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Published on: May 31, 2019
Three roots of online toxicity: disembodiment, accountability, and disinhibition
Swati Pandita1, Ketika Garg1, Jiajin Zhang1
1Department of Humanities and Social Sciences and Computation, California Institute of Technology, 1200 E California Blvd, HSS 228-77, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA.
Abstract:
Online communication is central to modern social life, yet it is often linked to toxic manifestations and reduced well-being. How and why online communication enables these toxic social effects remains unanswered. In this opinion, we propose three roots of online toxicity: disembodiment, limited accountability, and disinhibition. We suggest that virtual disembodiment results in a chain of psychological states primed for deleterious social interaction. Drawing from differences between face-to-face and online interactions, the framework highlights and addresses the fundamental problems that result in impaired communication between individuals and explicates its effects on social toxicity online.
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