Project Partners
Description
In the summer semester 2016, Bachelor's and Master's students conducted content analyses of online comment sections on articles in the local newspaper Braunschweiger Zeitung. Especially on the topic of refugees, uninhibited modes of communication were observed on the Internet during this time. The question arose to what extent and why online comments have an emotionalizing effect due to the supposed disinhibition. The focus of the students' investigation was on the occurrence and causes of emotions in online comments, the emotional development across online discourses, and the comparison between comments in different online public spheres (website/Facebook).
The results show that emotions can be multifaceted and multidimensional, and the spread of hate is not necessarily the primary focus. Emotional comments often refer to information remote from the article or to other users and are only conditionally evoked by the BZ articles themselves. An increase in emotion across discourse trajectories could not be substantiated. The discourses on the website and on Facebook differ with regard to the topics that trigger emotions and the course of a discourse.
Further factors - specifically on emotional contagion through comments - were identified in online group discussions followed by individual interviews.
Presentations
Fundings
The online group discussions were supported by Braunschweiger Netzwerk für Gender und Diversity Studies.
The BZV Medienhaus supported the conduct of the study.