APS

2024 APS Annual Convention

Responding with Kindness to Toxicity Online: Does It Happen and Is It Worth It?

Sunday, May 26, 2024 · San Francisco, CA

Oral · General

Online toxicity is pervasive and harmful. Can witnesses help? Three researchers discuss six studies (preregistered experiments, Reddit corpus analysis, interviews; N=4,423) finding that benevolently correcting (with empathy/understanding/politeness) boosts conversation health and the replier’s reputation, suggesting it might be a worthwhile strategy for improving toxic conversations.

Chairs & Discussants

  • Alison Young ReusserChair
    Houghton University

Presentations

  1. Qualitative Research in the Study of Online Conflict: Findings and Functions.Elizabeth Gassin
  2. People Are Nice to Trolls on Reddit More Often Than You Might Think. Does It Help? It Depends.Alison Young Reusser
  3. Responding to Toxicity with Kindness: Does It Affect How Others View You? Does It Relate to Personality?Kristian Veit