The “Nasty Effect:” Online Incivility and Risk Perceptions of Emerging Technologies

Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication The ‘‘Nasty Effect:’’ Online Incivility and Risk Perceptions of Emerging Technologies∗ Ashley A. Anderson Dominique Brossard Department of Life Sciences Communication, University of Wisconsin-Madison Center for Nanotechnology in Society at Arizona State University University of Wisconsin-Madison Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center in Templated Synthesis and Assembly at the Nanoscale Dietram A. Scheufele Department of Life Sciences Communication, University of Wisconsin-Madison Center for Nanotechnology in Society at Arizona State University University of Wisconsin-Madison Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center in Templated Synthesis and Assembly at the Nanoscale Michael A. Xenos University of Wisconsin-Madison Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center in Templated Synthesis and Assembly at the Nanoscale Department of Communication Arts, University of Wisconsin-Madison Peter Ladwig Department of Life Sciences Communication, University of Wisconsin-Madison University of Wisconsin-Madison Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center in Templated Synthesis and Assembly at the Nanoscale Uncivil discourse is a growing concern in American rhetoric, and this trend has expanded beyond traditional media to online sources, such as audience comments. Using an experiment given to a sample representative of the U.S. population, we examine the effects online incivility on perceptions Paper forthcoming in Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication All correspondence regarding this manuscript should be addressed to the first author in the Center for Climate Change Communication, George Mason University, Mail Stop 6A8, 4400 University Drive, Fairfax, VA, 22030 ph: 703-993-8368; e-mail: . This material is based upon work supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation to the UW-Madison Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center in Templated Synthesis and Assembly at the Nanoscale (Grant No. SES-DMR0832760). Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation. ∗ Accepted by previous editor Maria Bakardjieva Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication 19 (2014) 373–387 © 2013 International Communication Association 373 Center for Climate Change Communication, George Mason University University of Wisconsin-Madison Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center in Templated Synthesis and Assembly at the Nanoscale toward a particular issue—namely, an emerging technology, nanotechnology. We found that exposure to uncivil blog comments can polarize risk perceptions of nanotechnology along the lines of religiosity and issue support. Key words: blogs, online comments, incivility, nanotechnology, risk perceptions doi:10.1111/jcc4.12009 Because of its ability to disseminate information and reach large audiences, the Internet and communication technologies that utilize it may provide an excellent forum for interpersonal discussion surrounding issues that may not be widely covered in traditional media. The Internet has the potential to foster discussion and deliberation among far-reaching audiences in spaces such as the comments section of news items and blog posts. However, such discussions are not always rational. Discussions on the Internet can take an uncivil route, with offensive comments or replies impeding the democratic ideal of healthy, heated discussion (Papacharissi, 2004; Shils, 1992). The question remains as to whether online incivility affects the opinions of ‘‘lurkers,’’ or people who read online discussions without participating in them. Smith and his colleagues (2009) argue that lurkers are in fact participating in deliberation when reading others’ comments because a large part of rational discussion consists of reflecting on others’ opinions, which may or may not coincide with lurkers’ own opinions. In other words, audiences reading uncivil language in blog comments may find the messages hostile and make judgments about the issue based on their own preexisting values rather than on the information at hand. This may develop polarized perceptions on issues among different audience segments that hold different values. The purpose of this study is to examine how uncivil online interpersonal discussion may contribute to polarization of perceptions about an issue. We examine these dynamics in the context of nanotechnology, which is an interesting case because it is a largely unfamiliar topic that offers a rare chance to examine attitude formation and development. The majority of the public does not have a clear understanding of nanotechnology, and tend to use mental shortcuts—or heuristics, such as value predispositions or knowledge about science—when forming attitudes about it (Brossard, Scheufele, Kim, & Lewenstein, 2009; Lee & Scheufele, 2006; Scheufele & Lewenstein, 2005). Nonetheless, more than 1,300 consumer products containing nanotechnology are currently on the market (Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies, 2011). Thus, nanotechnology is representative of advanced technologies that individuals increasingly have to manage and form judgments about in their daily lives. Yet, given that it is an issue of low familiarity, it is likely people invoke cognitive shortcuts when they encounter it in the context of incivility. Thus, the mental shortcut may mitigate the effects of incivility. For instance, high familiarity with an issue may attenuate any effects exposure to incivility might have on forming negative perceptions about an issue. Furthermore, a value-based predisposition, such as religiosity, can provide a vehicle for forming an opinion about a low-familiarity topic (Brossard et al., 2009). Thus, people who draw upon such a predisposition may rely on it more rather than the new information they encounter, and this may temper the effects of incivility. In this study, we utilize an online experiment given to a sample representative of the U.S. population to examine whether people are influenced by online incivility in blog comments when forming risk perceptions of a presumably unfamiliar topic—nanotechnology. We also examine whether online incivility has polarizing effects on risk perceptions when individuals rely on various predispositions when forming these perceptions, including issue familiarity, issue support, and religiosity. 374 Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication 19 (2014) 373–387 © 2013 International Communication Association Introduction The Formation of Risk Perceptions The Effects of Incivility The definition of incivility has been debated by various scholars (see, Papacharissi, 2004), but for the purposes of this study it will be defined as a manner of offensive discussion that impedes the democratic ideal of deliberation (Papacharissi, 2004; Shils, 1992). In this sense, incivility online can range from unrelated, rude critiques and name-calling (Jamieson, 1997) (...truncated)