Association of Malicious Comments and Mental Health in Webtoon Creators

Digital platforms enable real-time audience participation in creative work, but they also expose creators to online hostility that may become embedded in everyday occupational experience. This study examined the association between malicious comments and mental health among paid Korean webtoon creators, a platform-mediated creative workforce shaped by serialized production, visible reader feedback, and engagement-based platform systems. An online survey assessed experiences of malicious comments directed at either creators' artwork or the creators themselves, along with physician-diagnosed depressive disorder, anxiety disorder, and sleep disorder, and self-reported suicidality. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to estimate associations while adjusting for sociodemographic and occupational characteristics. Exposure to malicious comments, whether directed at the artwork or at the creator personally, was associated with elevated odds of physician-diagnosed psychiatric disorders. Co-occurring exposure to both artwork-directed and creator-directed comments showed the strongest overall pattern of association. These findings suggest that malicious comments may operate not only as interpersonal hostility but also as occupational stressors in a platform-mediated creative environment where reader comments, audience engagement, visibility, reputation, and income opportunities are closely intertwined. The results also highlight the importance of considering platform design and engagement-based visibility when evaluating the mental-health implications of online harassment among digital creative workers. Korean webtoon creators may therefore face notable mental-health vulnerabilities in work environments characterized by continuous reader interaction and public evaluation. Systemic responses, including comment-management policies, creator support systems, and accessible occupational mental-health resources, may be needed to foster safer and more sustainable digital creative environments. Longitudinal and comparative research is warranted to clarify causal pathways and assess generalizability across creator populations and platform contexts.