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Integrating Computerized Linguistic and Social Network Analyses to Capture Addiction Recovery Capital in an Online Community
Published on: May 31, 2019
HIV/AIDS, social capital, and online social networks
1Department of Communication, MiamiUniversity, 501 E. High St., Oxford, OH 45056, USA. drushebe@muohio.edu
Abstract:
The prospects for online social networks as sites of information-gathering and affiliation for persons with AIDS and others concerned about HIV/AIDS not only represent the latest development in a trend toward circumventing traditional media and official information sources, but also may offer hope for a revitalization of HIV/AIDS discourse in the public sphere. This article provides an overview of three decades of information-seeking on the pandemic and its social and personal implications, as well as case studies of three examples of social networking surrounding HIV/AIDS. It finds preliminary evidence of the formation of strong and weak ties as described in Social Network Theory and suggests that the online accumulation of social capital by opinion leaders could facilitate dissemination of messages on HIV/AIDS awareness and testing.
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