scholarly journals Incivility in user comments on online news articles: Investigating the role of opinion dissonance for the effects of incivility on attitudes, emotions and the willingness to participate

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 311-337
Author(s):  
Julia Lück ◽  
Carlotta Nardi
Keyword(s):  
Online Survey ◽  
Online News ◽  
Online Discussions ◽  
News Article ◽  
Willingness To Participate ◽  
Attitude Certainty ◽  
User Comments ◽  
News Websites ◽  
Online Debate

Online discussions in comment sections on news websites often do not follow deliberative standards but are instead marked by uncivil expressions of disaffirmation and frustration. This study investigates the effects uncivil statements can have on readers of those comments, especially when the opinion expressed in that comment is contrary to their beliefs. In an online experiment embedded in an online survey 427 participants were confronted with a neutral news article that was accompanied by either civil or uncivil user comments that supported or opposed their own opinions (2×2 between-subject design). Articles and commentaries dealt with the refugee question in Germany. The research focuses on readers’ open-mindedness, willingness to talk to the other side, attitude certainty, moral indignation and willingness to participate in online and offline activities when being exposed to incivility in an online debate. The results support the assumption that incivility has detrimental effects for a deliberative online discussion, but we cannot confirm that the combination of uncivil and unlike-minded comments has the most adverse effects.

scholarly journals P112 SMILE: Sustaining Medical Education In a Lockdown Environment.Using social media to develop a free online access medical education platform during lockdown

BJS Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
John Pascoe ◽  
Paul Foster ◽  
Muntasha Quddus ◽  
Angeliki Kosti ◽  
Francesca Guest ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Medical Education ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
User Comments ◽  
Surgical Trainees ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Online Access ◽  
Education Platform

Abstract Introduction SMILE is a free online access medical education (FOAMEd) platform created by two UK surgical trainees and a medical student that delivered over 200 medical lectures during lockdown. Method The role of Social Media in the development of SMILE was interrogated using a survey sent to all SMILE participants and by analysing activity on SMILE social media platforms. Results 1306 students responded to the online survey with 57.2% saying they heard of SMILE through Facebook. Engagement using facebook remained highest with 13,819 members, over 800 user comments and >16,000 user reactions. 4% of the students heard of SMILE through Twitter or Instagram. Facebook analytics revealed the highest level of traffic when lectures were most commonly held suggesting students used Facebook to access lectures. Other educators were able to find SMILE on social media, leading to collaborations with other platforms. Throughout the survey many mentioned how social media created and maintained a community of medical students enhancing group-based learning Conclusions We demonstrate that social media platforms provide popular and cost-effective methods to promote, sustain & deliver medical education for students and educators.

Social credibility online: The role of online comments in assessing news article credibility

2018 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 18-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ivanka Pjesivac ◽  
Nicholas Geidner ◽  
Jaclyn Cameron
Keyword(s):  
Genetically Modified Organisms ◽  
Online News ◽  
News Article ◽  
News Story ◽  
Online Journalism ◽  
Source Expertise ◽  
Internet Users ◽  
News Credibility ◽  
Twitter Users

This 2 × 2 experimental study (N = 196) tested the effects of source expertise and opinion valence in readers’ comments on the credibility of an online news story about genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Source expertise had a significant influence on perceptions of article credibility; articles were judged more credible when public comments embedded in the story were from expert sources (e.g., scientists) rather than nonexpert sources (e.g., Twitter users). Effects were larger on high-frequency news users, regardless of whether comments were for or against GMOs. Results suggest that Internet users mainly use the peripheral or heuristic route of information processing to evaluate online news credibility. The importance for online journalism of social heuristics via opinions of other people is discussed.

scholarly journals Clarity (User Comments/Interactions)

10.34778/5e ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Teresa K. Naab ◽  
Constanze Küchler
Keyword(s):  
Online News ◽  
Online Discussions ◽  
Eine Hohe ◽  
Work In Progress ◽  
User Comments ◽  
Intercoder Agreement ◽  
Level Of Analysis ◽  
Made In ◽  
Discourse Quality

The ‘clarity’ of user comments is an indicator for the quality of statements made in online discussions. User comments below news content on websites or in social media can be examined to determine whether they are clearly written, that is comprehensible to the reader in terms of form, style, and content. Clarity of user comments is essential for the contribution of a comment to a discussion and the exchange between commenters. Field of application/theoretical foundation: As a complement to various further criteria (e.g. coherence, occurrence of arguments), the variable ‘clarity’ of a user comment indicates the comment’s contribution to the deliberative quality of online discussions. Normative approaches to discourse ethics (e.g. Habermas, 1992) assume that contributions to discussions should be phrased understandably to be more valuable for the success of a discussion.  Example studies: Medium Measure Unit of analysis Studies Online; online discussions below news posts Clarity Individual user comment Naab & Küchler (work in progress) Ziegele & Quiring (2015)   Info about variables Variable name/definition: Verständlichkeit eines Nutzerkommentars Operationalization/coding instructions: Es wird kodiert, wie leicht sich Leser*innen der Sinn eines Nutzerkommentars erschließt, wie gut er nachvollziehbar ist. Hierbei zählt der Gesamteindruck. Indikatoren für eine hohe Verständlichkeit sind: Ein verständlicher Sprachstil überwiegend Standardsprache ohne akademische Begriffe bzw. Fremdwörter Vermeidung von Reimen oder literarischen Schreibformen Vermeidung von übertriebenem Cyberslang oder Umgangssprache Keine Verwendung von Fremdsprachen Eine klare, wenig verschachtelte Satzstruktur Keine auffälligen Rechtschreib- und Grammatikfehler Eine eindeutige rhetorische Gestaltung durch den Verzicht auf Ironie, Metaphern und abstrakte Bilder Eine hohe Prägnanz der Aussagen im Sinne der Verbindung von „Bedeutungsreichtum mit einem hohen Maß an Klarheit, Angemessenheit, Anschaulichkeit und Einfachheit“ Verzicht auf das Voraussetzen von speziellem Hintergrundwissen, das beim Durchschnittsleser nicht vorausgesetzt werden kann. Der Kodierer kann sich die Frage stellen: Wie leicht erschließt sich mir der Sinn des Kommentars, wie nachvollziehbar ist er? „Baseline“ ist der Code „0“.  Level of analysis: einzelner Nutzerkommentar Values: 0/ normal verständlich, 1/ schwer verständlich, 2/ überhaupt nicht verständlich, 99/ nicht eindeutig zuzuordnen  Intercoder reliability: The variable showed good performance in tests for intercoder agreement (percentage agreement = 86%; Krippendorf’s alpha = .72) in the study by Ziegele, Breiner, & Quiring (2014).   References Habermas, J. (1992). Faktizität und Geltung: Beiträge zur Diskurstheorie des Rechts und des demokratischen Rechtsstaates. Suhrkamp. Naab, T.K. & Küchler, C. (work in progress). Unveröffentlichtes Codebuch aus dem DFG-Projekt „Gegenseitige Sanktionierung unter NutzerInnen von Kommentarbereichen auf Nachrichtenwebseiten und auf Facebook“. Augsburg. Steenbergen, M. R., Bächtiger, A., Spörndli, M., & Steiner, J. (2003). Measuring political deliberation: A discourse quality index. Comparative European Politics, 1(1), 21–48. doi:10.1057/palgrave.cep.6110002 Ziegele, M., Breiner, T., & Quiring, O. (2014). What creates interactivity in online news discussions? An exploratory analysis of discussion factors in user comments on news items. Journal of Communication, 64(6), 1111–1138. doi:10.1111/jcom.12123 Ziegele, M. & Quiring, O. (2015). Codebuch: Der Diskussionswert von Online-Nachrichten. Unveröffentlichtes Codebuch aus dem DFG-Projekt „Vom Nachrichtenwert zum Diskussionswert“. Mainz.

Impression-Motivated News Consumption

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 203-213 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephan Winter
Keyword(s):  
New Media ◽  
Social Networking Sites ◽  
Online News ◽  
News Article ◽  
Self Monitoring ◽  
Majority Opinion ◽  
User Comments ◽  
Heuristic Systematic Model ◽  
Informed Citizenry ◽  
Online News Sites

Abstract. Social networking sites (SNS) such as Facebook are increasingly used as sources of news. The present research aimed to investigate whether this new media context affects the way in which readers process news articles and form their opinions on current debates. In an application of the heuristic-systematic model of persuasion, it was assumed that the high salience of self-presentation and interpersonal contacts in social media triggers an impression-motivated mode of reasoning in which readers base their attitudes more strongly on the majority opinion and social pressures. In a pre-registered laboratory experiment ( N = 210) in which participants read a news article, the media context (SNS vs. SNS with anticipation of future interaction vs. online news site) and the valence of the displayed user comments (positive vs. negative) were varied as between-subject factors. It was hypothesized that user comments are more influential when being logged in to Facebook than on classic online news sites, particularly when expecting future opinion expression about the topic and among people with a strong self-monitoring tendency. Results showed significant effects of comment valence on readers’ attitudes and valence of thoughts, however, this pattern also occurred in the setting of online news sites and was not moderated by self-monitoring. Findings are discussed with regard to the theoretical predictions of the heuristic-systematic model on following the majority opinion and practical implications for an informed citizenry.

scholarly journals Online News User Journeys: The Role of Social Media, News Websites, and Topics

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (9) ◽  
pp. 1114-1141 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan Vermeer ◽  
Damian Trilling ◽  
Sanne Kruikemeier ◽  
Claes de Vreese
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Online News ◽  
News Websites

Why User Comments Affect the Perceived Quality of Journalistic Content

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 24-34 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick Weber ◽  
Fabian Prochazka ◽  
Wolfgang Schweiger
Keyword(s):  
Perceived Quality ◽  
News Article ◽  
Brand Awareness ◽  
News Item ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Psychological Mechanisms ◽  
User Comments ◽  
News Websites ◽  
News Website

Abstract. User comments on news websites are frequently uncivil and are not supported by reasoned argumentation. These characteristics can have negative effects on the perceived quality of the commented-on journalistic content, yet to date, it remains unclear how such effects occur. We propose three mechanisms that assume that the effect of user comments depends on how deliberately and elaborately the quality of the commented-on news item is judged. We conducted an experiment ( N = 633) in which we varied the level of civility and reasoning in the comments accompanying a news article and the brand of the news website on which it was presented. The results showed that a lack of reasoning in the comments decreased the perceived quality of the news item irrespective of brand awareness, but only with high elaboration during judgment. Incivility in the comments decreased the perceived quality of the journalistic content, but only with low elaboration, and only with an unknown news brand. We discuss different psychological mechanisms that can explain this pattern of effects.

scholarly journals Rethinking the generational gap in online news use: An infrastructural perspective

2017 ◽  
Vol 20 (5) ◽  
pp. 1792-1812 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harsh Taneja ◽  
Angela Xiao Wu ◽  
Stephanie Edgerly
Keyword(s):  
Social Groups ◽  
Online News ◽  
Media Environment ◽  
Age Cohorts ◽  
Use Patterns ◽  
News Websites ◽  
The Media ◽  
Reported Data ◽  
Vast Range

Our study investigates the role of infrastructures in shaping online news usage by contrasting use patterns of two social groups—millennials and boomers—that are specifically located in news infrastructures. Typically based on self-reported data, popular press and academics tend to highlight the generational gap in news usage and link it to divergence in values and preferences of the two age cohorts. In contrast, we conduct relational analyses of shared usage obtained from passively metered usage data across a vast range of online news outlets for millennials and boomers. We compare each cohort’s usage networks comprising various types of news websites. Our analyses reveal a smaller than commonly assumed generational gap in online news usage, with characteristics that manifest the multifarious effects of the infrastructures of the media environment, alongside those of preferences.

scholarly journals I own, therefore I am? The role of material possession for consumers’ selfperception and attitude towards non-ownership consumption modes

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ulrike Wolf ◽  
Carolin Schuster
Keyword(s):  
Online Survey ◽  
Social Trust ◽  
Sense Of Self ◽  
Symbolic Meaning ◽  
Material Object ◽  
Willingness To Participate ◽  
Extended Self ◽  
Realistic Assessment ◽  
Category Comparison

In reference to Belk’s theory of the extended self this thesis investigates how and to what extent the link between an object and one’s sense of self can affect consumption mode preferences. Two hypotheses are proposed: First, the level of self-extension into a material object correlates negatively with consumers’ willingness to participate in consumption modes that value access over ownership. And second, feelings of non-generosity and possessiveness have a mediating function in this relationship. Based on the premise that ownership-substituting consumption modes promise a more sustainable lifestyle the aim of this thesis is to contribute to a better knowledge on the effect of the symbolic meaning of object on and consumer preference.To empirically test the proposed theoretical model, an online survey with 130 German participants was conducted. In a correlative research design respondents were asked to evaluate a total of eight different objects in terms of personal attachment, feelings of possessiveness and non-generosity, and to state their willingness to access the objects through ownership-substituting consumption modes. Additionally, social trust and materialism were measured on a general level.The findings support the claim that the extent to which consumers perceive an object as integral to their extended self has an effect on their willingness to forsake ownership and rather access this object through renting- or sharing-offerings. Evidence is found that this effect can be mediated by possession-linked feelings such as possessiveness and non-generosity. A general model to answer the proposed hypothesis is not supported. Rather the findings raise awareness on the object-specific nature and complexity of these effects. It becomes clear that a realistic assessment of the symbolic meaning of ownership and possession requires further experimental research and multi-category comparison.

scholarly journals Thinking Fast and Furious: Emotional Intensity and Opinion Polarization in Online Media

2019 ◽  
Vol 83 (3) ◽  
pp. 487-509 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Asker ◽  
Elias Dinas
Keyword(s):  
Motivated Reasoning ◽  
Selective Exposure ◽  
Online News ◽  
News Article ◽  
Online Media ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Emotional Intensity ◽  
Opinion Formation ◽  
User Comments ◽  
Affective Intensity

Abstract How do online media increase opinion polarization? The “echo chamber” thesis points to the role of selective exposure to homogeneous views and information. Critics of this view emphasize the potential of online media to expand the ideological spectrum that news consumers encounter. Embedded in this discussion is the assumption that online media affects public opinion via the range of information that it offers to users. We show that online media can induce opinion polarization even among users exposed to ideologically heterogeneous views, by heightening the emotional intensity of the content. Higher affective intensity provokes motivated reasoning, which in turn leads to opinion polarization. The results of an online experiment focusing on the comments section, a user-driven tool of communication whose effects on opinion formation remain poorly understood, show that participants randomly assigned to read an online news article with a user comments section subsequently express more extreme views on the topic of the article than a control group reading the same article without any comments. Consistent with expectations, this effect is driven by the emotional intensity of the comments, lending support to the idea that motivated reasoning is the mechanism behind this effect.

scholarly journals Expressions of Doubt in Online News Discussions

2021 ◽  
pp. 089443932110341
Author(s):  
Anthony M. Evans ◽  
Olga Stavrova ◽  
Hannes Rosenbusch ◽  
Mark J. Brandt
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Civic Engagement ◽  
Positive Emotions ◽  
Public Life ◽  
New York Times ◽  
Online News ◽  
Online Discussions ◽  
Positive Outcomes ◽  
User Comments ◽  
Current Events

Online discussions about politics and current events play a growing role in public life, and they can foster positive outcomes (e.g., civic engagement and political participation) and negative outcomes (e.g., hostility and polarization). The present research examines how the use of doubtful (vs. confident) language influences behavior in online discussions of current events. We examine the effects of doubtful language on comment popularity (i.e., recommendations from other users) and the use of emotional language in subsequent replies. We examine data from 1.9 million user comments from the New York Times website. Comments containing doubtful language were less popular, receiving fewer user recommendations. Additionally, replies to doubtful comments were less emotional (containing fewer positive emotions and fewer negative emotions). These results suggest that although doubtful authors are less likely to be recommended by other users, they may play an important role in helping to foster civility in online discussions.

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