Barriers to Participation in Polarized Online Discussions About Covid-19 and the Russo-Ukrainian War

Kód výsledku v IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F00216224%3A14230%2F23%3A00134148" target="_blank" >RIV/00216224:14230/23:00134148 - isvavai.cz</a>

Výsledek na webu

<a href="https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6657" target="_blank" >https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6657</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.17645/mac.v11i3.6657" target="_blank" >10.17645/mac.v11i3.6657</a>

Jazyk výsledku

angličtina

Název v původním jazyce

Barriers to Participation in Polarized Online Discussions About Covid-19 and the Russo-Ukrainian War

Popis výsledku v původním jazyce

Even though social networking sites create a unique online public space for the exchange of opinions, only a small share of citizens participate in online discussions. Moreover, research has depicted current online discussions as highly uncivil, hostile, and polarized, and the number of heated discussions has escalated in the last two years because of health, social, and security crises. This study investigates the perceived barriers to participation in Facebook discussions, focusing on two topics: the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russo-Ukrainian War. It explores the role that the negativity of these online discussions has on participation. To investigate the perspectives of users and their personal experiences with online discussions in times of crisis, we apply a qualitative research method and interviews with participants. We collected and analyzed 50 semi-structured interviews with Czech Facebook users who participated in discussions during the spring of 2021 (i.e., Covid-19) and the spring of 2022 (i.e., Russo-Ukrainian War). The results show that, after initial mobilization at the beginning of the pandemic, the crisis reinforced several crucial barriers to participation in discussions due to the perceived persistence of polarization (e.g., the spread of disinformation, the bipolar character of discussions, negative perception of opponents), which subsequently spread to other areas and issues. The data also implies that these barriers tend to demobilize less active participants, those who do not have strong opinions, and participants who think the subject matter is not worth the heated exchange of opinions.

Název v anglickém jazyce

Barriers to Participation in Polarized Online Discussions About Covid-19 and the Russo-Ukrainian War

Popis výsledku anglicky

Even though social networking sites create a unique online public space for the exchange of opinions, only a small share of citizens participate in online discussions. Moreover, research has depicted current online discussions as highly uncivil, hostile, and polarized, and the number of heated discussions has escalated in the last two years because of health, social, and security crises. This study investigates the perceived barriers to participation in Facebook discussions, focusing on two topics: the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russo-Ukrainian War. It explores the role that the negativity of these online discussions has on participation. To investigate the perspectives of users and their personal experiences with online discussions in times of crisis, we apply a qualitative research method and interviews with participants. We collected and analyzed 50 semi-structured interviews with Czech Facebook users who participated in discussions during the spring of 2021 (i.e., Covid-19) and the spring of 2022 (i.e., Russo-Ukrainian War). The results show that, after initial mobilization at the beginning of the pandemic, the crisis reinforced several crucial barriers to participation in discussions due to the perceived persistence of polarization (e.g., the spread of disinformation, the bipolar character of discussions, negative perception of opponents), which subsequently spread to other areas and issues. The data also implies that these barriers tend to demobilize less active participants, those who do not have strong opinions, and participants who think the subject matter is not worth the heated exchange of opinions.

Druh

J_imp - Článek v periodiku v databázi Web of Science

CEP obor

—

OECD FORD obor

50802 - Media and socio-cultural communication

Projekt

<a href="/cs/project/GA19-24724S" target="_blank" >GA19-24724S: Politická polarizace v České republice: Případ vícestranického systému</a><br>

Návaznosti

P - Projekt vyzkumu a vyvoje financovany z verejnych zdroju (s odkazem do CEP)

Rok uplatnění

2023

Kód důvěrnosti údajů

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Název periodika

Media and Communication

ISSN

2183-2439

e-ISSN

2183-2439

Svazek periodika

11

Číslo periodika v rámci svazku

3

Stát vydavatele periodika

PT - Portugalská republika

Počet stran výsledku

11

Strana od-do

274-284

Kód UT WoS článku

001157261800014

EID výsledku v databázi Scopus

2-s2.0-85168347680