Mind Your Social Media Manners: Pseudonymity, Imaginary Audience, and Incivility on Facebook vs. YouTube

Authors

  • Gi Woong Yun University of Nevada, Reno
  • Sasha Allgayer State University of New York at Geneseo
  • Sung-Yeon Park University of Nevada, Reno

Keywords:

Eurovision Song Contest, pseudonymity, imaginary audience, social media, YouTube, perceived reach

Abstract

A quantitative social media content analysis was conducted to examine the role of anonymity, imagined audience and impression management, and incivility in the context of a controversial Eurovision Song Contest win. User comments to posts featuring the artist’s winning performance from Facebook and YouTube were culled and analyzed. Although comments about the singer’s performance were predominantly positive on both platforms, non-performance-related comments were far more negative on Facebook than on YouTube. Though valence of the replies targeting other social media users and the Eurovision organization ranged from neutral to negative, as predicted by notions of imagined audience and impression management, YouTube comments were more negative than Facebook comments toward other users. YouTube comments also contained more profanity than Facebook comments. In terms of interacting with other users, YouTube comments more frequently targeted other users and used more profane language in doing so. Overall, the results suggest that anonymity may not necessarily promote negative commenting behaviors; however, the desire for impression management triggered by the nature of imaginary audience could influence social media user interactions.

Author Biographies

Gi Woong Yun, University of Nevada, Reno

Gi Woong Yun (Ph. D. University of Wisconsin) is an associate professor at University of Nevada, Reno. His current research projects are concerned with machine bias, selective posting online, newspaper online business model, online media framing, and Internet research methods.Contact: Reynolds School of Journalism, Mail Stop 310, University of Nevada, Reno, NV 89557Voice: 775-784-4192, Fax: 775-784-6656, gyun@unr.edu  

Sasha Allgayer, State University of New York at Geneseo

Sasha Allgayer (Ph.D. Bowling Green State University) is an assistant professor at State University of New York at Geneseo.  His current research is at the crossroads of critical media inquiry and social media activism, specifically focusing on global media, mass-cultural international events, online media framing, and the (g)local struggle for social justice. Contact: Blake Hall, Room B122, State University of New York at Geneseo, Geneseo NY 14454Voice: 585-245-5288, Fax: 585-245-5240, allgayer@geneseo.edu

Sung-Yeon Park, University of Nevada, Reno

Associate professor at University of Nevada, Reno. Her research interest includes healthcare service advertising and social media and intergroup contact via media consumption. 

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Published

2020-06-07

Issue

Vol. 14 (2020)

Section

Articles

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