Exploring the Relationship between Social Network Structures and Emotional Contagion using NLP and Network Science

 

 

 

Prapti Pandey1, Vivek Shukla2, Rohit Miri3, Praveen Chouksey4, Parul Dubey5, Rohit Raja6

 

1PhD Research scholar Dr C V Raman University, Kota Bilaspur Chhattisgarh, India

 

2Dr C V Raman University Kota Bilaspur Chhattisgarh, India

 

3Associate Professor, Chhattisgarh Swami Vivekanand Technical University, Bhilai, Chhattisgarh, India

 

4Associate Professor, Department-Computer Science Engineering, CMR Engineering college EC Campus, medchal road Kandlakoya, India

 

5Assistant Professor, Symbiosis Institute of Technology, Nagpur Campus, Symbiosis International (Deemed University), Pune, India

 

6Associate Professor, Department of IT, Guru Ghasidas Vishwavidyalaya (A Central University)

 

Bilaspur (Chhattisgarh), India

 

Text Box: Abstract Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Network Science were combined to study emotional contagion dynamics in social media networks. We simulated the diffusion of emotions through users on a synthetic interaction network using sentiment-labeled Twitter data and a graph-based model. We explored the relationship between graph metrics, including centrality and clustering coefficient, on emotion propagation and stability. The findings show that emotion intensity converges through the network and that both weak coupling of central nodes and moderate cluster structures dampen the spread of emotion. A community-level analysis reveals more alternative results, such as the fact that emotions differ in polarity between communities. Our work demonstrates a better understanding of how emotional behavior in online environments can be adjusted using semantic measures, which offer a means to characterize the relevance of information online and the interconnected relationships among emotionality. Emails: kanha.prapti24@gmail.com; vivekcvru19@gmail.com; rohitmiri@csvtu.ac.in; Praveenchouksey@cmrec.ac.in; dubeyparul29@gmail.com; drrohitraja1982@gmail.com

 

Received: March 11, 2025 Revised: June 10, 2025 Accepted: August 01, 2025

 

Keywords: Emotional Contagion; Sentiment Analysis; Natural Language Processing (NLP); Network Science; Social Media; Clustering Coefficient; Emotion Diffusion