Beyond Anonymity: Network Affordances, Under Deindividuation, Improve Social Media Discussion Quality
Dublin Core
Title
Beyond Anonymity: Network Affordances, Under Deindividuation, Improve Social Media Discussion Quality
Subject
Deliberation, Anonymity, Social Identity, Social Media, Web Experiment, Affordances, Discussion Quality, Persuasiveness
Description
The online sphere allows people to be personally anonymous while simultaneously being socially identifiable. Twitter users can use a pseudonym but signal allegiance to a political party
in their profile (e.g., #MAGA). We explore the interplay of these two dimensions of anonymity on a custom-built social media platform that allowed us to examine the causal effects of personal and social anonymity on discussion quality. We find no support for the hypothesis that personal anonymity breeds incivility or lowers discussion quality in discussions on gun rights. On the other hand, when personal anonymity is combined with social identifiability
(operationalized as political party visibility), it improves several features linked to discussion
quality, that is, higher rationality and lower incivility. We discuss the mechanisms that might explain the results and offer recommendations for future experiments about the design of social media platforms.
in their profile (e.g., #MAGA). We explore the interplay of these two dimensions of anonymity on a custom-built social media platform that allowed us to examine the causal effects of personal and social anonymity on discussion quality. We find no support for the hypothesis that personal anonymity breeds incivility or lowers discussion quality in discussions on gun rights. On the other hand, when personal anonymity is combined with social identifiability
(operationalized as political party visibility), it improves several features linked to discussion
quality, that is, higher rationality and lower incivility. We discuss the mechanisms that might explain the results and offer recommendations for future experiments about the design of social media platforms.
Creator
Kokil Jaidka, Alvin Zhou, Yphtach Lelkes, Jana Egelhofer, & Sophie Lecheler
Source
https://academic.oup.com/jcmc/article/27/1/zmab019/6427305
Publisher
Oxford University Press
Date
28 September 2021
Contributor
Sri Wahyuni
Format
PDF
Language
English
Type
Text
Coverage
Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication 00 (2021)
Files
Collection
Citation
Kokil Jaidka, Alvin Zhou, Yphtach Lelkes, Jana Egelhofer, & Sophie Lecheler, “Beyond Anonymity: Network Affordances, Under Deindividuation, Improve Social Media Discussion Quality,” Repository Horizon University Indonesia, accessed May 22, 2025, https://repository.horizon.ac.id/items/show/8724.