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Gendered Language Signals on Reddit. Hypothesis:. Individual users on Reddit use more masculinized language when participating in popular default subreddits . Social Signaling.
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Hypothesis: • Individual users on Reddit use more masculinized language when participating in popular default subreddits.
Social Signaling • Previously existing research has indicated that there are marked, gender-based differences in the usage of written language. (Argamon 2003, Nowson 2005) • Use of pronouns, “involved” language, function words. • Assumption of masculinity.
Costs • Masculinization of language could be unconscious tone-matching. • Matching language to the predominant tone can result in more karma, but takes time. • Loss of overall personality. • Karma rewards, as well as low-cost up/down voting encourages quick decision-making. • Masculinization of language can result in a more homogenous environment, and inhibit discussion of some topics.
Methodology • Use existing tools (GenderGuesser or similar) to analyze posts on Reddit. • Compare individual users who post in female-oriented subreddits (such as r/women) to themselves.
Value • Help quantitatively show an aspect of the Reddit subculture • Better understand the reasoning and spread of some memes/turns of phrase • Explore ways in which the interface and voting system might encourage this phenomenon • Begin to consider ways to counter this tendency in online communities