With a current average of 330 million monthly active users, Reddit is the sixth most visited website in the world ( Statista, 2019). This drawback is particularly visible for trending topics that have limited research-based information available to the public ( Bessi et al., 2015).Īs opposed to other popular social media platforms like Facebook (Facebook, Menlo Park, CA), Twitter (Twitter, San Francisco, CA), or Instagram (Facebook), Reddit’s structure, centered on user-generated, anonymous discussions, make it particularly suitable for searching knowledge from like-minded participants. Nonetheless, despite active input from online community members, expert advice in social media platforms such as Reddit can be limited compared with the amount of amateur-generated online content. Users seeking information about specific topics based on personal experiences or common interests engage in Reddit online communities known as “subreddits,” which are focused discussion forums dedicated to specific themes.

The Reddit platform can facilitate anonymous exchange of comments, images, and other content sharing that can be used as dynamic and constantly updated learning resources ( Kumar et al., 2018). In addition, discussion forums like Reddit (Reddit, San Francisco, CA) have enabled bidirectional communication between scientists and the general public ( Hara et al., 2019). Video channels, online blogs, podcasts, and webinars are commonly being used as ubiquitous communication tools for public engagement ( Davies and Hara, 2017). Likewise, agricultural outreach efforts are increasingly relying on social media platforms to reach stakeholders ( Bik et al., 2015 Lubell and McRoberts, 2018 Osterrieder, 2013 Zipper, 2018). New media marketing via social media provides tremendous opportunities for the green industry to engage with customers ( Peterson et al., 2018 Torres et al., 2019). Keywords: content analysis data mining online communities social media urban agriculture As suggested by the results of this study, targeted, open access research and outreach efforts offer an opportunity to address knowledge gaps among consumers interested in indoor gardening. However, regardless of topic, responses for most OPs had less than 50% accuracy, which demonstrates that misinformation can be disseminated in social media platforms such as Reddit. In general, there were no differences among response accuracy for all topics included in our analysis. There are also knowledge gaps regarding nutrient solution management, particularly about fertilizer formulation, pH balance, and on the impact that solution temperature has on plant growth and development. In addition, misinformation about plant lighting is a major part of discussions about growing plants indoors. Most posts in the analyzed subreddits related to confusion regarding the design and implementation of appropriate hydroponic production systems. The three topics with the most OPs (production systems, plant lighting, and root-zone environment), which accounted for 50% of the total OPs, were subcategorized and inductively analyzed. A total of 1617 original posts (OPs) were classified into one of ten topics and 4891 primary responses were analyzed for accuracy. Social media platforms such as Reddit, centered on user-generated, anonymous discussions, can facilitate the exchange of information and resources across niche online communities known as “subreddits.” Using data mining tools and content analysis methods, our objectives were to identify recurring questions and characterize comment (“response”) accuracy from four subreddits focused on hydroponic indoor gardening (r/hydro, r/Hydroponics, r/UrbanFarming, and r/Aerogarden).

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