MAPPING TUMBLR THROUGH FANNISH HOMOPHILIES

Abstract

Using survey data from a 2022 survey of fans that was distributed on Tumblr between February 22 and March 21, 2022, this paper speculatively maps the network of Tumblr. Tumblr is home to fandoms of all kinds, acting as a space where fans can gather, discuss theories, produce fan texts and media, and interact with fanworks, making them one of the key distinctive communities that use the site and a suitable community to investigate the shape of the network. First, we analyze the prevalence of particular demographic answers from the survey over time to find points at which a large number of responses have similar identities. Second, we use the baseline probability of any given answer within our data set to examine times when it becomes disproportionately prevalent compared to elsewhere in the data. Through looking at these correlations between time and probability in specific demographic answers, we can identify moments when the survey was traveling through a homophilic network within the platform, and therefore extract information about how homophily works on this platform. By mapping Tumblr through these survey homophiles, we can gain a greater understanding of how people gather and interact on the platform. This has implications both for questions of community and subcultural belonging, but also issues like the spread of mis- and disinformation.