Improving the robustness of online social networks: A simulation approach of network interventions

Online social networks (OSN) are prime examples of socio-technical systems in which individuals interact via a technical platform. We study the emergence of large drop-out cascades of users leaving the OSN by means of an agent-based model. Our aim is to prevent such drop-out cascades by influencing specific agents. We identify strategies to control agents such that drop-out cascades are significantly reduced, and the robustness of the OSN is increased. Read more on arXiv.