Mapping Social Media Use in Kyrgyzstan: A Pilot Study

The research analyzes the structures of social networks, the varying uses of social media and information diffusion among social networking sites’ users in Kyrgyzstan as a pilot study and possibly expand in a subsequent project to Central Asia. We will study social media consequences on politics, the rise of populism, democracy, equality, participation, diversity, deliberation, privacy, surveillance, community building, informal social networks, public sphere and everyday life. The information heterogeneity of social media content in Kyrgyzstan will also be analyzed in this research. Using visualizations of complex networks and network matrices, this research will reveal the structure of the network, calling out cliques, clusters, communities, and key participants. Through mapping attribute data and network metric scores this research will also visualize network matrices. While in Kyrgyzstan social media has grown exponentially and has growing significance as a medium where social and political attitudes are shaped, and is the platform where civil activism and volunteering is developed, there is virtually no analysis of content and audiences.

Faculty Supervisor:

Ahmed Al-Rawi;Peter Chow-White

Student:

Takhmina Inoyatova

Partner:

Aga Khan Foundation Canada

Discipline:

Journalism / Media studies and communication

Sector:

Other services (except public administration)

University:

Simon Fraser University