Smartphones and other mobile devices have fundamentally changed patterns of Internet use in everyday life by making online access constantly available. The present paper offers a theoretical ...explication and empirical assessment of the concept of online vigilance, referring to users' permanent cognitive orientation towards online content and communication as well as their disposition to exploit these options constantly. Based on four studies, a validated and reliable self-report measure of online vigilance was developed. In combination, the results suggest that the Online Vigilance Scale (OVS) shows a stable factor structure in various contexts and user populations and provides future work in communication, psychology, and other social sciences with a new measure of the individual cognitive orientation towards ubiquitous online communication.
This paper explores the impact of hedonic and eudaimonic entertainment experience on well‐being. We propose that the satisfaction of recovery needs can provide an important link that connects recent ...2‐factor models of entertainment with well‐being after media consumption. Using path modeling, relationships between hedonic/eudaimonic entertainment experiences, media‐induced recovery experience, and vitality as a recovery outcome were explored in an experiment (N = 120). Results suggest that different recovery needs are satisfied by hedonic versus eudaimonic entertainment: Although hedonic entertainment experiences were associated with the recovery dimensions of relaxation and psychological detachment, eudaimonic entertainment was related to mastery experiences. Both entertainment facets, thus, lead to media‐induced recovery and resulted in increased psychological well‐being represented by higher levels of vitality after media use.
The TEBOTS model predicts that narratives are sought after more often in times of depletion. The present study aimed at expanding this idea by testing whether engagement with narratives is also ...intensified under self-threatening conditions. Further, we examined whether narratives can serve coping functions. In a 3(Threat: mortality salience vs. ostracism vs. control condition) × 2(Review of the narrative: positive vs. negative) online experiment (
N
= 228), we tested whether self-threats and the expectation towards the narrative increase entertainment experiences and facilitate self-serving attributions. The results demonstrated that self-threats and a positive review indeed increased the entertainment experience. Narratives could support coping with an
existential
threat through enhancing self-serving attributions. The findings are discussed in light of the TEBOTS model and its application in the context of self-threats.
To accentuate which platform characteristics particularly foster radicalization and extremist dynamics, this contribution investigates the affordances of social media as delineated in contemporary ...literature, conducting a platform comparison encompassing Telegram, WhatsApp, and X (formerly Twitter). Based on a scoping review, 17 affordances identified from studies researching radicalization dynamics on social media were extracted and categorized. The most frequently mentioned affordances—anonymity, visibility, and collectivity—were then further analyzed concerning their contribution to radicalization and the radicalization potential of these specific platforms. The platform-comparative affordance discussion shows that, although in principle each of the three compared platforms can foster an environment conducive to radicalization depending on user intention and context or use, the specific characteristics of each platform necessitate a nuanced consideration. On one hand, it is imperative to discern affordances differentially along various dimensions when assessing their implications (e.g., internal vs. external visibility). On the other hand, it is beneficial to consider which affordances emerge from the actualization of other affordances. For instance, collectivity can result from the interplay of several affordances, such as interactivity and anonymity, and can be referred to as a meta-affordance. Furthermore, the analysis shows that platform branding and self-presentation not only affect platform architecture and affordances but also shape users’ perceptions of the platform, thereby influencing the actualization of affordances. This was particularly noted in the literature for Telegram and increasingly for X. Specific assertions, nevertheless, are hindered by the conceptual diffusion of the affordance approach and a lack of empirical analyses directly and systematically examining platform affordances in conjunction with radicalization dynamics.
Abstract
While many smartphone users experience social pressure to be available, only some perceive this as a burden. It was hypothesized that this form of social pressure is especially detrimental ...when it reduces self-control and hinders need satisfaction. Study 1 experimentally tested whether the fulfillment of intrinsic needs (i.e., autonomy, competence, and relatedness) in mobile communication mediates these associations. Results show that social pressure negatively affected autonomy and competence, but did not influence relatedness. Repeated-measures data from Study 2 suggest that social pressure leads to self-control failure, which is associated with reduced competence. This research is the first to develop and test a theoretical model of the effects of social pressure to be available on self-control, need satisfaction, and individuals’ well-being.
Recent right-wing extremist terrorists were active in online fringe communities connected to the alt-right movement. Although these are commonly considered as distinctly hateful, racist, and ...misogynistic, the prevalence of hate speech in these communities has not been comprehensively investigated yet, particularly regarding more implicit and covert forms of hate. This study exploratively investigates the extent, nature, and clusters of different forms of hate speech in political fringe communities on Reddit, 4chan, and 8chan. To do so, a manual quantitative content analysis of user comments (N = 6,000) was combined with an automated topic modeling approach. The findings of the study not only show that hate is prevalent in all three communities (24% of comments contained explicit or implicit hate speech), but also provide insights into common types of hate speech expression, targets, and differences between the studied communities.
Terror attacks are followed by public shock and disorientation. Previous research has found that people use social media to collectively negotiate responses, interpretations, and sense-making in the ...aftermath of terror attacks. However, the role of ideologically motivated discussions and their relevance to the overall discourse have not been studied. This paper addresses this gap and focuses specifically on the far-right discourse, comparing it to the general public Twitter discourse following the terror attack in Hanau in 2020. A multi-method approach combines network analysis and structural topic modelling to analyse 237,000 tweets. We find responsibility attribution to be one of the central themes: The general discourse primarily voiced sympathy with the victims and attributed responsibility for the attack to farright terror or activism. In contrast, the far right - in an attempt to reshape the general narrative - raised a plethora of arguments to shift the attribution of responsibility from far-right activism towards the (political) elite and the personal circumstances of the shooter. In terms of information sharing and seeking, we demonstrate that new information was contextualised differentially depending on the ideological stance. The results are situated in the scientific discourse concerning differences in social media communication ensuing terrorist attacks.
Aktuelle Forschung zeigt, dass Terroranschläge kollektive, öffentliche Schocks auslösen und so ein Gefühl der Orientierungslosigkeit erzeugen. Menschen nutzen soziale Medien, um ihre Gefühle nach Terroranschlägen auszudrücken und damit auch für eine Art kollektive Sinnfindung. Dabei bleibt bisher die Frage ungeklärt, wie die ideologischen Einstellungen von Nutzer:innen Sozialer Medien diese kollektive Sinnfindung beeinflussen. Die vorliegende Studie schließt diese Lücke und konzentriert sich speziell auf den rechtsaußen Twitter-Diskurs und vergleicht diesen mit dem allgemeinen öffentlichen Twitter-Diskurs nach dem Terroranschlag in Hanau im Februar 2020. Ein multimethodaler Ansatz kombiniert Netzwerkanalyse und Topic Modelling zur Analyse von 237.000 deutschen Tweets. Es wird deutlich, dass die Zuschreibung von Verantwortung das zentrale Thema ist: Im allgemeinen Diskurs wird vor allem Mitgefühl mit den Opfern geäußert und die Verantwortung für den Anschlag dem rechtsradikalen und -extremen Aktivismus zugeschrieben. Im Gegensatz dazu bringen rechtsaußen Akteure - in dem Versuch, das allgemeine Narrativ zu beeinflussen - eine Fülle von Argumenten vor, um die Zuschreibung der Verantwortung vom Rechtsaußenaktivismus auf die (politische) Elite und die persönlichen Umstände des Schützen zu verschieben. In Bezug auf den Austausch und die Suche nach Informationen wird gezeigt, dass neue Informationen je nach ideologischer Einstellung unterschiedlich kontextualisiert wurden.
The perceived threat of extremist online propaganda has generated a need for countermeasures applicable to large audiences. The dissemination of videos designed to counter violent extremism (CVE ...videos) is widely discussed. These videos are often described as “counter-narratives,” implying that narrativity is a crucial factor for their effectiveness. Experimental research testing this assumption is rare and direct comparisons of narrativity effects between propaganda and CVE videos are lacking. To fill this gap, we conducted two experiments (one in a laboratory and one online) in which we confronted German participants with different religious affiliations and from various cultural backgrounds (NStudy 1 = 338 and NStudy 2 = 155) with Islamist extremist or right-wing extremist propaganda videos and with corresponding CVE videos. The results confirmed that narrativity (a) increases persuasive processing of propaganda and CVE videos, (b) fosters amplification intentions regarding these videos, and (c) increases attraction to extremists versus counter-activists. Thus, our studies highlight the crucial role of narrativity in both extremist propaganda and video-based CVE approaches.
Research on eudaimonic media has so far predominantly focused on audiovisual offerings: movies or YouTube video clips. However, much meaningful and inspiring content nowadays is uploaded on social ...media in so-called memes. Three exploratory studies therefore investigated the occurrence, content, and effects of inspiring and meaningful memes in social media: The hashtags of eudaimonic memes were analyzed in semantic networks (study 1), a content analysis was conducted to typologize eudaimonic themes addressed in memes (study 2), and an online survey investigated the effects of eudaimonic memes on users (study 3). The results suggest that previously defined topics of inspiration and meaningfulness are also common among hashtags and memes and lead to the same beneficial effects for their consumers. The discussion aims at advancing the theory of mediated eudaimonia and understanding its relevance for well-being in the daily lives of social media users.
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