Poster #61 - Violence in Inceldom: An Analysis of Contributing Factors

• In Event: Poster Session I (posters 1 - 79)

Abstract

The rapid expansion of internet usage has drawn scholarly attention to online communities and their potential links to violence. One such community, the involuntary celibate (“incel”) subculture, has been associated with several mass shootings in recent years. This study conducts a qualitative literature review to examine pathways to violence within incel communities, focusing on the interaction between individual vulnerabilities, subcultural ideology, and online environments. This poster identifies a multi-layered process in which mental health challenges, loneliness, and neurodivergent traits may increase vulnerability in engaging in the incel community. The exposure to subcultural elements such as the “blackpill” ideology, hegemonic masculinity, and extreme misogyny shapes grievance-based worldviews. These are reinforced through online forums characterized by anonymity, echo chambers, and normalized hostile discourse. These factors may contribute to psychological escalation, including entitlement, identity threat, and “us versus them” thinking, increasing susceptibility to radicalization and, in rare cases, movement toward violence. Potential interventions include improving platform moderation, stronger restorative systems, and encouraging individuals to seek out therapeutic resources. Overall, this study highlights the importance of understanding incel-related violence as the product of interacting social, psychological, and technological processes, and underscores the need for early, multi-level intervention.

Author

• Emily Minh Hoang, Boston University