To whom do people reply in comment sections? Effects of attitude (un)congeniality, age, confidence, and knowledge

Bibliographic Data

ID7338607
AuthorsJürgen Buder (0000-0002-0872-3487, Leibniz-Institut für Wissensmedien, corresponding author), Nadia Said (0000-0002-0462-8554, University of Tübingen)
Year2024
Volume27
Issue9
Pages5065-5087
Publication date2024-04-22
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueNew Media & Society (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1461-4448 • E-ISSN: 1461-7315
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/14614448241247214
OpenAlexW4395011420
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited36

Phenomena like echo chambers and societal polarization have often been linked to an individual preference for like-minded information (selective exposure). This view has been challenged recently: behavior on comment sections in online forums suggests the opposite dynamic, with users more likely to reply to attitudinally uncongenial content. Three experimental studies (total N = 1524) explore boundary conditions of this uncongeniality bias by measuring participants’ tendency to reply to comments on climate science. Studies 1 (student sample) and 2 (non-student sample) replicate the uncongeniality bias. However, Study 3 (representative for age and gender in Germany) yielded a surprising congeniality bias (a preference for replying to congenial comments) which was driven by participants with higher age. Further results across studies suggest that high confidence increases engagement (general likelihood to reply) but reduces antagonism (likelihood to reply to uncongenial content). Conversely, high knowledge reduces engagement but increases the uncongeniality bias

Confidence interval · Media Influence and Health · Media Studies and Communication · Medicine · Psychology · Social Media and Politics · Social Psychology

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