Kicking out the trolls – Antecedents of social exclusion intentions in Facebook groups. (October 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Ditrich, Lara; Sassenberg, Kai
• Is Part Of: Computers in human behavior. Volume 75(2017)
• Page Start: 32
• Page End: 41
• Publication Date: 2017-10
• Subjects: Social network sites -- Group -- Norm-deviation -- Exclusion -- Trolling; Interactive computer systems -- Periodicals; Man-machine systems -- Periodicals; 004.019
• DOI: 10.1016/j.chb.2017.04.049
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0747-5632

Abstract

Abstract: When contributing to groups on social networking sites (SNS), not all group members necessarily adhere to the group's norms (i.e., its explicit or implicit rules); in other words, they show norm-deviant behavior. Despite the popularity of groups on SNS and the frequency of norm-deviant behavior within them, research has to date rarely investigated how members of online groups react to those behaviors. This article introduces a model based on the social identity approach regarding the responses to norm-deviations in Facebook groups and reports an experiment testing this model. In this experiment, deviant members were perceived as questioning what the group stands for (i.e., as subverting the group's identity). Perceptions of identity subversion, in turn, motivated group members to derogate and exclude the deviate. Furthermore, participants were found to ignore the deviate's contributions (i.e., not to recall them after reading the group's timeline). Taken together, the results suggest that group members perceive a deviate's behavior as questioning their group's image. This, however, does not seem to lead to a group's decay, but rather promotes a "natural purification" within the group through elimination of negative influences. Highlights: We analyze effects of norm-deviations in SNS based on the social identity approach. A study tests how members of Facebook groups react to others' norm-deviations. Norm-deviations questioned group identity and motivated the deviate's exclusion. Furthermore, group members ignored a deviant member's contributions.