The Role of Civility and Anonymity on Perceptions of Online Comments
Year: 2017
Type: article
Abstract: An experiment was conducted (N = 170) to determine the role of civility and anonymity in online comments received for a news story. Dependent variables were (a) interest in the discussion, (b) favorability toward the comments, (c) favorability toward the commenter, and (d) trust in the information. Participants exposed to uncivil comments viewed the commenter less favorably and reported less trust in the information in the comment. Anonymity had no effect on the dependent variables, in contrast to expectations derived from social presence theory. Findings revealed that politeness of comments affected participants’ overall perceptions of the content of the online discussion.
Source: Mass Communication & Society
Authors: Joseph Graf, Joseph Erba, Ren-Whei Harn
Institutions: American University, University of Kansas
Language: English
Topic: Social Media and Politics
Subfield: Communication
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
Funder: American University
OpenAlex ID: W2591028539