# The Application of Blockchain in Social Media: A Systematic Literature Review
## 6 Discussion
### Research Question Answers
#### 6.1.3 Knowledge Gaps Which Future Research Can Address  
Blockchain technology provides much potential, however, many aspects remain to be specified in order to solidify the approach to their implementation in social media. Topics such as user authentication, the scalability of blockchains, elimination of sensitive content, etc., are all under development. The following represent a selection of suggested further research areas.  
(a) Using persistent identifiers for authentication  
An identifier is a symbol used to categorize an object. It has various senses in different application situations and is used to specify a thing or a person in daily life. Certain identifiers are persistent (PID, persistent identifier); these include long-lasting references to a file, web page, or other digital objects. Most of them have a unique identifier related to the current address of the metadata or content. Currently, two varieties are frequently employed, those for things (journals, information, or software, such as URN, DOI, ARK, and Handle) and those for persons (academics, authors, or contributors, such as ORCID and ISNI). ORCID (Open Researcher and Contributor ID) is an international, interdisciplinary, and open non-profit organization established in 2010 to deliver services to stakeholders, including academics, research organizations, research funders, and publishers. The ORCID identifier is a unique personal persistent identifier that every researcher can have. Simply, users with this ID do not have to worry about anyone having a similar appellation. This can resolve the problem of duplicate names; for researchers, an ORCID ID is similar to the ID number for every citizen. Even if your name is the same as other researchers, your ID distinguishes your identity. As long as you use this ID to publish articles on the associated platforms, your articles can be searched through your unique ID.  
One suggestion is to apply the concept of ORCID to all the users of social media. A PID can be associated with a social media blockchain to store and save data and make identification quick, easy, and permanent. All users can know exactly who has posted fake content after a post is complete. With the use of a blockchain, a consensus protocol-based responsibility can be designed to punish such posters automatically. A consensus-based decision made by the majority of users can be fixed. A user can be suspended or a set time, or excluded according to the violation after a vote of members. This represents an interesting future research area to explore.  
(b) Resolving scalability challenges  
A scalable blockchain is required for better use of blockchains in social media contexts. Efficient blockchain scalability approaches are needed, and scalability seems the most serious current obstacle to widespread implementation. Several possible methods are being explored to handle the problem of blockchain scalability. As blockchain technology is embraced and deployed in more diverse applications, its scalability will remain a source of attention in the coming years.  
(c) Coupling Blockchain and Machine Learning/Deep Learning Technologies  
Several studies presented here have briefly combined these fields. However, there are limitations, and more research can certainly be carried out combining blockchain with deep learning or machine learning, particularly for hate and sensitive word detection and elimination.