The heroes at the Comment Awards page sift through all the negativity online to find the gold nuggets that they can share with their 524k followers. They're really doing God's work, considering that it can be pretty hard to find some positivity. 64% of Americans, for example, believe that social media is to blame for how badly things are going in the world today.
Receiving negative comments about something you posted can be upsetting. However, most people seem to be pretty resilient to that, as only 20% of Americans have said that a negative comment has ruined their day. Interestingly, more than half also said they don't care if they receive likes or not either.
We might think that a comment section resembles a town square where people can voice their opinions and be heard. In a sense, it is a town square, but one where people feel there are no repercussions to bad behavior and it soon turns to anarchy. One study found incivility in 25% of comment sections under news and blog posts.
Behavioral psychologist Jo Hemmings explained to Hello! Magazine that the rules of normal social engagement go out the window online. "[People] lose a sense of responsibility and self-awareness – a process known as deindividuation – and their anonymity means that they have no need to regulate their behavior online. It's similar to the way people might behave in a jeering crowd or as a football hooligan."
Hemmings further explained that attention motivates people who leave mean comments. Attention, even negative, fuels their self-worth and makes them feel important. Most often, these types of people feel underappreciated and unimportant in their real offline lives.
Psychotherapist Dr. Saima Muhammad Nawaz writes that people spreading negativity in comment sections are projecting their own insecurities. "By making negative comments, they may feel like they are deflecting attention away from their flaws," she claims.
For others, negative comments can be a way to release anger and frustration. "Social media can allow people to express their anger or frustration, even if directed towards someone else," Nawaz writes. Writing something mean about another person online also gives us a sense of control and power. People feel like they are the voice of reason and can judge what is good and what is bad – that they have influence.
As the internet and social media are almost built on us comparing ourselves to each other, leaving mean comments about others gives some of us a sense of superiority. "Some people need to bring others down to make themselves feel better," Nawaz explains the reason behind this.
But wait! Comment sections aren't all that bad. They do have all the flaws we've discussed above, but they can also provide a platform for public discourse. Eun-Ju Lee, a professor in the Department of Communication at Seoul National University, argues that when people in the comments present reasonable arguments and are gracious about their opponents' perspectives, there's a chance for a more participatory news media.
