Discursive consequences of social media hostility: Chilling effects, avoidance, and intervention behaviors of emerging adults in the U.S. and Indonesia

Autor(en)

Jörg Matthes, Phung Quynh Giao Nguyen, Kevin Koban, Rinat Meerson, Maryam Khaleghipour, Daisy Sinéad Garner, Stephanie Bührer, Thomas Kirchmair

Abstrakt

There is mounting evidence that social media platforms facilitate the dissemination of hostility, potentially yielding detrimental effects on the discursive space. Exposure to such hostilities can be particularly problematic for emerging adults, given this age group's high sensitivity to social validation. Our study investigated how exposure to social media hostility can shape emerging adults' willingness to engage in or avoid social media discussions as well as their direct and indirect interventions. We also explored the moderating roles of prior victimization and online social support. Findings of quota-based surveys in the US and Indonesia suggest that exposure to hostility on social media can foster the willingness to engage in social media discussions and prompt emerging adults to curate their discursive spaces, either by blocking and avoiding hostile others or by counterspeech. Prior experiences of victimization and perceived online social support partly increased these associations, depending on the cultural setting. By and large, our findings demonstrate that emerging adults are active stewards of their social media environment rather than helpless victims.

Organisation(en)

Institut für Publizistik- und Kommunikationswissenschaft

Journal

Computers in Human Behavior

Band

171

Anzahl der Seiten

13

ISSN

0747-5632

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2025.108704

Publikationsdatum

05-2025

Peer-reviewed

Ja

ÖFOS 2012

508007 Kommunikationswissenschaft

Schlagwörter

ASJC Scopus Sachgebiete

Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous), Human-computer interaction, Allgemeine Psychologie

Link zum Portal

https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/de/publications/50e5ea3d-0c00-47e3-8da1-bae2ec5c1e80