE LOOK, HOW
RESEARCHERS LOOKED AT SOCIAL
MEDIA AND SPECIFICALLY TWITTER
BECAUSE OF HOW IT PROVIDES AN
IMPORTANT WINDOW INTO THE NATURE
OF PUBLIC MOURNING AND POLICY
DEBATES IN THE WAKE OF THESE
TRAGEDIES.
RESULTS APPEAR IN THE JOURNAL OF
COMPUTER-MEDIATED COMMUNICATION
AND MAY ADD TO OUR UNDERSTANDING
WHY THERE IS THERE IS SO LITTLE
LEGISLATIVE SUCCESS.
YINI ZHANG IS HERE.
>> THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME.
>> YOU ANALYZED ABOUT ONE
MILLION TWEETS ABOUT MASS
SHOOTINGS OVER TWO YEARS AND YOU
BROKE THESE TWEETS INTO THREE
THEME GROUPS, THOSE BEING
THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS, GUN
CONTROL AND DEFENSE OF GUN
RIGHTS.
HOW DID THE THREE THEMES STACK
UP IN TERMS OF NUMBER OF TWEETS
IN EACH CATEGORY RIGHT AFTER
MASS SHOOTINGS?
>> SO DEPENDING ON THE METHOD WE
USED TO ANALYZE THOSE TWEETS, I
WOULD SAY SO THE MOST TWEETS WE
SAW WAS THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS,
BECAUSE AS YOU MIGHT SEE RIGHT
AFTER EACH SHOOTING, THERE WERE
LIKE AN OUT POURING, THERE WAS
AN OUTPOURING OF EXPRESSION OF
SYMPATHIES IN THE FORM OF
THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS.
I WOULD SAY THAT'S KIND OF LIKE
AS INTENSE AS THEY WERE
FLEETING.
BECAUSE THEY JUST PEAKED RIGHT
AFTER THE MASS SHOOTINGS.
BUT THIS APPEARED WITHIN ONE
DAY.
AND THEN I WOULD SAY THE NEXT
WOULD BE THE GUN CONTROL AND THE
GUN RIGHTS.
BUT DEPENDING ON THE METHOD WE
USED, SO IT VARIES.
>> SO I WANT TO GET DEEPER INTO
THAT ISSUE OF THE KIND OF THE
LONGEVITY IN THE TWITTERSPHERE
AND SYSTEM OF THESE DIFFERENT
KINDS OF THESE.
YOU'RE SAYING THAT THE THOUGHTS
AND PRAYERS WAS KIND OF
FLEETING.
>> YES.
>> LIKE ONE OR TWO DAYS?
>> YES.
SO THEY JUST SPIKED IMMEDIATELY
AFTER THE SHOOTING, AFTER A
PARTICULAR SHOOTING, AND THEN IT
STAYED IN THE SYSTEM, STAYED IN
THE TWITTER SYSTEM FOR JUST ONE
DAY.
AND THEN KIND OF LIKE
DISAPPEARED.
>> AND THEN HOW DOES THAT
COMPARE TO THE GUN CONTROL
TWEETS?
>> THEY LASTED FOR ABOUT 35
DAYS.
SO MUCH LONGER PERIOD.
HOWEVER, THIS GUN CONTROL
DYNAMIC IS ECLIPSED BY THE GUN
RIGHTS DYNAMIC, WHICH LASTED FOR
ABOUT 40 DAYS.
>> AND YOU'RE ALSO SAYING IN
YOUR REPORT THAT NOT ONLY DID
THE DEFENSE OF GUN RIGHTS HAVE
LASTING POWER IN THE TWITTER
SYSTEM, BUT THAT IT WOULD KIND
OF CYCLE BACK AS WELL, WHERE THE
OTHER THEMES DIDN'T, WHERE IF
THERE WAS AN ANNIVERSARY OR SOME
KIND OF ACTION OR SOME KIND OF
OTHER NEWS SPIKE AROUND THE
PARTICULAR MASS SHOOTING?
>> YEAH.
THE GUN CONTROL TWEETS, WE
OBSERVED A CYCLICLE CYCLICAL PATTERN
PROBABLY DUE TO THE ANNIVERSARY
EFFECT OR WEEKLY PATTERN OF
TWEETS.
WE OBSERVED MORE TWEETS DURING
THE WEEKDAYS AND LESS DURING THE
WEEKENDS.
>> HOW DO YOU EXPLAIN THE
DIFFERENCE IN KIND OF THE WHAT
I'M CALLING THE LONGEVITY OF
THESE THEMES IN THE TWITTER
SYSTEM?
YOU KNOW, HOW DO YOU EXPLAIN WHY
THE THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS IS SO
FLEETING COMPARED TO THE DEFENSE
OF GUN RIGHTS.
>> MASS SHOOTINGS ARE TRAGEDIES.
SO THE PUBLIC TENDS TO FORGET
THEM QUICKLY.
PUBLIC ATTENTION TEND TO HAVE
REALLY SHORT RESPONSIBLES.
SO IT'S UNSURPRISING THAT THOSE
EVENTS CAN BE FORGOTTEN VERY
SOON BECAUSE OTHER EVENTS WILL
COME UP AND PEOPLE WILL SHIFT
THEIR ATTENTION TO THOSE EVENTS.
>> NOW, THE RESEARCHERS IN THIS
REPORT SAY THE SIGNAL ABOUT THIS
SENT TO JOURNALISTS AND
POLITICIANS IS THAT THE PASSION
OF GUN CITES SUPPORTERS MERITS
MORE ATTENTION.
IS THIS WHY THERE IS SO LITTLE
SUCCESS WITH GUN CONTROL
POLICIES?
>> YES.
THIS IS WHAT WE THINK KIND OF
LIKE SOCIAL MEDIA EXPLANATION
FOR THE LEGISLATIVE STALEMATE
FOR GUN CONTROL.
AS YOU CAN SEE, THE GUN RIGHTS
ADVOCATES HAVE BEEN REALLY
ACTIVE ON TWITTER.
THEY KEPT THEIR VOICE LOUD AND
STRONG.
AND THEN THAT IMPRESSION LEAD TO
THAT THEY'RE RESISTANT TO
CHANGE, SO MIGHT SEND A SIGNAL
TO POLITICIANS TO WE'RE PAYING
ATTENTION TO ANY LEGISLATIVE
ACTIONS.
SO HERE WE ARE AND YOU SHOULD
PAY ATTENTION TO OUR CONCERNS
AND LISTEN TO OUR VOICES.
THIS IS DIFFERENT FROM THE GUN
CONTROL SIDE, WHICH IS LESS
ORGANIZED AND LESS -- LASTS
SHORTER.
>> ALL RIGHT.
YINI ZHANG, THANKS VERY MUCH FOR
JOINING US.
I KNOW THERE'S MORE WORK AROUND