Reacting to Cyberhate: Correlates of Self-Help and Toleration

• In Event: Individual and Familial Risk and Protective Factors in Cyberhate Involvement

Abstract

Hate material is increasingly common online. Unlike other forms of unwanted online behavior, such as cyberbullying or online harassment, cyberhate does not target individuals in isolation; rather online victims of cyberhate are targeted based on group characteristics, such as race, ethnicity, gender, sex, sexual orientation, or religious beliefs. Understanding how and why cyberhate spreads requires an understanding of how individuals react when they encounter such material. This paper focuses on two particular reactions to encountering cyberhate – self-help and toleration. Self-help is the handling of a grievance with unilateral aggression. In this study, we define self-help as witnessing cyberhate and telling the transgressor to stop their hateful behavior or actively defending the target of the aggression. Toleration is defined as inaction when a grievance might otherwise be handled such as witnessing cyberhate and ignoring it.
Data for this analysis were collected in 2018 from a Survey Sampling International (SSI) panel. Email invitations were sent to a randomly selected sample of panel members ages 18 to 35 in the U.S. An ordered logistic regression technique is used to analyze correlates of enacting self-help and engaging in toleration.
Results indicate that individuals who encounter cyberhate frequently are more likely to engage in self-help, suggesting that they might view it as a more serious problem. Similarly, those who see cyberhate that explicitly advocates violence are more likely to intervene; once more, this could indicate that more extreme forms of cyberhate are increasingly difficult to ignore. Being directly targeted by hate previously also correlates positively with enacting self-help, indicating that victimization increases empathy with other targets of hateful attacks. We also find evidence that witnessing others enact social control increases the likelihood of doing so. Notably, seeing other online users telling aggressors to cease their hateful behavior or defend the victims, as well as witnessing site administrators intervene in such cases, increases the likelihood of self-help. Social bonds, in the forms of family, friends, and online communities, also increase the likelihood of enacting self-help. Finally, expressing a general belief in equality correlates with self-help as well.
Interestingly, some of the same factors that correlate with self-help likewise correlate with toleration of cyberhate. For instance, seeing other online users or site administrators intervene to attempt to reduce cyberhate increases the likelihood of toleration. Hence, while witnessing these behaviors can motivate some to act in a like manner, others might decide that intervention is not necessary since others will likely do so. This finding is in line with offline work on bystander effects. Additionally, seeing hate frequently correlates with toleration, which suggests that, for some, repeated exposure to cyberhate might serve to normalize its presence in cyberspace. Finally, those who express little empathy towards others and believe that minor crimes, such as theft and vandalism are not a big concern, are more likely to tolerate cyberhate. The former effect suggests personality traits affect decisions to intervene, while the latter indicates that some online users might view cyberhate as a relatively minor offense.

Authors

• Matthew Costello, Clemson University
  Presenting Author

• James Hawdon, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Ashley Reichelmann, Virginia Tech University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Atte Oksanen, Tampere University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Pekka Räsänen
  Non-Presenting Author

• Izabela Zych, Cordoba University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Vicente J Llorent, Cordoba University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Catherine Blaya, Université Côte d’Azur
  Non-Presenting Author

• John Ryan, Virginia Tech University
  Non-Presenting Author