2025/12/15 by Yang Zheng, Yuanting Huang, Danni Ma · 1 voice
Computer Science · Psychology · Social Sciences · #Expert finding and Q&A systems #Educational Strategies and Epistemologies #Climate Change Communication and Perception
paper · doi:10.1080/1369118x.2025.2600444
openalex created_date 2025/12/15 · openalex publication_date 2025/12/15 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/14
It is commonly believed that public online discussions among different topics compete in a ‘zero-sum game’, with public attention seen as a limited ‘container’. This study analyses public discussions about genetically modified organisms (GMOs), climate change, and artificial intelligence (AI) on the Chinese social media platform Weibo. It employs computational methods, including Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA), Granger Causality Test, and Impulse Response Analysis, to reveal the relationships between sub-topics within these discussions. The results indicate that the relationship between public attention on scientific and non-scientific sub-topics is not predominantly competitive, and there is a lack of robust evidence supporting a ‘zero-sum game’ dynamic. Instead, allocation patterns of public attention are complex and diverse. This suggests the need to reassess the ‘container’ metaphor, as it oversimplifies the interactive nature of public attention in online scientific discussions, and use a ‘Rubik’s Cube’ metaphor to replace the ‘container’ in future public attention studies.