Application and Analysis of Social Media Data in Economic Research

YINGZI Private School, Qingdao, China

^* Corresponding author: Muyang_wwang@outlook.com

Abstract

As Internet technology enters a new era, social media has become an essential platform for people to obtain information and express their views, which has profoundly impacted economic research. This paper focuses on the application of social media data in economic research. First, this paper analyzes the essential performance and characteristics of social media data, such as user engagement, the speed of information diffusion, and content diversity. Second, it explores the expression of emotions on social media, including immediate reactions to economic events, analysis of the acceptability of economic policies, and the social psychology of economic issues. In addition, we analyze the reasons why social media data affects the economy, including the recommendation mechanism of algorithms, changes in social phenomena due to economic globalization, economic inequality and differentiation of public opinion among social classes, and distortion of economic opinions caused by information bubbles. Finally, we propose strategies to prevent social media data bias, including data cleaning and analysis, multi-dimensional information integration strategies, laws, regulations and technical measures, and education guidance. This paper aims to provide a comprehensive framework for analyzing social media data for economic research so as to promote the high- quality development of economic research.