An Analysis on the Consumption Structure of Contemporary Popular Culture with Network Science

Abstract

Globalization and the development of information technology have enabled people in different societies to share their culture and consume cultural products through digital devices. This social change has made contemporary popular culture to transcend the borders between countries and penetrate the daily lives of consumers. Our thesis focused on investigating which social factors affect the consumption structure of contemporary popular culture. We constructed a consumption network of mobile games between countries to reflect the characteristics of contemporary popular culture. Using Hofstede's cultural dimensions theory and Facebook's social connectedness index, we revealed cultural distance and social ties between countries play important roles in shaping the consumption structure.