Reciprocity, Homophily, and Social Network Effects in Pictorial Communication: A Case Study of Bitmoji Stickers

Julie Jiang, Ron Dotsch, Mireia Triguero Roura, Yozen Liu, Vítor Silva, Maarten W. Bos, Francesco Barbieri

Abstract: Pictorial emojis and stickers are commonly used in online social communications. We analyzed social communications using Bitmoji stickers, which are expressive pictorial stickers made from avatars resembling actual users. We collect a large-scale dataset of 3 billion Bitmoji stickers’ metadata, shared among 300 million Snapchat users. We find that individual Bitmoji sticker usage patterns can be characterized jointly on dimensions of reciprocity and selectivity. Generally speaking, users are either both reciprocal and selective about whom they use Bitmoji stickers with or neither reciprocal nor selective. We additionally demonstrate network homophily by showing that friends use Bitmoji stickers at similar rates. Finally, using a quasi-experimental approach, we show that receiving Bitmoji stickers from a friend encourages future Bitmoji sticker usage and overall Snapchat engagement. Our work carries implications for a better understanding of online pictorial communication behaviors.